Humanoid robots powered by physical AI have become commercially viable—costs have dropped 10× in 3 years—and factories are already deploying them for manufacturing tasks. This disrupts the century-old development model where countries built wealth through low-wage labor: as robots become the primary workforce, competitive advantage shifts from wage costs to energy prices, AI talent, infrastructure quality, and automation capability. Thailand risks being "leapfrogged" if it continues competing on cost alone rather than investing in AI skills, robotics, chips, and software ecosystems.