Transformation and Reconstruction of Geography Education Empowered by AI Technology

The rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has enhanced the teaching efficiency of geography education and broadened the channels of knowledge dissemination. It has also profoundly impacted traditional teaching models, assessment systems, and talent cultivation objectives. To address this challenge,this study integrates the teaching practices and research insights of scholars from multiple universities. It systematically analyzes the in-depth impacts of AI on geography education and its unique disciplinary characteristics, explores AI-driven transformation paths, and summarizes the core consensus as follows. First, geography education, which integrates the rigor of natural science with humanistic values, is entering a critical period of transformation driven by AI. Although AI can be leveraged to improve teaching efficiency, expand practical scenarios, and optimize personalized teaching, it is essential to clarify the instrumental role of AI and avoid the risks caused such as overreliance, the erosion of students' skills, diminished critical thinking, and ethical concerns. Second, the core competitiveness of geography education lies in spatial thinking, place perception, dialectical analysis, and humanistic spirit—none of which AI can replace. The key to transformation is to adopt the new model of "technology empowerment + competence orientation + integration of virtual and real practice." This approach strengthen students' understanding of natural laws and practical operation capabilities, cultivate their systematic thinking and empirical literacy, enhance their humanistic qualities, enable geography to solidify its roots while embracing frontier technologies. Third, geography educators must transform from knowledge transmitters into mentors and educational practitioners. By redesigning the curriculum system and reforming the teaching evaluation mechanism, they can guide students from "being able to use AI" to "being good at using AI," cultivating compound geography talents with technical literacy, humanistic awareness, spatial thinking, and innovative capabilities.