OSM Science 2026

General talk
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Are you involved with academic research related to OpenStreetMap? Come and share it with us! :graduation_cap: :world_map:

:megaphone: Call for OSM Science 2026 :megaphone:

OSM Science 2026, aka the Academic Track of State of the Map, is now accepting submissions!

The 9th edition of OSM Science will be part of the State of the Map 2026 conference, taking place on August 28-30 in Paris (France), where a full day of in-person sessions will be dedicated to scientific research about, and with, OpenStreetMap.

We expect empirical, methodological, conceptual, or literature-review-based contributions addressing any scientific aspect related to OpenStreetMap, in particular, but not limited to:

  • :bar_chart: Data collection, integration and quality analysis in OpenStreetMap;
  • :busts_in_silhouette: Contribution patterns and the human/social dimensions of the OpenStreetMap community;
  • :robot: The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques, generative AI and other applications in which OpenStreetMap plays a central role.
  • :round_pushpin: Studies describing the use of OpenStreetMap data in domain-specific and/or policy-relevant.
  • :globe_showing_europe_africa: Applications and studies that combine OpenStreetMap with authoritative spatial data to enhance analysis, validation, or decision-making.

:spiral_calendar: Deadline for submissions has been extended to Monday 11 of May 2026 23:59:59 UTC. :spiral_calendar:

Find all the information at OSM Science 2026 - Call for Abstracts - State of the Map 2026 Ă— Paris

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(post deleted by author)

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People have been using emoji, bolding text (and throwing in em-dashes, etc) long before LLMs, which is why you get LLMs to them to spit them out so frequently but also why using those as main markers for “bot-generated” is extremely likely to false accuse people. Which is extra ironic if the accusation goes to someone who has actively worked to show how computer vision and machine learning can not be used for reliably mapping in OSM (check the SotM 2024 program).

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These responses are uncalled for.

You are welcomed to join the discussion at OSM Science (the academic track of SotM 2026 in Paris) on the role of OSM in AI and AI-based research if you have doubts about it, or to personally provide constructive comments on phrasing if you think a better style may better serve the purpose.

Comments such as the ones appearing above do not provide anything positive. It might be well advised to consider how your reactions may affect the atmosphere and the feelings of people involved before posting.

As a representative and co-chair of the Scientific Committee organizing OSM Science, I want to emphasize that responding using a personal tone to a message that was made on behalf of the committee is especially unacceptable.

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OK, my constructive suggestion is: try not to look like you’re reposting AI slop optimised to look like vapid HR posts on LinkedIn.

On the subject of tone, this doesn’t read like something posted on behalf of a committee composed of humans. If this is in line with the committee’s style guide then the style guide needs to be updated.

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Because of the tone and style of writing I had assumed that this was a post generated by an LLM after some random 3rd party had been assigned the task of advertising the event.

I was (and still am) genuinely unaware of any role of OSM data in generative AI and hence my initial comment.

I have deleted my original comment as a sign of apology

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I appreciate the chance to have a constructive discussion on this, and we will take into consideration these comments about the style and transparency regarding who is behind this.

For context, the text itself is mostly copied out of the State ot the Map website, and the text there is actually an updated version of the text that has been used for quite a few years (see the 2019 call and 2022 call), and follows common academic-world style.

@TheLNL - thank you for this additional comment. Research involving OSM and GenAI is still evolving. I cannot guarantee, since we are still accepting submissions, but I would expect that some of the talks in OSM Science 2026 will touch upon the subject. I will update once the schedule will be released.

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