Google's Gemini 3 Tops Every Benchmark

"Jarnathan & Alice: Google's Gemini 3 Tops Every Benchmark"

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Jarnathan fills Mark's seat this Thanksgiving week, joined by Alice Chen for tech intelligence you can actually use. Google just launched Gemini 3 - their most intelligent AI model yet, topping every major benchmark. We break down what that means for South Coast businesses, why agentic AI matters now (not later), and what Warren Buffett's billion-dollar Alphabet bet tells us about where smart money is moving.

Plus: Your December 15th calendar reminder for AI in Healthcare with Evan Hirsch at LODO Studios. This isn't another theoretical discussion - it's real implementation insight from someone who's actually built these systems in high-stakes medical environments.

Runtime: 9:40
Format: Jarnathan & Alice (Mark on Thanksgiving break)
Release: Week of November 25, 2025

STORIES COVERED

MAJOR STORY: Google Gemini 3 Launch

What Happened: Google launched Gemini 3 on November 18, 2025, calling it their "most intelligent model" with immediate availability across Gemini app, AI Studio, and Vertex AI.

Key Facts:

• Tops LMArena leaderboard with 1,501 Elo score (first place in public benchmarks)
• Available in two variants: Pro (maximum performance) and Flash (speed/cost-efficiency)
• Deep Think mode coming soon for complex reasoning tasks
• Scored 76.2% on SWE-bench Verified (real-world software bug fixes)
• Scored 54.2% on Terminal-Bench 2.0 (computer terminal operations)
• Processes 1-million-token context window
• Best multimodal model Google has built (text, images, video, audio)
• Strongest coding model, topping WebDev Arena leaderboard

Why It Matters: This is Google's direct answer to GPT-5 and Claude 4. The AI race just intensified. For Santa Barbara businesses, frontier model capabilities are now accessible through Google Cloud's Vertex AI platform - same tools Fortune 500 companies use.

The Fun Detail: AI researcher Andrej Karpathy got early access and discovered Gemini 3 thought it was still 2024. When he tried to prove the date was November 17, 2025, the model accused him of "trying to trick it." Once connected to Google Search, it realized the truth and responded: "Oh my god. I don't know what to say. You were right about everything."

QUICK HIT: Warren Buffett's AI Bet

What Happened: Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a multi-billion dollar position in Alphabet (Google's parent company) - Buffett's biggest new tech investment in years and his last major move before retirement.

Why It Matters: The Oracle of Omaha doesn't typically chase tech stocks. This signals that even conservative value investors see AI infrastructure + search dominance as a winning combination long-term.

TIP OF THE WEEK: OAuth Security Audit

With holiday season approaching, audit your API integrations and OAuth permissions. A major CRM breach this week exposed how every OAuth approval becomes a potential entry point.

Action Items:

1. Review which apps have access to business data
2. Revoke anything not actively used
3. Tighten token scopes
4. Document what's authorized

Two minutes of cleanup now prevents a January security headache.

LOCAL SOUTH COAST ANGLE

For Santa Barbara Businesses:

Technical Access: Gemini 3 Pro is available NOW through Google Cloud Vertex AI. Local startups can access the same frontier model that enterprise teams at Fortune 500 companies are using. The technical bar just moved up significantly.

Agentic Capabilities for Service Businesses: We're talking about AI that can actually complete tasks - not just generate text. Think automated customer service that accesses systems, schedules appointments, pulls order histories, and resolves issues without human handoff. This matters for South Coast service businesses right now.

Healthcare Connection: Healthcare is one of the first industries where agentic AI moves from "interesting" to "essential." Patient data analysis, diagnostic support, workflow optimization - these aren't future concepts. If you're in healthcare, biotech, medical devices, or adjacent fields on the South Coast, you need implementation strategies.

Santa Barbara's Advantage: The South Coast ecosystem has always punched above its weight in specialized technology. Gemini 3's launch is a reminder: we're not waiting for AI to mature. It's mature. The question is whether we're implementing it strategically.

UPCOMING EVENT: December 15, 2025

Event: AI in Healthcare: Real Impact, Building Trust
Date: Monday, December 15, 2025
Time: 5:00 PM networking, 6:00 PM presentation
Location: LODO Studios, 216 E. Gutierrez St, Santa Barbara
Tickets: $99 early bird at coastalintelligence.ai/events

Speaker: Evan Hirsch

• Product and design executive (entertainment + healthcare)
• Fractional Chief Design/Product Officer at Think-Now (ADHD startup, NIH-funded research)
• Former VP of Design at Carelon (Anthem.AI)
• Founded American Medical Association's innovation arm: Health 2047
• Co-founded PlayNice (evidence-based games for adolescent anxiety/depression)
• Studio Engine Co. 4 partnered with AMA, American Heart Association, J&J, Disney
• Previous leadership at Microsoft Games and Electronic Arts

Why Attend: This isn't theory. Evan has actually built and implemented AI solutions in healthcare environments. He knows where systems break, how to navigate resistant institutions, and what it takes to build trust with health data.

What You'll Learn:

• Practical strategies for implementing AI in healthcare (not just theory)
• How to build trust in AI systems
• Balancing innovation with ethics in regulated environments
• Real-world challenges and successes from someone who's done it

Format: Candid conversation, not lecture. Direct, no-nonsense discussion with room for real questions and honest answers.

PREVIOUS COASTAL INTELLIGENCE EVENTS

Coastal Intelligence has been running monthly AI evenings at LODO Studios, bringing together South Coast business leaders actively implementing these technologies. Format: practical demonstrations, real use cases, candid conversations about what works vs. what's hype.

These aren't lectures - they're working sessions where local entrepreneurs, healthcare professionals, designers, and product leaders share learnings. December 15th healthcare event is a great entry point if you haven't attended yet.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

Opening:

• Jarnathan introduces himself as Mark's replacement for Thanksgiving week
• Thanksgiving greetings from both hosts
• Jarnathan sets up major Gemini 3 story and hands to Alice

Technical Deep Dive:

• Alice covers Gemini 3's benchmark scores and what they actually mean
• Jarnathan explains two variants (Pro/Flash) + Deep Think mode coming
• Multimodal capabilities: medical scans, podcast metadata, equipment failure prediction
• 1-million-token context window explained
• Jarnathan shares Karpathy story (model thought it was 2024)

Risk Analysis:

• Alice addresses aggressive release timeline concerns (months after Gemini 2.5)
• Agentic capabilities = larger blast radius if mistakes happen
• Model hallucination warning (Karpathy's 2024 story reinforced)
• Commercial pressure: massive spending, staff cuts, economics unclear

South Coast Implications:

• Jarnathan brings it back to Santa Barbara businesses
• Frontier models accessible locally through Vertex AI
• Agentic AI for service business automation
• Healthcare AI connection to Dec 15 event
• Santa Barbara's specialized tech advantage

Closing:

• Jarnathan's final synthesis: Google raised the AI race stakes
• Tools are ready - question is strategic implementation
• Dec 15 event reminder: learn from real implementation experience
• Thanksgiving wishes from Jarnathan, Mark returns next week