AI Can Read Your Maps Now. A GIS CEO Says Don't Let It Do the Maths

You no longer need a GIS specialist to ask a map a question. But Dino Ravnić, CEO of GIS Cloud, has one firm rule for this week's Project Flux podcast: let AI do the reasoning, never the calculations.

🎧 Short on time? Hit play: Watch the full episode on YouTube

For most of its history, GIS has been a specialist's tool. If you wanted an answer from spatial data, you needed someone trained to drive the software. Dino argues that era is ending.

He traces the journey from traditional mapping to the cloud, with Google Maps laying the foundation that made maps something everyone uses. The next step is AI: letting non-specialists ask questions of geospatial data in plain language, with MCPs connecting AI tools directly to the systems where that data lives.

But Dino doesn't pretend the hard part is solved. A wrong answer on a map can mean a wrong decision on site, so he spends real time on keeping systems deterministic, avoiding hallucinations, testing and refining models, and keeping control of your data and the AI tools that touch it.

We also get into where GIS meets digital twins, robotics and world models, what this means for people in GIS roles today, Croatia's tech ecosystem, the economics of tokens and AI costs, and Dino's predictions for the next 20 years. Listeners also get an exclusive offer from GIS Cloud (details below).

Why it matters: Spatial data sits under almost every infrastructure and built-environment project. When anyone on the team can query it, the bottleneck moves from "who can run the software" to "who is asking the right question, and can we trust the answer?"

👉 Listen to the full conversation with Dino Ravnic

New GIS Cloud sign-ups get an extended 90-day free trial of GIS Cloud AI. The first 25 companies also get a free 45-minute AI mapping setup session to upload their project data and get their first AI-ready map running.

To redeem: sign up at giscloud.com, then email [email protected] with FLUX in the subject line, from the same address you signed up with.

Not subscribed yet? Subscribe to the Project Flux newsletter for the week's AI and tech news for project delivery, every week.

If you have paid time left on an individual Granola plan, we'll match it with a Wispr Flow subscription that includes Notetaker and dictation, and add bonus time, up to 12 months total. Sign in or create a Wispr account and submit proof of your plan to check eligibility.

Try Notetaker Free

Project Flux is independently owned, funded, and operated by its founder. Any external references or features are for community benefit only and do not imply endorsement, control, or ownership.