Te Kete o Karaitiana Taiuru (Blog)

I was interviewed to contribute a Māori perspective to the The Artificial Intelligence Forum of New Zealand (AIFNZ) inaugural report. It appears as though only my statement was published with no acknowledgements.

In the whole report Māori is only considered in the  Part Three: AI and Society, Artificial Intelligence Shaping a Future New Zealand. The quote is below.

New Zealand should also consider AI in the context of its cultural heritage. Our research involved speaking with Māori leaders who are  technology advisors and protectors of Matauranga Māori. Like New Zealand in general, the Māori perspective of AI is fragmented with little awareness or consensus about AI. Knowledge is important in Māori culture and data holds the same significance as knowledge. Storage, ownership, access and security of data are essential topics for AI discussions. Language and verbal communication are also vital to Māori. AI can potentially benefit Māori language revitalisation, for example Northland radio station Te Hiku Radio is creating language tools that will enable speech recognition and natural language processing of Te Reo Māori.

Culture also requires context, in that what is important to some won’t impact all. From a Māori perspective, everything has a life
force (Mauri) and AI has its own particular Mauri. However, for the Iwi, our research participants said that there are no real cultural considerations as the Iwi operate in the same manner as any commercial business so their concerns will be similar to the private sector.

Māori will need active engagement in discussions regarding AI in New Zealand, particularly in relation to the societal implications
of AI as they are likely to be overrepresented in roles that may be affected by AI driven change.

From an Indigenous perspective my contribution was overall represented above. The interviewer I believe, missed part of the discussion about mauri. . But briefly, we need to consider that taking a mauri from a recording, photo or even a DNA sample and inputting it into AI will likely be beneficial to Māori culture, there are some cautions with tikanga.

The report does highlight the need for Iwi to discuss AI and plan for the wide implications to employment and commercial opportunities, the environment and social changes that will dramatically change with AI and how best to not remain in the negative statistics that we are always associated with. This is a chance for Māori to be leaders in Artificial Intelligence and create a prosperous future.

Whānau and individuals need to consider the implications to their daily needs, cultural implications and careers.