Indigenous Technology

Description

The Indigenous Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) Working Group is a program focused on the intersection of artificial intelligence and Indigenous knowledge systems. The project’s interdisciplinary team of experts includes 37 co-investigators and collaborators who come from eight universities and 12 Indigenous community-based organizations in Canada, the United States and New Zealand. Most of the team members are Indigenous. They are motivated to expand the definition of intelligence by collaborating with Indigenous communities to integrate their knowledge systems with the AI research and development ecosystem to develop more integrated and practical approaches to building the next generation of A.I. systems.

What Makes it Regenerative?

• enables learning & knowledge sharing
• helps localize
• enables access & participation

Business Model

This project is funded through grants by multiple foundations across Canda, New Zealand, and the United States

Risks & Limitations

• Data access/ ownership/ sovereignty, exploitation or misuse as traditional knowledge is often seen as sacred.
• Data bias: ai systems could inherit biases that further disadvantage indigenous communities.
• Knowledge integration: integrating traditional ecological knowledge, which is often qualitative and narrative-based, with quantitative data used in ai systems may be challenging.
• Accessibility and infrastructure: remote indigenous communities might lack the technical infrastructure or resources required to develop or implement ai solutions.
• Cultural appropriation: there's a risk of ai systems appropriating indigenous knowledge or practices without proper respect or compensation.
• Loss of traditional practices: over-reliance on ai solutions could lead to a decline in the transmission and practice of traditional ecological knowledge within indigenous communities.