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AI is changing Māori culture
It’s a cultural norm for Māori to mihi or greet people with a ‘Kia ora’ or other salutation when in person and written communications, and over the recent years in online video. In the early 2000’s when email was relatively new, many Māori would include several sentences to a paragraph of mihimihi in each email…
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Māori and AI Book Chapter
I had the privilege to contribute a chapter about benefits to Māori in the book ” Ten perspectives on Artificial Intelligence: in a rapidly evolving technology landscape, we need a strategic and ethical approach to AI in Aotearoa. Published April 2025 by the Public Service Association (PSA). I explore how Māori have the unique opportunity to…
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Risks of AI Action Figure Trend
The AI action figure trend, where users generate personalised or stylised figures using AI tools (like custom avatars, toy-like images, or even physical 3D printed models based on AI renderings) carries several risks, particularly around privacy, ethics, cultural appropriation, and deepfake potential. From a Māori perspective, the AI action figure trend presents serious risks associated…
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Intro to Facial Recognition bias
Now, more than ever, it is important to learn the basics of Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) bias and the impacts on Māori communities. Recent developments include: New Zealand considering Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) for retail stores with an advisory panel of no Māori, AI drones for the military, government agencies and employment recruiters are using…
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NZ AI Productivity Report and Māori
The Artificial Intelligence Forum of New Zealand (AI Forum) Te Kāhui Atamai Iahiko o Aotearoa, a purpose-driven, not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation (NGO) funded by members, released their second edition of it’s biannual “AI in Action report Exploring the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on New Zealand’s Productivity ” which also for the first time introduced a Te Ao…
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AI Principles in Aotearoa NZ
AI principles guide the ethical development and deployment of AI systems by companies and other organisations, while AI disclaimers are statements that acknowledge AI-generated content or outcomes – see my previous post for more details. There is an international best practice benchmark set by the OECD which is widely accepted and adapted by many countries.…
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Reo Māori in Russian disinformation network
In 2014, I wrote how Google Translate brought te reo Māori into the new digital world with Spam and Phishing, etc. Now Artificial Intelligence (AI) is using te reo Māori in many new ways, including by the Russian backed Pravda group to provide news/disinformation to New Zealanders. Artificial Intelligence is deploying te reo Māori in…
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Monthly Te Ao Māori AI Webinars
I am now offering free webinars from a Te Ao Māori perspective to assist Māori communities and those who interact with Māori communities and AI to better understand the risks and benefits of AI, and to attempt to myth bust some of the many incorrect rumours and fears in the communities, particularly in te ao…
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AI Disclaimers
If your business or web site uses AI, whether for content creation (emails, newsletters, web site) or customer service chatbots, you may want to consider publishing an AI disclaimer to alleviate the fears for your New Zealand customers. In addition, if you use Mātauranga Māori/Māori Data, you should also include this in your disclaimers either…
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NZ Government Facial Recognition Technology
We use our image of our face as a modern-day password for many things including mobile banking, unlocking our phones, X (formerly Twitter), Firefox Klar and an ever-increasing number of other online services. For law enforcement agencies and retail security, Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) systems are used to decide many factors including who becomes a suspect…
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3G mobile coverage in NZ to be cut
All three New Zealand mobile network operators – 2degrees, One NZ and Spark will be shutting down their 3G cell phone coverage later this year. For those of us with tech privilege, who have no digital inequity, we will enjoy further benefits of more capacity in the spectrum. This will create new technologies, new opportunities…
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NZ Government Release AI Framework
The New Zealand Government this week this week (January 29, 2025) released its first non binding AI Framework for the public sector with ethics, human and Indigenous Peoples considerations. View the Public Service AI Framework or downloadable pdf here). The Aotearoa New Zealand government Cabinet has agreed to a light-touch, proportionate and risk-based approach to…
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DeepSeek versus ChatGPT for Māori
The introduction of the Chinese AI DeepSeek has been a popular media topic this week. Some of the topics include how much faster it is and how much cheaper it is to run. Concerns about how high-end computer chips were obtained by the Chinese company despite a trade ban on their expert to China from…
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Financial considerations for Māori and NZ Data Sovereignty
According to this article the uncertainty with the foreign exchange and the $NZ loosing to the $USA, cloud computing has increased by 14% since September 2024. In addition to the international uncertainly with global events and the need to maintain security and budgets are all creating risks for New Zealand businesses that use cloud computing.…
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Data Leakage and AI Usage Policy
