Cartography in GeoAI: Emerging Themes and Research Challenges

Anthony C. Robinson, Arzu Çöltekin, Amy L. Griffin, Florian Ledermann

Abstract: The emergence of prompt-driven artificial intelligence (AI) techniques for the rapid creation and iterative ideation of text, images, and code has disrupted the trajectory of science, technology, and society. Geospatial AI (GeoAI) aims to develop approaches for AI that target spatio-temporal problem contexts. Cartography is a key constituent area of GeoAI, providing the mechanism by which visual exploration, analysis, synthesis, and communication are made possible. In a recent research workshop with 35 academic cartographers from institutions in the U.S., Europe, Australia, and Africa, we fielded 17 talks on emerging research areas in Cartography and AI, and in collaborative activities with participants we developed many new research questions. In this paper we highlight the key themes emerging from our workshop, characterizing ongoing work as well as new challenges that lie at the intersections of Cartography and AI.