Synthetic geospatial data and fake geography: A case study on the implications of AI-derived data in a data-intensive society
This paper presents a case study that aims to analyze and compare original and synthetic geospatial data at the intra-urban scale. The goal is to explore the potential implications of the spread of synthetic data in scenarios where geospatial data are essential for decoding socio-spatial changes and...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Digital Geography and Society |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666378324000308 |
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| author | Antonello Romano |
| author_facet | Antonello Romano |
| author_sort | Antonello Romano |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper presents a case study that aims to analyze and compare original and synthetic geospatial data at the intra-urban scale. The goal is to explore the potential implications of the spread of synthetic data in scenarios where geospatial data are essential for decoding socio-spatial changes and where Geo-visualization is pivotal for spatial decision support. The methodology is based on a) the production of a synthetic dataset and b) the evaluation of the spatial similarity with the original one. Specifically, we employ a synthetic data provider, namely Mostly.AI, alongside geospatial data related to Airbnb listings in Florence, Italy. Results show which criticalities are linked to AI-derived data compared to the original ones, highlighting crucial spatial similarities and dissimilarities. Finally, the work critically discusses the broader societal implications of the widespread online synthetic data platforms, exploring the impacts of such a technological (re)evolution in a data-intensive society. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bf09f882842047f4a76f26a082b37581 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2666-3783 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Digital Geography and Society |
| spelling | doaj-art-bf09f882842047f4a76f26a082b375812025-08-20T03:25:12ZengElsevierDigital Geography and Society2666-37832025-06-01810010810.1016/j.diggeo.2024.100108Synthetic geospatial data and fake geography: A case study on the implications of AI-derived data in a data-intensive societyAntonello Romano0Corresponding author.; Department of Civilizations and Forms of Knowledge, University of Pisa, Pisa, ItalyThis paper presents a case study that aims to analyze and compare original and synthetic geospatial data at the intra-urban scale. The goal is to explore the potential implications of the spread of synthetic data in scenarios where geospatial data are essential for decoding socio-spatial changes and where Geo-visualization is pivotal for spatial decision support. The methodology is based on a) the production of a synthetic dataset and b) the evaluation of the spatial similarity with the original one. Specifically, we employ a synthetic data provider, namely Mostly.AI, alongside geospatial data related to Airbnb listings in Florence, Italy. Results show which criticalities are linked to AI-derived data compared to the original ones, highlighting crucial spatial similarities and dissimilarities. Finally, the work critically discusses the broader societal implications of the widespread online synthetic data platforms, exploring the impacts of such a technological (re)evolution in a data-intensive society.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666378324000308Artificial intelligenceSynthetic geospatial dataGeoAIAI-urbanismFake geography |
| spellingShingle | Antonello Romano Synthetic geospatial data and fake geography: A case study on the implications of AI-derived data in a data-intensive society Digital Geography and Society Artificial intelligence Synthetic geospatial data GeoAI AI-urbanism Fake geography |
| title | Synthetic geospatial data and fake geography: A case study on the implications of AI-derived data in a data-intensive society |
| title_full | Synthetic geospatial data and fake geography: A case study on the implications of AI-derived data in a data-intensive society |
| title_fullStr | Synthetic geospatial data and fake geography: A case study on the implications of AI-derived data in a data-intensive society |
| title_full_unstemmed | Synthetic geospatial data and fake geography: A case study on the implications of AI-derived data in a data-intensive society |
| title_short | Synthetic geospatial data and fake geography: A case study on the implications of AI-derived data in a data-intensive society |
| title_sort | synthetic geospatial data and fake geography a case study on the implications of ai derived data in a data intensive society |
| topic | Artificial intelligence Synthetic geospatial data GeoAI AI-urbanism Fake geography |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666378324000308 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT antonelloromano syntheticgeospatialdataandfakegeographyacasestudyontheimplicationsofaideriveddatainadataintensivesociety |