We are a boutique company with expertise in AI/Data, Māori Data Sovereignty implementation and Emerging Technologies (Digital and Genetic) Ethics, Māori Intelectual Property Rights and academic research with a niche research interest in critical Indigenous research using kaupapa Māori methodologies.
The company is led by Dr Karaitiana Taiuru. Our edge is that we contract in other specialists on a need to basis ensuring that we can appropriately cater to all work.
While we have a physically office in Christchurch and Wellington, we are happy to meet elsewhere.
In relation to Data and new and emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine learning, Robotics and Māori Data Sovereignty etc., a governance role is to create and use guidelines that advise on the design and outcomes of the technology and their impacts on humans and society.
As a Māori technology governor, in addition to western guidelines, we use tikanga, mātauranga, Māori traditional knowledge (pūrākau) and
their rich philosophical lessons to help explain and guide developments from a Māori perspective. In addition, the guiding
principles of He Whakaputanga, Te Tiriti, WAI 2522 (TPPA Claim), WAI 262 (IP Claim), United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Māori Data Sovereignty Principles and the recent Supreme Court judgement Peter Hugh McGregor Ellis v R [2022] NZSC 115, 07 October 2022 which recognises Tikanga Māori is common law and applicable in the legal system.
By doing this, a Māori world view is considered and there is much less likelihood that there will be bias and discriminatory data and systems outputs that harm Māori.
AI is not a new technology
It is only recently that New Zealand businesses and households are recognising the power of AI and other emerging technologies.
Our current government are promoting the usage of AI in government and the New Zealand Institute of Directors 2023 survey of directors has AI as one of the top 5 priorities for boards. In the USA KPMG found at least 75% of business leaders saw Gen AI as the top 3 emerging technologies in 12-18 months.
The New Zealand Herald recently reported that “the majority of Whangārei businesses are trying out Artificial Intelligence (AI) but are still not entirely comfortable with the rapidly advancing technology.”
DATACOM AI Attitudes in New Zealand research report showed that New Zealand businesses are conscious and concerned about AI ethics and algorithmic bias. 53% of companies have questions around ethics, 50% with AI algorithms reflecting human bias and 82% believe that AI should be legislated.
Why is it important to include Māori governor in the development of AI?
Combining western ethics and Māori traditional knowledge allows Dr Taiuru to write about and practice Māori AI and Data Ethics which are unique to and benefit Māori.
We have seen multiple systems in Education, Health, Corrections, Global warming, Justice etc., all fail Māori as they were designed, implemented and managed by non-Māori to cater to and for Māori.
We have already seen the intergenerational impacts of western views being used to create solutions for Māori including the Native Schools Act, Tohunga Suppression Act, Hunn Report and many other failed initiatives government lead initiatives.
So now terms such as co design are common terms in New Zealand as we have seen intergenerational impacts to Māori due to not co designing. AI and other emerging technologies will be the same without Māori ethics and engagement.
Internationally we have already seen many examples in America where new technologies that are largely created by middle class, white men from middle class backgrounds ignores minorities and in fact is bias and discriminates as the technologies were built and designed in the reflection of their creators (white men) and not reflective of society. For example, facial recognition technologies that could not see People of Colour or interpreted them as a non-human species, false facial matches by Police with People of Colour leading to innocent people being shot, killed and arrested.
Historically, the first major technological discrimination was the introduction of the Internet and the digital divide. The heavy reliance on it for Education, despite Māori statistically not having access to the Internet. Then the Harmful Digital Communications Act, that was to provide safety for people online had little or no Māori consultation or ethical considerations resulting in Māori being overrepresented as online victims. One more example, the government created an Algorithm charter to protect New Zealanders with algorithms, again with little or no Māori ethical consideration. The result was a Charter that could be used to discriminate against Māori by simply claiming ignorance.
