Every week here at Geo Week News, we have been highlighting some of our favorite stories from around the internet that cover the geospatial, 3D, and AEC industries. Whether it’s a fascinating case study, insights from an industry thought leader, or deep dives into new tools, there is never any shortage of great writing and storytelling in this industry. So, below you can find links to three stories that we loved this week.
Geographers Aren’t Going Anywhere
Trisalyn Nelson | Santa Barbara Independent
Earlier this month, Microsoft released a report that caught a lot of attention online, providing a list of industries that they believe will be made obsolete by advances in artificial intelligence. Among the professions found on that list was geographer. In this article, professional geographer Trisalyn Nelson pours cold water on the idea that these professionals can be easily replaced by AI, noting the complex work done by these professionals and the growing importance of this knowledge. It’s only going to be more important, not something to be automated, she argues.
The Story Behind FLOODTRACZ, Woolpert’s Machine Learning Flood Prediction Model
Arash Karimzadeh | Woolpert
As the effects of climate change continue to show up all over the world in different ways, dealing with flooding is one of the most important jobs of local public safety and government organizations. The good news on this front is that technology is making the preparation much easier, thanks to improved simulation capabilities. In this article, Karimzadeh looks at Woolpert’s FLOODTRACZ, their machine learning flood prediction model.
IBM and NASA Develop a Digital Twin of the Sun to Predict Future Solar Storms
Fernanda Gonzalez | WIRED
Our coverage of digital twins generally pertains to physical structures here on Earth, so this story is a bit out of our wheelhouse but interesting nonetheless. Using vast amounts of data collected by NASA, IBM has partnered with the space agency to create a digital twin of the sun. They anticipate many predictive uses for this, and stress that it can be used by a number of different fields, not just heliophysics.
