{"id":774460,"date":"2026-08-04T06:07:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T13:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=wherenext&p=774460"},"modified":"2026-08-04T06:07:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T13:07:17","slug":"ai-geospatial-data-trust","status":"publish","type":"wherenext","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/ai-geospatial-data-trust","title":{"rendered":"Trusting Data: New Guardrails for the AI Era"},"author":501,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1741,200462,19272],"department":[476822],"wherenext-category":[],"industry":[],"class_list":["post-774460","wherenext","type-wherenext","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-ai","tag-business-strategy","tag-geospatial-data","department-data-and-ai"],"acf":{"short_description":"A Deloitte report cautions business execs to slow down and assess the data feeding AI outputs. ","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"When economic circumstances change often and dramatically, the promise of faster answers can be intoxicating to a business leader. It\u2019s no wonder, then, that 60 percent of executives regularly use AI to support their decisions, according to Deloitte<\/a>."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Left","content":"Snapshot:<\/strong> AI\u2019s ability to deliver quick answers creates a quandary for business executives: Take the fast answer or take time to vet the data first?","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"AI can rearrange a delivery network when a supplier goes offline due to a natural disaster or tariff restrictions. It can analyze satellite imagery to reveal local economies that will experience outsize growth in coming years. And AI can calculate revenue forecasts for a business expanding into new markets.\r\n\r\nBut the answers executives receive are only as good as the underlying data, Deloitte warns.\r\n\r\nThat puts a new premium on good data, and in today\u2019s business climate, that often means geospatial data.\r\n

When Every Almond Counts, More Geospatial Data Is Needed\u00a0 <\/strong><\/h3>\r\nFor the everyday AI user, chatbot answers drawn from bad data might not lead to measurable consequences. But for a business executive, the financial and reputational stakes are often high.\r\n\r\nWhen a forecast overestimated the 2025 harvest<\/a> of California almonds by hundreds of millions of pounds, the price for growers dropped overnight by close to 20 percent. The miscue had ripple effects on the finances of farmers, suppliers, and investors.\r\n\r\nThey deserved a far better guess.\r\n\r\nNow, industry players are working toward a more accurate forecast that uses up-to-date information on how many acres of almond orchards\u2014among the 1.5 million acres statewide\u2014are producing this season, as well as the age and location of each. Both factors can affect how much is produced.\r\n\r\nAI trained on satellite imagery can detect crop varieties and changes<\/a> with stunning accuracy. Geographic information system (GIS) technology employs such techniques to produce reliable geospatial data, delivering trusted answers to executives when sizable investments are on the line.\r\n

A Trusted Input, Ready for the AI Era<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nAI gets smarter as its access to data increases. But volume alone doesn\u2019t yield good results\u2014reliable<\/em> data is the bedrock.\r\n\r\nDeloitte advises executives to validate and govern data thoroughly\u2014affirming where it came from, how it was altered, and whether its conclusions can be independently verified. That process is key to establishing the integrity of forecasts and models that drive decisions.\r\n\r\nAcross the business world, geospatial data has become a trusted input in strategic planning."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Left","content":"Related Read:<\/strong>\r\n\r\n\/\/ What are you inferring<\/a>?","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"A homebuilder spending billions to construct thousands of homes<\/a> relies on GIS analysis to build in the right locations\u2014a more nuanced challenge than one might expect. Geospatial data reveals where downsizing retirees are looking for smaller homes, and where a sandwich generation (adults caring for their parents and young children) needs larger houses to suit its lifestyle. By combining spatial insight from inside and outside the organization, the company\u2019s GIS professionals created a data source executives can rely on.\r\n\r\nDeloitte\u2019s report serves as a warning to business leaders who make decisions based on AI without pausing to question the data at its core. GIS teams have long known the value of verifying data\u2014the critical but often thankless task of creating a geospatial foundation on which a business makes strategic decisions.\r\n\r\nNow in the AI era, their work\u2014and the data they manage\u2014is more important than ever.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nRead more about AI in business in this <\/em>Forbes article<\/em><\/a>.<\/em>"}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"\nQuick AI Answers, Questionable Data Inputs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"AI\u2019s ability to quickly answer strategic questions raises one key challenge\u2014how good is the data?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/ai-geospatial-data-trust\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trusting Data: New Guardrails for the AI Era\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"AI\u2019s ability to quickly answer strategic questions raises one key challenge\u2014how good is the data?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/ai-geospatial-data-trust\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Esri\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2026\/08\/trust-in-data-calls-for-guardrails-in-ai-era-card-826x465-1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Esri\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/ai-geospatial-data-trust\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/ai-geospatial-data-trust\",\n\t \"name\": \"Quick AI Answers, Questionable Data Inputs\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2026-08-04T13:07:17+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"AI\u2019s ability to quickly answer strategic questions raises one key challenge\u2014how good is the data?\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/ai-geospatial-data-trust#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/ai-geospatial-data-trust\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/ai-geospatial-data-trust#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"Trusting Data: New Guardrails for the AI Era\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Esri\",\n\t \"description\": \"Esri Newsroom\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/b890389919572d29641d24fc67eaf376\",\n\t \"name\": \"Chris Chiappinelli\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Esri-Chris_Chiappinelli_540x540.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Esri-Chris_Chiappinelli_540x540.jpg\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Chris Chiappinelli\"\n\t },\n\t \"description\": \"Chris Chiappinelli is the editor of Esri\u2019s WhereNext magazine. 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