AI and tech evolve and iterate so swiftly that the pace seems unfathomableâespecially for us geoscientists who are used to working with systems that move relatively slowly.
SMEs needed: However, that tech means nothing without knowledgeable people to guide it. They need us geos at the tech tables as leaders build AI and ML models with oil and gas applications.
Important information can be otherwise overlooked, and those missing details can have a devastating impact on the efficacy of any tech implemented. A Hawaiian company called Sensei Farms recently learned that the hard way.
About the company: Sensei Farms was started by Larry Ellisonâone of the founders of Oracleâas an agricultural company focused on feeding the world using crops grown on Lanai with updated, high-tech agricultural and greenhouse techniques.
Ellison had chosen Lanai because it has a permanent population of just over a thousand people, but after a century or so of questionable pineapple agricultural practices, those people cannot grow food on the island.
What went wrong: The premise sounds great, and the founder backing the company had a very solid track record, so what happened here?
The short answer is, they picked the wrong SMEs as consultants.
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Sensei thought greenhouse technology hadnât evolved in nearly 400 years and aimed to update it. Greenhouse experts, however, say there have been significant advances.
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Recognizing their lack of knowledge in the space, Ellison hired an Israeli firm to build the greenhouses. The firm didnât take into account Lanaiâs humidity and propensity for 80 mile-per-hour gusts, which made quick work of the companyâs greenhouse roofs and contributed to a price increase from about $12 million to $50 million.
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A partnership with Tesla made off-grid power seem like a sure thing, but the panels rarely worked. High winds showered them with dirt and debris, and thereâs some question around proper installation (or lack thereof).
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Ellison also had issues figuring out which crops to grow: Costs meant restorative farming wasnât an option, and high-end fruit isnât exactly a booming market. It seems like he might have built the greenhouses before he settled on which crop he was growing, which restricted his choices even further.
What they are saying: âThe vision was so big. And then it just slowly got whittled away as we faced up to realities of implementing on Lanai,â said En Young, a former general manager of the Lanai facility.
Why it matters: So, what does failed farming have to do with oil and gas technology?
Ellison and the Sensei leadership needed to ask the right people the right questions: They needed to consult with local farmers about humidity, crop costs, etc. in the same way that tech companies with budding AI models need us geos to help apply their models within oil and gas.
We know the industry. We know the ins and outs of the tasks we perform and how each task might best benefit from automation. We know how we would use their technology if we had it and the implementation barriers that might rear their heads along the way.
The bottom line: Our industry can learn from this failure what not to do with new tech and the importance of consulting the right experts.
Thereâs more to this story about Sensei which you should learn about here.
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