Leaking of sensitive corporate and government data via Generative AI such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity is an ongoing risk with many New Zealand companies and the New Zealand government who lack Artificial Intelligence (AI) skills such as AI governance and AI Security. All data that is inputted into an AI models will…
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Treaty Principals Bill Scaremongering
Misleading journalism about the Treaty Principals Bill web site being attacked could lead to similar actions of accusations of interference in the election when Donald Trump lost his second campaign. This lead to his supporters defending their views of political interference which resulted in civil unrest. RNZ, while usually a reputable and balanced New Zealand…
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You don’t have to pay the Microsoft 365 price increase
If you are using Microsoft Office products (most people still do) and not other free and sovereign options you likely received or will another annual increase in subscription fees by 40% this year, in addition to last years similar price rise. ConsumerNZ have a great article exposing that this price increase is actually because your…
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AI Plagiarism of Māori Data and Storage
It is a well documented fact in New Zealand and all over the world, that Artificial Intelligence and in particular Large Language Learning Models (LLMs) have been used for student plagiarism in schools, training institutes and universities. Not so well documented are the false notifications that result in innocent students being accused of cheating and…
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Māori Data Jurisdiction
This research is a follow-on from my previous article about Data Jurisdiction and why many Māori Data Sovereignty Principles are no longer relevant, in particular this article will look at jurisdiction. The findings of this research show that most Māori (individuals, whānau, hapū, marae, Māori Tech company and Iwi) with a web site, email and…
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IAAP 2024 Resource List
References used by Dr Karaitiana Taiuru in the presentation “Indigenous Privacy Perspectives from Aotearoa/New Zealand” at the IAAP ANZ Summit 2024 Melbourne Conference. References DIA Facial Recognition trial report obfuscate risks to Māori. Te Kete o Karaitiana Taiuru Blog. November 7, 2024 URL: https://taiuru.co.nz/dia-facial-recognition-trial-report-obfuscate-risks-to-maori/ AI expert concerned ‘no Māori with moko’ used in…
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Facial Recognition trial report obfuscates risks to Māori
The New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), commissioned an independent Facial Recognition Trial of their Identity Check system using DIA passport face images to test against. Buried in the report was high probability of bias against Māori. DIA now say they will further test after asked by media in relation to this article. The…
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Inconsistencies with Facial Recognition Trial
Foodstuffs North Island (FSNI) controversially started a Facial Recognition Trial in their stores for what they claimed to provide more protection to their staff. There are mountains of research and cases of innocent people of colour being falsely identified by Facial Recognition Technologies, false arrests, being identified as gorillas etc. In April this year, the…
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Te Ao Māori perspective of Privacy with DNA
Many Māori and others have submitted the DNA samples via web sites such as Ancestory.com and 23andMe to ascertain their whakapapa, many without realising the cultural and privacy issues of doing so. Most often, you are giving away your rights to your own DNA that has all of your information about you and your ancestors. From…
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Treatment of Māori language in language modelling
This is my contribution as a critical Indigenous Researcher to the Nature Journal’s article “Increasing the presence of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) researchers in computational science” regarding language revitalisation and Artificial Intelligence, along with many other international voices. The Māori language was banned by native schools and other government led assimilation practices in…
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X (Formerly Twitter) is allowing 3rd parties to train AI on its data starting Nov 15
Earlier this week X (formerly Twitter) updated its Privacy Policy to indicate that it would allow third-party “collaborators” to train their AI models on X data, unless users opt out. Thanks to TechCrunch who first published the details. If you have already locked down your Twitter Privacy, there appears no change. This is a timely reminder that your posts…
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Demise of the io domain name
The dot io domain name is a common General Top Level Domain Name (GTLD) for many tech companies, but also for some Māori groups in part for the tech abbreviation for input/output but also as it is the name of a disputed Māori deity called Io. The dot io domain is assigned to a country…
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Māori and Iwi investments in NZ data centres
In the past month, we saw for the first time, a major Iwi, Ngāti Toa announce their investment into one of New Zealand’s many geographically located data centres, while also a Trans-Tasman Indigenous regional edge datacentre provider Gambarra Kaha announced that they have expanded operations to New Zealand with a sole Māori Director. Both announcements…
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Cross-agency survey of use cases for Artificial Intelligence
The Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO) released results of the 2024 cross-agency survey of use cases for artificial intelligence (AI). The results are not surprising when read and considered in conjunction with Aotearoa New Zealand business surveys and privacy perceptions of AI by the Aotearoa New Zealand public. Of surprise though, is the guidance discriminates…
