MBRT Executive Board Member Jimmy Rhee Addresses Global AI, Business and Government Leaders in Tokyo
At the 2026 International Industrial AI Conference, Rhee emphasized the importance of human judgment, innovation, and trust in the emerging era of Physical AI.
October 13, 2026 | Tokyo, Japan
“On behalf of our national board, we are particularly proud that MBRT Executive Board Member Jimmy Rhee was invited to headline and served as a panelist on October 13 at the 5th Annual 2026 International Industrial AI Conference in Tokyo, Japan,” said Roger A. Campos, MBRT Chairman.
The prestigious conference brought together international business leaders, government officials, educators, venture capitalists, and representatives from the world’s leading technology and manufacturing industries.
Companies including NVIDIA, IBM, Honeywell, Panasonic, and Qualcomm were among those invited to discuss frontier AI research, national AI policies, the systems that power the physical world, energy requirements for AI computing, and international industrial collaboration.
The International Industrial AI Conference (IIAC) has convened leaders from government, industry, and academia since 2021, with previous gatherings at Stanford and in Hanoi. The 2026 conference in Tokyo continued that dialogue about the future of industrial intelligence.
The Future of Physical AI: Human Judgment and Trust
Jimmy Rhee’s conference presentation emphasized that “in the Physical AI era, it is no longer about who makes the most or the cheapest. It is about who learns and executes fastest.”
AI will increasingly help design products and processes while improving how people interact with machines. However, Rhee emphasized that defining where AI’s authority ends and human judgment begins is essential to building trust.
Rhee believes people will always have a critical role in Physical AI.
A vibration reading at 1,000 degrees means something different from the same reading at 400 degrees. A welder who says, “Something sounds wrong,” may identify a problem before a sensor does.
People provide context. A sensor reports data, while humans interpret its meaning and assess safety. That is where trust begins.
Physical AI operates within the laws of physics, and those laws do not negotiate. A sensor can report a robot arm’s speed, but it cannot determine whether that speed is safe for a particular component or the person standing nearby.
Human involvement must remain central to both trust and control.
A New Era of Global Industrial Competition
The transition to Physical AI is already underway.
“Look at BYD in China,” Rhee says. “They are building humanoid robots for their own factories—not as a demo, but for deployment. And they are not alone. That is the new competitive reality.”
For decision-makers in government and industry, many questions remain. But Rhee recalls the economist John Maynard Keynes:
“It is better to be vaguely right than precisely wrong.”
The message is clear: during a paradigm shift, waiting for perfect information can be irrational. The cost of hesitation may far outweigh the cost of bold action.
“In this new Physical AI era, your imagination becomes design, and design becomes production—faster than ever before,” Rhee concludes.
“It is the Darwinism of Innovation on steroids. Whatever you conceive will get done. The question is whether it gets done by you or to you.”
He ends with a final statement:
“My company exists for this moment: bridging the digital and physical worlds. Readers, so must you.”
About Jimmy Rhee
Since serving as a cabinet secretary in Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s administration, Jimmy Rhee has focused on his core strengths: energy and investment.
For the past several years, he has advised data center developers across the country on securing the power needed by hyperscalers, connecting them with energy generation and management providers ranging from battery storage to fuel cells. He chairs the C3 Energy Fund of the Maryland Clean Energy Center.
Rhee is currently executive chairman of Aquila Investment Group, a Silicon Valley company founded by the grandson of LG Group’s founder.
Aquila connects artificial intelligence with manufacturing through Physical AI—intelligence that perceives, reasons, and acts in the real world. AI is increasingly moving beyond digital screens and into physical environments, as demonstrated by advances in autonomous transportation.
Through operations in Korea and Taiwan, Aquila has launched pilot programs at more than 20 manufacturing sites, with plans extending to India.
The company’s approach focuses on improving operational efficiency through data-driven learning, translating those improvements into financial value, and helping partner manufacturers strengthen their global competitiveness in the transition to Physical AI.
Rhee also serves on the boards of TEDCO’s (Maryland Technology Development Corporation) Ignite Fund, Harbor Bank of Baltimore, and MBRT Business RoundTable.
About MBRT Business RoundTable
MBRT is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization bringing together CEOs, entrepreneurs, and business leaders across industry sectors to engage in public policies affecting their businesses.
Conference information: 2026 International Industrial AI Conference — Official Program