In poker, the big blind is a mandatory bet you have to make if you are two seats to the left of the dealer.
In the world of geothermal energy, the big blind is finding a huge source of heat underground where there are no obvious clues on the land surface above.
Our portfolio company Zanskar has been using advanced AI models to prospect for geothermal sites. As this article in MIT Technology Review explains:
The first step to identifying a new site is to use regional AI models to search large areas. The team trains models on known hot spots and on simulations it creates. Then it feeds in geological, satellite, and other types of data, including information about fault lines. The models can then predict where potential hot spots might be.
Yesterday Zanskar announced that their AI models had predicted a massive "blind" underground heat source in this part of western Nevada and their onsite work over the last year proved that the models were right.
My mom, who is 95, asked me at the Thanksgiving dinner table if I could help her use AI on her computer. I was more than happy to oblige.
So on Sunday, during my regular weekly visit, we put Gemini onto her laptop via browser bookmarks and the Gemini app onto the home screen of her iPhone. I considered ChatGPT, but figured since she already uses Gmail and Google Search, she might have a head start with Gemini.
We spent about an hour prompting Gemini to do all sorts of things. She was excited about its knowledge of history, including her family history, its knowledge of travel and places around the world, and its knowledge of medicine and health care. We used it to draw some pictures, explain some science, and give us some advice.
By the time I left, she was already familiar with and excited to use Gemini and I expect she will. A lot.
My mom is very fortunate that at 95 she still has all of her wits about her and I am thrilled that she has the technology at her fingertips to learn, explore, and expand her mind.
I feel a little badly that I didn't suggest this to her a few years ago and she had to drag it out of me. So if you have elderly parents and haven't turned them onto AI, I would encourage you to do that. I think it's gonna be great for them.
