I am a fan of geography and related disciplines, one of the careers a younger me was interested in was meteorology.  Instead tech education got me.  However, I now indulge through travel. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming how we understand the world, from predicting climate patterns to planning urban spaces. For geography teachers this offers an exciting opportunity to bridge classroom learning with real-world global issues and to show students how digital tools are shaping the planet.

Recently, during a holiday from England to Morocco , I experienced powerful examples of AI in action, at the airports facial recognition technology was used at border control, this is a process that is becoming increasingly common worldwide, it was efficient, seamless and quite fascinating. This everyday interaction with AI highlighted how technologies once thought futuristic are now part of the geography of movement, security and global infrastructure.  This is a great real world example to use in the classroom, let us continue to look at further examples.

Industry Insight: AI and Global Systems

Since Geography is the study of people, places and the connections between them, we are already seeing other examples of AI usage, such as:

• Climate monitoring – using satellite data and machine learning to predict weather extremes
• Urban planning – use of AI models help design smarter and more sustainable cities
• Disaster response – algorithms are designed and used to assess damage from natural events via drone footage
• Agricultural – is using AI to improve food systems with precision data

These examples make geography deeply relevant to discussions about how AI influences our interconnected world.

Classroom Connection: Bringing AI into Geography Lessons

Having set the scene of AI usage that is linked to geography, let me develop upon this and look at further ways to embed AI conversations into geography teaching:

• Mapping Technologies – introduce pupils to platforms like Google Earth Engine or NASA’s Earth Observatory to explore how satellite imagery is interpreted using AI.
• Facial Recognition and Movement – discuss the use of AI at borders and explore the ethics of surveillance, privacy and global mobility.
• Climate Data Projects – guide pupils through investigating how machine learning models are used to predict floods, droughts or air quality in different regions.
• Migration & AI – use AI-generated datasets to examine patterns of migration and compare them with human stories and political responses.

These enrich lessons and discussions with added cross-curricular themes of ethics, digital citizenship and global responsibility.

Tools and Tips to Get Started

Here are a few tools to help boost your knowledge of what is available

1. Gapminder – an engaging tool for exploring global development data
2. Google Earth Studio – a powerful platform for visual storytelling with satellite data
3. Project Drawdown – a website/tool to help with conversations on climate change

Now I am a fan of discussion and questioning, in lesson encourage pupils to question:

1. Who creates the data?
2. Who controls the models?
3. Whose voices are included or excluded?

These are just a few questions to start those all-important conversations.  Additionally, with the use of digital tools, we have a cross curricular angle, which helps to support digital literacy, critical thinking and careers education, thus showing pupils the roles geographers and data scientists play in shaping the future.

A Reflective Moment

As you go on holiday this summer and many of your pupils may go on holiday, these brief encounters, such as facial recognition at the airport may have seemed routine, but for pupils, it’s a conversation starter and tech in action. For pupils on a staycation, there can also be conversations on AI usage in traffic and travel patterns and summer weather predictions.  There is an opportunity for everyone to see AI through their eyes and experiences.

I would love to hear your thoughts and other examples, please leave a comment.