India, Sept. 18 -- The AI conversation has largely been shaped by the digital world - models, compute, data, increasingly capable software. But what happens when AI moves into the physical world, where buildings must be constructed, factories must operate, and infrastructure must last for decades?

That question shaped my conversation with Haresh Khoobchandani, Vice President for Asia Pacific and Japan at Autodesk, at Autodesk University 2026 in Las Vegas - a conversation that built on a three-part LinkedIn series he had published shortly before, itself adapted from a public lecture he delivered in Singapore days earlier.

His clearest answer to what AI is "all about" traces back to a moment he still describes as a risk. On a CEO panel, a...