GIS in the Age of AI and Big Data
DATE & TIME:
October 21, 2026
LOCATION:
The practice of GIS is being revolutionized by advances in AI and Big Data. We are being overwhelmed by the volume, variety, and velocity of data, and by new forms of data that allow us to ask new kinds of questions. Generative AI is prompting new concerns about ethics, about the user experience, about privacy, and about employment. Foundation models are being promoted as a replacement for traditional modeling and prediction, and syllabi for GIS are being rethought and redesigned, in response to questions about the future of GIS expertise. Yet the basic principles of GIScience remain largely unchallenged by this essentially technological progress.
Speaker
Michael F. Goodchild is Professor Emeritus of Geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He received his BA degree from Cambridge University in Physics in 1965 and his PhD in Geography from McMaster University in 1969. His research and teaching interests focus on geographic information science, including uncertainty in geographic information, discrete global grids, and volunteered geographic information. He was elected member of the US National Academy of Sciences in 2002, and Foreign Member of the Royal Society and Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy in 2010. He has published over 600 books and articles.