Submit a Manuscript to the Journal
International Journal of Geographical Information Science
For a Special Issue on
Ethics in Geospatial AI and Data Science
Abstract deadline
Manuscript deadline
Special Issue Editor(s)
Shaowen Wang,
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA
[email protected]
Peter Kedron,
UC Santa Barbara, USA
[email protected]
Peter T. Darch,
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA
[email protected]
Ethics in Geospatial AI and Data Science
Synopsis
A host of ethical and governance issues arise when using geospatial artificial intelligence (AI) and data science for research, policy, and other purposes. These include questions concerning privacy, consent, bias, equity, assessment of benefits and harms, transparency, data sovereignty, and integrity in research practices and AI algorithm use. New AI developments introduce additional ethical concerns, such as misuse, hallucinations, the perpetuation of stereotypes, and trust resulting from the surging popularity of Large Language Models. Recent efforts, such as the GeoEthics Initiative of the American Association of Geographers (AAG) and the accompanying revision of the AAG’s statement of professional ethics, have brought increased attention to these concerns. However, many questions remain unanswered, and the lack of ethical guidance presents a significant challenge for researchers and practitioners seeking to use geospatial AI and data science to advance scientific knowledge and support decision-making.
This special issue seeks to address this gap in the literature by expanding on the rich tradition of ethics-focused research in geographic information science. We invite manuscripts across a wide range of topics for consideration in this special issue. Contributions may address, but are not limited to, examinations of:
- Geospatial representation and bias in AI and data science
- Privacy and consent in the development and use of geospatial AI and data science
- Governance of geospatial AI
- Environmental impacts of geospatial AI
- Frameworks and tools for guiding the ethical creation and use of geospatial AI
- Explainability and accountability of geospatial AI models and datasets
- Critical approaches to geospatial data ethics
- Geospatial data sovereignty
- Applications of non-western approaches to geospatial data ethics
The guest editors welcome submissions from participants in various discussions of ethical issues arising with artificial intelligence in GIScience, such as the GeoEthics Initiative of the American Association of Geographers (AAG) and conference sessions at AAG annual meetings organized by the National Science Foundation Institute for Geospatial Understanding through an Integrative Discovery Environment (I-GUIDE), the Association of Geographic Information Laboratories in Europe (AGILE) conferences, and AI for Good Global Summits.
Submission Instructions
Abstracts should be submitted directly to one of the guest editors via email. Authors of accepted abstracts will be invited to submit full papers, but such invitations do not guarantee eventual acceptance for publication. Full-paper manuscripts, including any support materials, should be submitted using the journal's online Submission Portal site. Authors should select "Geospatial Ethics" from the Special Issue dropdown and should also identify the “Geospatial Ethics” special issue in their cover letter. First-time users must register themselves as authors. Guidelines for submission of full manuscripts can be found in the Instructions for Authors.
International Journal of Geographical Information Science considers all manuscripts on the strict condition that they have been submitted only to the International Journal of Geographical Information Science, that they have not been published already, nor are they under consideration for publication or in press elsewhere. IJGIS exercises double-anonymous peer reviews. Authors should only deposit anonymous manuscripts to online depositories. IJGIS cannot consider manuscripts with author information available online.