Te Kete o Karaitiana Taiuru (Blog)

Māori and First Nations Australia musicians views of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

New Zealand and Australian musicians were surveyed about their views of Artificial Intelligence and its impacts on their music, in addition Māori and Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders were segmented out creating a unique Indigenous Peoples perspective of AI and their music.

The report AI and Music market development of AI in the music sector and impact on music creators in Australia and New Zealand. August 2024 was commissioned by APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association Limited (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS).

For the purposes of this article, I offer comparative observations of the Māori and of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander musicians views, who were a part of the survey.

There were 38 Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders and 53 Māori musicians surveyed about their views of AI and its impact to their music and cultural protections of traditional knowledge with music.

Some key general findings of music creators that Māori and other Indigenous Peoples should also be aware of in addition to cultural issues include:

  • 65% think that the risks of AI use outweigh its possible opportunities
  • 82% are concerned that the use of AI in music could lead to music creators no longer being able to make a living from their work
  • 83% agree that due to the increase in AI-generated work, issues around visibility and discoverability of songs on steaming platforms is increasingly important
  • 88% believe that music made by humans should be promoted on streaming platforms
  • 23% of music creators’ revenues by 2028 will be at risk due to generative AI, projecting an estimated cumulative total damage of over half a billion NZD ($572 million).
  • 54%  agree that AI technology can assist the human creative process, with Australian and New Zealand songwriters/composers being early adopters.
  • 82% are concerned that the use of AI in music could lead to them no longer being able to make a living from their work.
  • 97% demand that policymakers should pay more attention to the challenges related to AI and copyright.
  • 38% have used AI in their work with music while 27% refuse to.
  • 97% demand that AI providers should be obliged to disclose when they use copyrighted works as training data.
  • 95% claim that copyright holders must be asked for permission before their works are used as input for AI systems.
  • 97% demand that policymakers should pay more attention to the challenges related to AI and copyright.

There is an overall concern by both Indigenous Peoples and non Indigenous Peoples that Artificial Intelligence impact music creators in a negative manner and that some form of regulation needs to protect the creators from AI. These overall concerns reflect Indigenous Peoples of Australia and New Zealand.


 

AI can create more opportunities for Indigenous people musicians.

38% of Māori and 36% of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander musicians disagreed with the above statement.

19% of Māori and 30% of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander musicians agree with the statement.

17% of Māori and 34% of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander musicians didn’t know.

 

There is no clear message here apart from the facts that both Māori and Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders were largely in unison with their concerns and protection mechanisms.

All expressed concerns of cultural misappropriation of music and art which could devalue traditional knowledge and take income and knowledge away from traditional knowledge holders.

AI could create opportunities in the music industry by automating tasks, enhancing creativity, and providing access to production tools. But overall, Indigenous Peoples wanted to be more involved with AI in the music industry and to provide better education to AI users in order to protect their knowledge.

Māori musicians were particularly concerned with AI loosing or distorting nuances of Māori songs and protocols.

This reflects the same concerns many Māori language speakers have with AI and the usage of Māori language.

 

Does using AI in music creation make it harder for artists to protect their cultural rights?

67% of Māori and 67% of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander musicians agreed with the above statement.

8% of Māori and 11% of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander musicians disagreed with the above statement.

8% of Māori and 22% of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander musicians didn’t know.

 

This shows a clear majority of Indigenous Peoples have concerns.

Collectively it was noted that AI often uses information without consent, making cultural content accessible to non Indigenous Peoples causing disrespect, financial losses, and mistrust, hindering the ability to protect their Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property. Concerns were also raised that the public might not distinguish between authentic cultural works and AI generated content that could devalue culture and create confusion about copyright.

In New Zealand at the moment, the same conversations are occurring within the Māori arts communities and within the Māori Trademarks Advisory Committee of the Intelectual Property Office. The primary issue is that Copyright laws need to catch up and recognise AI as a creator of arts, including music.

Indigenous Peoples should decide how to use AI with indigenous sounds and music, so as to protect their traditional knowledge and integrity.

Engaging authentically with Māori takes time. AI removes this step, which makes it desirable in the
commercial space, but it removes the strength of whakawhanaungatanga that Māori musicians bring
to the arts sector as a whole”.

 

Can the use of AI lead to cultural appropriation and/or misuse of cultural properties?

The questions differed slightly between the two Indigenous Peoples. Māori were asked specifically about the misuse of Taonga Puoro, while  Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders were asked a general question.

 

76% of Māori and 89% of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander musicians agreed with the above statement.

1o% of Māori and 5% of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander musicians disagreed with the above statement.

4% of Māori and 6% of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander musicians didn’t know.

 

Overwhelmingly Māori and Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders have concerns about AI and the protection of both traditional knowledge and their music.

It was noted that AI scrapes the web for Data with little respect for Indigenous peoples consent or cultural protocols leading to
cultural misunderstandings and harming traditional music. Some respondents see AI as beneficial if used by Indigenous people for specific purposes, like creating projects and sharing stories.

Several respondents emphasized that the impact of AI depends on who uses the cultural information and how. With AI misuse already occurring, they suggested artists learn to use AI to gain control and called for standards and regulations to limit misuse and appropriation.

Respondents emphasised the importance of appropriate research of material. According to them, a lack of accessible data for Māori music within AI applications can lead to inappropriate use without the necessary safeguards in place.

