[Houston, United States = DigitalToday reporter Chi-gyu Hwang] Site of '3DEXPERIENCE World 2026', held by manufacturing software company Dassault Systemes in Houston, the United States, from Feb. 1 to 4 (local time).

The keyword this year is again AI. From the keynote speech to special sessions, presentations poured out on a vision and various technologies for changes AI will bring to manufacturing, design and simulation.

AI was a core issue at recent '3DEXPERIENCE World' events over the past few years, but this year the intensity is higher than ever and the product lineup has expanded.

Beyond large language models (LLMs) that have led the AI field since ChatGPT, the event also stressed AI grounded in reality. Manish Kumar (마니쉬 쿠마), CEO leading Dassault Systemes' SolidWorks 3D CAD business, made clear in a keynote speech that AI is a disruptive technology and can replace some tasks, but changing the real world remains the role of people.

He said, "AI automates repetitive work, summarises code and creates images, but work that deals with the real world must be done by people." He said, "AI is the engine, and people are the driver. The brain (AI) needs a body (Body, machines). Mechanical engineering that moves reality, such as motors, packaging and thermal management, cannot be replaced by AI," he said.

He said that even if AI can teach a robot dog to walk, designing structures that do not break when they collide and soft joints will remain a human task.

Even so, he viewed AI as a disruptive technology that signals a new industrial reshuffle, not just a technological advance. He compared AI to early fire and steam engines, saying, "Just as fire drove away wild animals, cooked food and eventually smelted metal and led the Industrial Revolution, AI is still primitive now but will drive innovation in the long term."

Many changes are also expected in the work of those designing watches due to AI. Kumar said, "At a time when the existing design approach itself is being shaken by autonomous driving, AI medical devices and sensor-integrated devices, designers must imagine and realise entirely new machines and products."

Pascal Daloz (파스칼 달로즈), CEO of Dassault Systemes, also said that core value will continue to come from people even in the AI era, and he particularly stressed the strategic value of intellectual property (IP).

He said, "In the AI era, IP is true currency. AI is only a companion that grows people's judgment, know-how and IP. AI cannot replace design." He stressed that "AI is a companion that expands human judgment."

He also stressed that for AI to play a more meaningful role in the real world, it needs to be seen beyond LLMs. Daloz said, "AI must evolve not as a tool that simply generates text or images, but as a key partner for real-world-based industrial design." He said, "The world is not made only of images and text. It consists of materials, heat, forces and various constraints that exist in the real world. In this reality, the person who makes things that work is still the designer."

Dassault Systemes' strategy is also focused on expanding AI to strengthen designers' capabilities. It unveiled a beta version of its virtual companion Aura at last year's 3DEXPERIENCE World, and it expanded the lineup at this year's event by offering preview versions of Leo and Marie.

Aura, based on an LLM, supports SolidWorks users in performing various tasks through a conversational chatbot. Leo is an engineer companion that handles physical-based analysis across structures, mechanics, simulation and manufacturing.

Marie serves as an analyst that provides a science-based perspective on materials, chemistry and regulations. Dassault Systemes said that adding Leo and Marie to Aura can greatly expand, in both quantity and quality, what designers can do using AI. It said 'collaborative intelligence' is being realised, with Aura, Leo and Marie answering the same question from different perspectives to derive an optimal design.

Just before Daloz ended his keynote speech, Kumar returned to the stage and demonstrated an AI demo. When a PDF drawing was pasted in, the AI pulled out the sketch and immediately converted it into a 3D model and ran a simulation, drawing attention. Daloz said, "All these changes are the beginning of a 'generative economy'," stressing the arrival of an era in which products are defined like software, digital generates the real world, and IP becomes a new currency.