Bondarenko, E. L., Dudun, T. V. Modern Challenges of the Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools in the Learning of Cartography and Geoinformatics Specialists in Ukraine

The article is devoted to identifying contemporary challenges associated with the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and to evaluating their impact on the development of professional competencies in the training of students majoring in cartography and geoinformatics at institutions of higher education in Ukraine. To this end, the authors have examined existing classifications of AI tools based on various criteria and formulated a set of essential requirements that such tools must fulfill to effectively address industry-specific tasks. For the purpose of grouping AI tools applicable to professionally oriented tasks in cartography and geoinformatics, the authors adopted the criterion of their relation to the functionality of software products capable of automating various cartographic processes through the application of AI technologies. Three classes of AI tools were delineated: tools embedded within software products employing fixed algorithms that yield predictable results; tools integrated into software products capable of learning, thereby generating both predictable and unpredictable outcomes; tools independent of specific software products, which facilitate the processing of spatial data and produce outcomes that may be unpredictable. To identify the list of current challenges associated with the use of AI tools in cartography and geoinformatics, the general criteria for categorizing their impact on the higher education process (automation; opening up new opportunities; personalization; forecasting; and expanding the categories of applicants) were taken into account and subsequently adapted and expanded by the authors in accordance with the specific focus of educational and scientific tasks. Four principal groups of challenges pertaining to the deployment of AI tools in cartography and geoinformatics within Ukraine were identified: ethical, organizational, substantive, and technological challenges. The potential adverse effects of these challenges on the preparation of contemporary industry specialists were assessed by means of a normalized cumulative histogram. The assessment employed the following indicators: social segregation; insufficient development of emotional intelligence; decline in analytical thinking; concerns regarding the marginalization or replacement of professionals in performing specialized tasks; incomplete understanding of the nature and potential of AI tools; unpredictability of outcomes; excessive dependence on technological solutions; and the absence of robust mechanisms to ensure integrity, respect, accountability, and responsibility. Additionally, the questionnaire incorporated an item regarding the improbable negative impact of AI tools across the entirety of these indicators. The findings indicate that as practitioners gain experience in employing AI tools to address professional tasks, the associated negative effects are markedly diminished, and such tools become an integral component of the competency framework requisite for contemporary cartography and geoinformatics professionals. The objective of the study was attained through the application of an appropriate methodological framework comprising methods of analysis, synthesis, classification, induction, deduction, comparison, and evaluation, all of which were integrated within a systematic approach to facilitate a comprehensive examination of diverse aspects pertaining to the implementation of modern AI tools. The scientific contribution of this research consists of the fact that, for the first time, the contemporary challenges related to the utilization of AI tools have been systematized and classified in accordance with their relation to the functionality of software products designed to automate various cartographic processes within the context of training future specialists in cartography and geoinformatics in Ukraine.