NEWS
The 14th ISDE International Lectures, themed "Harnessing the Power of Generative AI in GIScience”, successfully took place on 21 January 2025. This event brought together leading experts in the field of GIScience to explore the diverse applications of Generative AI in understanding human-environment interactions, disaster management, and the development of next-generation GIS systems.
Dr. Yuhao Kang delivered a presentation titled "Human-Centered Generative AI for Advancing Sense of Place." He emphasized the importance of integrating human experiences and perceptions into geospatial data science. Dr. Kang showed how Generative AI can be used to enhance the understanding of human-environment interactions by translating auditory perceptions into visual images through a novel "Soundscape-to-Image" model. This approach aims to bridge the gap between auditory and visual place perceptions, providing a more comprehensive understanding of human-environment interactions.
Dr. Yingjie Hu presented on "Generative AI, GIScience, and Disaster Management." He discussed the transformative role of Generative AI in improving the disaster response and mitigation efforts. Dr. Hu highlighted the importance of real-time, high-resolution data in disaster management and showed how AI models can be used to extract location descriptions from social media messages during natural disasters. His research demonstrated the potential of geo-knowledge-guided GPT models to improve the accuracy of location extraction, thereby enhancing disaster-response efforts.
Dr. Zhenlong Li presented on "Autonomous GIS: The Next-Generation AI-Powered GIS." He introduced the concept of the Autonomous GIS, which leverages advanced AI technologies to create intelligent and adaptive geospatial systems. Dr. Li showcased a prototype called LLM-Geo that uses large language models to automate spatial data collection, analysis, and visualisation. The system demonstrated its ability to retrieve human mobility data and visualise trends, highlighting the potential of Autonomous GIS to revolutionise spatial analysis and decision-making processes.
The event was moderated by Dr. Zhenlong Li from the Pennsylvania State University and attracted over 3,400 participants from around the world through platforms such as Zoom and the ISDE Bilibili channel.
The ISDE International Lectures are organized by the International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE) and supported by the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS). It is a series of online events which feature invited lectures by well-known international experts in the field of Digital Earth. The event will invite speakers to give lectures every two months. The purpose of the events is to bring international scholars in the relevant research fields of Digital Earth together to exchange academic perspectives, share research results, and disseminate the most cutting-edge and authoritative concept of Digital Earth.