It is also widely acknowledged that technologies such as AI will create a new ‘industrial revolution’. Some say it has already started. As New Zealanders and companies that operate in New Zealand, we all have a commitment to the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi which include:
- “Māori self-determination and mana motuhake in the design, delivery, and monitoring of new systems that will impact on Māori society and individuals.
- Equity which requires the Crown to commit to achieving equitable outcomes for Māori
- Active protection, which requires the Crown to act, to the fullest extent practicable, to achieve equitable outcomes for Māori.
- Options which require the Crown to ensure services adn products are provided in a culturally appropriate
- Partnership, which requires the Crown and Māori to work in partnership in the governance, design, delivery, and monitoring of new technologies.
About Dr Dr Karaitiana Taiuru JP, MInstD.
Primary Iwi affiliations: Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Toa.
A distinguished career at the helm of Taiuru & Associates Ltd and as a professional governor with a myriad of sectors including as a recognised Māori Intelectual Property expert, my focus is on the integration of AI and data governance and authoritative Critical Indigenous Research with organisations. Spearheading initiatives that resonate with indigenous and Māori methodologies, my work bridges traditional knowledge and cutting-edge technology, ensuring cultural values are upheld in digital landscapes while implementing recognised international best practices.
As Chair of Kāhui Māori at AI Forum NZ, I advocate for responsible AI practices, contributing to a framework that respects Māori rights in the digital era. My commitment to this cause is further exemplified through my role as a Board Member at Te Ao Matihiko, where we nurture a community-centric approach to empower Māori in digital and tech roles, shaping an inclusive future.
Dr Karaitiana Taiuru is a nationally and internationally recognised expert with Māori Data Sovereignty.
Unlike others in the Māori Data Sovereignty field who are either solely: tech, Iwi, biological focused, or academic philosophers, all with organisational constraints, Dr Taiuru is an independent multi-disciplinary Māori Data Sovereignty expert with knowledge backgrounds in Tech, Data, Te Tiriti, Māori Intellectual Property Rights, academia and is an active member in several Iwi, hapū and many Māori organisations around the country.
A recent survey by the International Data Corporation (IDC) indicates that data sovereignty and compliance are now key factors influencing IT decisions. In the Cloud Pulse 2Q22 survey, nearly half of the respondents (48%) highlighted the importance of data sovereignty and industry compliance in discussions about future IT architectures. Only a small fraction (4%) believed that their IT organizations would remain unaffected by these considerations.
A trusted expert with Waitangi Tribunal claimants including as an expert witness with WAI 2252 which recognised Māori Data and Māori Data Sovereignty and with both digital and Plant Varieties, tikanga and Mātauranga life experiences (complimenting the Supreme Court judgement that Tikanga is New Zealand’s first common law), and a recognised expertise with Māori Intellectual Property Rights, learnt mātauranga Māori from the mare and in Māori communities, skills that are not able to be taught in the education system and a belief system that is at odds with academia.
Dr Taiuru has worked in the tech industry for more than 30 years with Data, Internet, and emerging technologies with a commercial and Te Tiriti focus. He has extensively written about Māori Data Sovereignty as an academic and as a community leader documenting his extensive engagements and consultations with Māori communities including te ao Māori views-based Māori Data Sovereignty principles, Māori Data is a Taonga and critiqued many of the academic publications who theorise as opposes to engage with Māori and who do not have a te Ao Māori upbringings.
His PhD thesis was titled ‘Tikanga Sovereignty with Genetic Research” which extended the tech Māori Data Sovereignty into a traditional Māori world view of tikanga.
Dr Taiuru also recognises and promotes the multiple rights guaranteed by Te Tiriti and other legal instruments for both individual and collective Māori Data rights and responsibilities with hapū, marae, and Māori organisation, reflective of the High Court decision with Covid Vaccine Data in Te Pou Matakana Limited v Attorney-General (No 1) [2021] NZHC 2942 (WOCA 1) and Te Pou Matakana Limited v Attorney-General (No 2) [2021] NZHC 3319 (WOCA 2).