“After” Yann LeCun: From Common Sense to Systemic Impact: A World Impact Model (WIM)

“After” Yann LeCun: From Common Sense to Systemic Impact: A World Impact Model (WIM) | by Dr. Urban Liebel | Medium

Sitemap

Sign up

Get app

Write

Sign up

“After” Yann LeCun: From Common Sense to Systemic Impact: A World Impact Model (WIM)

Follow

·

Jan 26, 2026

Listen

Share

Why mastering “World Models” is the foundational step — and what we need to build on top of it.

The AI community has reached a fascinating crossroads. They have mastered Large Language Models (LLMs) that can write, code, and debate. But as many have pointed out, including Ex Meta’s Chief AI Scientist Yann LeCun, language is not enough. LLMs lack “common sense” — they don’t understand the physical world, its constraints, or its causalities.

Building on the Vision of Yann LeCun

LeCun’s vision of World Models (manifested in his JEPA architecture) is arguably the most important shift in AI today. He is working to give machines an intuitive understanding of reality — teaching them to observe the world like a child does, learning physics and causality without needing billions of pages of text.

We hope that he and his team will already succeed in 2026. An AI that truly “understands” the physical world would be the foundational engine for the future of the field.

However, once we have a brain that understands how the world works, we believe we need a framework to calculate the impact of our actions within it. This is where we hope to contribute with what we call the World Impact Model (WIM).

What is WIM?

If a World Model tells you that a glass will break when it hits the floor, a World Impact Model (WIM) tells you the systemic cost of that broken glass across different layers of society.

Get Dr. Urban Liebel’s stories in your inbox

Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.

Subscribe

Subscribe

• [x]

Remember me for faster sign in

WIM isn’t about teaching AI to “see”; it’s about teaching AI to “calculate friction” across a hierarchy of 8 levels. It’s system designed to act as a reality filter for complex decisions.

The 8-Level Framework of WIM

To navigate impact, we use a structured hierarchy. Each decision is analyzed across these eight levels to see where the friction lies:

• Level 1: The Individual. Biological health, mental load, and individual capacity.
• Level 2: Team & Family. Communication dynamics and social stability.
• Level 3: The Company. Operational reality, cash flow, and resource efficiency.
• Level 4: City & Infrastructure. Local resources, energy grids, and logistics.
• Level 5: Country. National policy, demographics, and the energy mix.
• Level 6: Continent. Geopolitics and trade alliances.
• Level 7: Earth Systems. The hard physics of the planet. Here, we look at “Deep Data Compression” — using historical cycles (like ice age data) to understand the long-term reality of our planet.
• Level 8: Systemic/Orbital. Long-term species preservation and multi-planetary thinking.

Case Studies: Applying the Reality Filter

By looking through these 8 levels, we can identify systemic blind spots that are often missed in complex, emotional or ideological debates.

Example A. The Physics of Energy Transitions

In Germany, the decision to exit nuclear power (Level 5 policy) while relying on fluctuating renewables created a massive gap in Level 4 (Infrastructure) and Level 7 (Physics).

• WIM Analysis: The model doesn’t debate “green vs. not green.” It simply calculates the cost of the trillions of dollars needed for storage and grid expansion.
• Result: It identifies a “Systemic Veto” from Level 7. Because the physics don’t change, the decision eventually creates friction on Level 3 (industrial decline) and Level 1 (higher costs for the individual).

Example B. Proactive vs. Reactive Healthcare

Our current systems are often optimized for Level 3 (Corporate/Pharmaceutical Revenue). We spend billions treating chronic diseases (obesity/diabetes) after they occur.

• WIM Analysis: The model highlights “Human Debt.” By ignoring Level 1 (proactive health and prevention), we create a Level 3 profit that is actually a Level 5 national disaster.
• Insight: WIM calculates that $1 spent onLevel 1 proactive health has a much higher systemic ROI than $1 spent on Level 3 reactive drug management.

Example C. Ideology vs. Resource Reality

Current social shifts — often termed “Wokeism” or extreme social engineering — frequently operate on Level 2(Social Dynamics) and Level 5(Ideology).

• WIM Analysis: The model acts as a “Physics Check.” You cannot redistribute resources that Level 7 (extraction) and Level 4 (logistics) haven’t actually produced.
• Insight: When ideology ignores the physical cost of energy and materials, it eventually collapses Level 3 (the economy). WIM reveals that sustainability requires optimizing the creation of resources, not just their routing.

Conclusion: A Shared Future

We are not looking to replace the groundbreaking work of pioneers like Yann LeCun. Instead, we are hopeful that his “World Models” will provide the common-sense engine that our World Impact Model (WIM) needs to be truly effective.

We want to move AI from “just knowing” to “understanding impact.” We want to give decision-makers a tool that doesn’t just answer their questions, but shows them the bill before they sign it.

Follow

·

Health Tech | Deep Tech | AI | Energy | Built Platforms & Machines Serving Mios Users | Serial Founder

Follow

No responses yet

Write a response

What are your thoughts?

Cancel

Respond

More from Dr. Urban Liebel

·

Feb 22

·

Jan 25

·

Apr 26

·

Nov 11, 2025

Recommended from Medium

In

by

·

May 8

·

May 3

In

by

·

May 6

In

by

·

May 7

·

May 1

·

May 7

Press