Dr. Melanie A Sutton

In 2024, Google rolled out AI Overviews, placing an AI chatbot in front of every user during Google searches. Given the public's awareness of these AI tools, it is important for public health professionals to incorporate these tools into their data visualization workflows to create effective visualizations for public-facing communications.
Compare methods for effective priming of AI tools to generate improvement suggestions for created maps. Demonstrate tips and tricks to attain the full potential of AI tools in the map-making process for epidemiological data. The Department of Public Health formed a multidisciplinary faculty/student team to explore the capabilities of a suite of AI tools in designing and evaluating epidemiological maps derived from data coded at country, state, city, and census tract-level levels. Representative data sets included variables for crime, disease occurrence, and medical testing facility locations.
Strategies for effectively using Chat GPT 3.5 and Google Gemini were developed based on several map types created by faculty and students using Google Geo Charts or Excel 3D Maps. Tips for priming AI tools in the process of designing and interpreting public-facing epidemiological maps to ensure equity and accessibility were created, alongside guidance on recognizing AI hallucinations.
Epidemiological data is commonly visualized with publicly distributed maps, and utilizing AI tools in the map-making process will ensure thorough, well-designed displays. Incorporating AI tools into data visualization workflows provides students, faculty, and public health professionals with additional foundational knowledge to ensure generated maps contribute to building trust in public health.