Adam Simmons sees some warning signs for geographers and the geospatial industry after watching the archives of the American Geographical Society’s 2025 Symposium (see the YouTube playlist).

The event, held back in November at Columbia University under the banner Geography 2050: The Future of GeoAI, was meant to be a victory lap. It was billed as the moment the “science of where” finally merged with the “science of artificial intelligence” to save the planet.

But viewing the footage now, in the cold, gray light of early 2026, the recordings feel less like a conference proceeding and more like the flight data recorder of a crash we should have seen coming.

Among other things: a disconnect between industry and academia, the loss of geography departments, and above all, multiple disruptions, threats and harms from AI.