 

We are already hearing our instruments in AI music, but what is the whakapapa of those sounds? We don’t know
what data has been used to create them. If we could control the whakapapa, it may be different. But if we can’t? We, and
people who are using AI outside of our community, are making uninformed decisions that are culturally and
spiritually unsafe. We are [also] seeing a lot of ‘Pasifika soup’ or even ‘indigenous soup’; where AI creates sounds
with a wider pool of data using other related idioms or music traditions to find those sounds. But who gave the
permission for the creation of this whakapapa? To create whakapapa, consent is crucial. Without consent, raruraru
eventually finds its way out into the open.”

 

How important is it for the Guardians or Owners of Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property to be able to handle copyrights violations by AI?

78% of Māori and 89% of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander musicians agreed with the above statement.

8% of Māori and 3% of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander musicians disagreed with the above statement.

12% of Māori and 8% of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander musicians were neutral.

2% of Māori didn’t know.

 

The need to opt out and remove Indigenous knowledge from AI was emphasised and the critical need to manage AI copyright
violation and to recognise the Indigenous Peoples as the rightful owners of their knowledge. A clear statement that there must be more collaboration between tech companies and Indigenous Peoples.

The overall feedback in the two previous questions gives further justification to the need to update both New Zealand and Australian copyright laws, respecting and acknowledging The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

 

Do you think the use of AI technology affects the ability for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music creators and their communities to make well-informed decisions?

61% agree with the statement. 8% disagreed while 31% didn’t know.

Limited access to technology and the internet in certain regions could hinder these communities’ decision making abilities. However, some respondents see AI as having the potential to benefit these communities without compromising their autonomy.

AI can provide artists with tools to enhance their creative and business outputs, and some believe Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have sufficient access to AI and should actively learn more about it. Additionally, AI could improve knowledge about cultural content and legal advice. One respondent noted that isolation and limited access to technology in certain areas could protect ICIP by preventing AI interference.

While some refrained from commenting due to a lack of knowledge about AI, perspectives varied based on age. Older generations might avoid AI, whereas younger individuals may embrace it. Additionally, one respondent chose not to comment due to a lack of direct experience with these communities.

 

Q. Can you see any future challenges or benefits for Māori musicians that would occur from the use of AI?

2% of Māori mainly saw benefits while 13% mainly challenges. 48% saw both challenges and benefits wile 20% didn’t know.

AI models are trained from easily available information. The information that is most available to
train from, has been historically narrow minded toward Māori, and conditional on external political
motivations.”

There is likely an age variation here as was noted in the previous question. My observations to date are that younger Māori (40 years and younger) have the attitude to use AI for everything with little concerns about traditional knowledge and values. This question would have benefited greatly with an age analysis.

But I do agree with the majority and again I state my common analogy “Māori are at a crossroads with Artificial Intelligence; Status quo or Decolonise and Empower”. Māori are literally the navigators of their own futures with AI.

 

Q: Do you think the use of AI technology affects the ability for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music creators and their communities to make well-informed decisions?

61% agree,  8% disagree and 31% don’t know.

Limited access to technology and the internet in certain regions could hinder these communities’ decision making
abilities. However, some respondents see AI as having the potential to benefit these communities without
compromising their autonomy. AI can provide artists with tools to enhance their creative and business outputs, and some believe Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have sufficient access to AI and should actively learn more about it. Additionally, AI could improve knowledge about cultural content and legal advice.

One respondent noted that isolation and limited access to technology in certain areas could protect Indigenous knowledge by preventing AI interference.

The above statement is very true and a lesson for all Indigenous Peoples. We have already seen the widespread Intelectual Property theft and misappropriation caused when traditional knowledge has been digitised and put on the web. Once AI scrapes this data, Indigenous knowledge is more vulnerable.

While some refrained from commenting due to a lack of knowledge about AI, perspectives varied based on age. Older generations might avoid AI, whereas younger individuals may embrace it.

Age is a common theme in this and other Indigenous related AI discussions. This is perhaps an opportunity for older generations and knowledge holders to discuss with younger generations the impacts of colonisation and loss of traditional knowledge and to find some common ground in the middle.

 

Conclusion

Among musicians in Australia and New Zealand and their Indigenous Peoples, there is wide spread concerns about the current and potential future cultural appropriation cause by Artificial Intelligence. It is likely that the younger generations of Indigenous Peoples will use AI to enhance their music, but also the possibility that we might see a new genre of AI generated Indigenous Peoples music and sounds using traditional instruments.

The use of AI technology must respect cultural integrity and uphold basic principles of consent, credit and fairness. In regard to toi Māori (the arts), Māori want to be involved in AI development and ensure that AI systems support and enhance their creativity while protecting indigenous cultural heritage.“ Dame Hinewehi Mohi DNZM ManukuraPuoroMāori/Director of Māori Membership.

The lack of regulation internationally, but specifically in New Zealand and Australia is making the music industry vulnerable and Indigenous Peoples traditional knowledge is increasingly becoming vulnerable to the usage of AI.

There is a widespread need for new regulation and protection mechanisms for all music artists to be able to govern the usage of their music with AI. In particular the cultural nuances risk being lost with AI and being able to differentiate between human and AI generated music and art is a serious risk.

 

The original source report “AI and Music market development of AI in the music sector and impact on music creators in Australia and New Zealand. August 2024′. 

DISCLAIMER: This post is the personal opinion of Dr Karaitiana Taiuru and is not reflective of the opinions of any organisation that Dr Karaitiana Taiuru is a member of or associates with, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

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