On January 17, Central European University hosted an insightful talk as part of OSUN’s Network Collaborative Course, “Introduction to Geospatial Analysis.” The event, titled “AI Everywhere - How Artificial Intelligence is Impacting the Geospatial Industry”, featured digital geographer and ex-Google geospatial expert Ed Parsons.
During the talk, organized by OSUN’s GeoHub project, Parsons shared his knowledge about how artificial intelligence is changing geographic information systems (GIS). He started by talking about his experience in GIS, including his time at Google, where he helped develop tools like Google Maps, Google Map Maker, and Street View. Parsons then broke down AI into its key parts — data analytics, machine learning, neural networks, and deep learning — showing how each one plays a role in geospatial technology. In continuation of the lecture, Parsons discussed the power of AI in converting unstructured data into structured information showing how AI can analyze satellite and street-view images to extract meaningful data, such as detecting landmarks, businesses, and road features.
The event concluded with a lively Q&A session, where Parsons engaged with the audience, answering questions and further elaborating on the profound impact of AI on the future of maps and geospatial technology.