Real spatial data instead of halucinated maps

Ingrid Vanden Berghe, one of the speakers at the International Spatial Data Conference and Excom member of the European branch of the UN Experts on Global Geoinformation Management (UN-GGIM: Europe), draws attention to the human aspect of the development of spatial data infrastructures. In a short interview ahead of the conference, we asked her what makes professional collaboration work well, what opportunities a closer link between spatial data and IT might hold, and how tasks might be shared between humans and artificial intelligence in the future.

What has been the most valuable lesson learned in developing your country’s National Spatial Data Infrastructure including its institutional, regulatory and collaborative aspects?

The most important factor for success is people wanting to serve others so they can be successful.

What makes cooperation successful in the geospatial sector?

An attitude where you take the blame for failure if needed but leave the praise for success to the people really doing something with your geospatial data and infrastructure

What do you see as the biggest challenge in making geospatial data more accessible and widely reusable?

The ignorance in the mainstream IT about geospatial data and its specific requirements and the power it contains to unlocking big data messes

How will AI shape the geospatial sector in the coming years?

We have to make sure AI answers geospatial issues with real geospatial data and not with fabulated maps. This means we have to find ways to make AI consume geodata without deforming it, and we have to prepare our own data accordingly

What is the key message you would like to share and discuss with the audience in Budapest?

AI can take over functions where it is better than humans, so humans can focus on the domains where thinking and ethical judgment matter.