Navigating GeoAI: Feminist Critiques for Information Professionals

The burgeoning integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly its generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and geospatial artificial intelligence (GeoAI) applications, is fundamentally transforming Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and, consequently, the professional landscape of map and geospatial libraries. While these technologies offer unprecedented capabilities for data analysis, visualization, and content creation, their widespread adoption introduces a complex array of social and ethical challenges that necessitate critical examination by library professionals. Aligning with the broader feminist critique of positivist science practices that typically dominate GIS methodologies and using feminist theory, this paper critically reflects on the social and ethical implications of GeoAI and GenAI within map and geospatial library contexts. It draws upon a review of existing literature in feminist geography, critical cartography, and AI ethics, alongside insights derived from professional practice. A central tenet of this reflection is the recognition that, much like the historically contested fields of cartography and geography, GeoAI and GenAI is a feminist issue. This critical lens reveals that both cartography/geography and GeoAI/GenAI present similar opportunities for embedding and perpetuating societal biases and systems of domination within spatial representations. This can be seen through the ways in which GeoAI/GenAI perpetuate hierarchies, restricting access and agency based on race, class, gender, and sexuality. Through critical reflection, this paper aims to equip map and geospatial library professionals with the theoretical and pedagogical exploration of feminist geospatial ethics. It seeks to foster a deeper understanding of librarians’ social and ethical obligations in an increasingly AI-driven geospatial information environment, thereby empowering them to navigate these complexities responsibly and ensure the realization of GeoAI and GenAI’s relationship with systems of oppression.