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First New Zealand government agency to trial Generative AI
According toRadioNZ article, ACC is the first New Zealand government agency to trial Generative AI over the past year using Microsoft’s Copilot in tests. This article covers the key points and looks at the benefits and risks to Māori. Key points from the article: Most importantly and most reassuring is the government’s chief digital officer…
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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…
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How AI can help Indigenous language revitalisation, and why data sovereignty is important
Using the interview with Michael Running Wolf at https://www-cbc-ca.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7290740 , I offer some commentary and key warnings for Māori language that I am already seeing occurring here in Aotearoa New Zealand. “Indigenous language experts working in computer science say Artificial Intelligence is a useful tool in language revitalization but communities must prioritize the ownership…
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Jurisdictional Māori Data Sovereignty introduction
One of the 6 principals of Māori Data Sovereignty refers to jurisdictional considerations, or the requirement to store Māori data in New Zealand when appropriate. Jurisdictional considerations for Māori Data should include Māori Data that is tapu (sacred or sensitive) including not limited to: genetic data, personal health data and other private data about individuals,…
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The Phantom Article 4 of Te Tiriti o Waitangi
This article debunks the false narrative that Te Tiriti o Waitangi has a hidden or overlooked Article 4 that gave Māori the right to religious freedom. Despite all political parties agreeing there is no Article 4, that Article 4 is not mentioned in any Waitangi Tribunal Reports and is not a part of any of…
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ChatGPT and its gender bias with te reo Māori
This article looks at the gender bias with Māori language translations using the non gender specific pronoun in the Māori language ‘ia’. There is a significant amount of historical and recent research with, but not limited to Large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Google Bard, or LLMs containing various biases including against females and…
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Governance issues, Māori Data Sovereignty and Privacy Issues with Slack
Slack is a cloud-based team communication platform developed by Slack Technologies, which has been owned by Salesforce since 2020. Slack has freemium and paid subscriptions. Slack’s primary userbase is businesses, and has functionalities primarily for businesses. It is also popular among many groups including Māori. Recently and very discreetly Slack announced on their Privacy Principles: Search,…
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Safeguarding your whānau, iwi, hapū, marae, rōpū or your business from AI-generated deep fakes
Deepfakes are forms of digitally altered media — including photos, videos and audio clips — that seem to depict a real person. They are created by training an AI system on real clips featuring a person, and then using that AI system to generate realistic (yet inauthentic) new media. Deepfake use is becoming more common.…
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You really can’t disable Facebook’s Meta AI tool
In a classic example of AI hallucinating or lying, Meta AI does lie to you. Or perhaps the AI engineers thought it would be funny to add the misinformation to Meta AI? There’s no way to disable Meta AI from either Facebook or Instagram. I asked Meta AI if I could disable it, and the…
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First Māori woman victim in facial recognition trial in a month
Only 5 weeks ago I warned Facial Recognition Technology bias in the Foodstuffs trial was technically likely and not a matter of if, but when and that Māori women would likely be discriminated against. That same week Māori Television first reported “Māori women and women of colour will be targeted’ in Foodstuffs’ facial recognition trial…
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AI media weekly commentary with Māori and Indigenous perspectives April 10
This is the second media commendatory on Māori perspectives that relate to AI stories in the media and developments. Again, there are so many stories to consider. Week ending April 10, 2024. LinkedIn post – AI and IA pronouns Waipapa Taumata Rau The University of Auckland and AI expert Professor Michael Witbrock on LinkedIn authored…
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Māori AI and data stories in the media this week
I provide my commentary of this weeks 6 media stories of Māori related news regarding Artificial Intelligence and Data Sovereignty. Noting it is highly unusual for even one media story a week regarding Māori and Artificial Intelligence. It is also a reminder that we all must be talking about and recognising Artificial Intelligence is being…
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Māori Voices in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Landscape of Aotearoa New Zealand
Māori Peoples are at the cross roads with Artificial Intelligence and other emerging technologies; We can either turn right and decolonise and empower ourselves, or turn left and have status quo with all of the negative statistics and inequities. Featured Image Credit The AI Tribe. While the world faces the rapid growth of AI technologies,…
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Artificial Intelligence Regulation from a Māori Perspective
This thought-provoking commentary delves into the intersection of te ao Māori and Artificial Intelligence (AI) regulation. While many Māori have expressed a desire for AI regulation, this post raises the point that doing so too soon could have unintended consequences. It’s important to consider the implications of AI regulation from a te ao Māori perspective.…
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Māori Opinions and Views Framework
This article explores why there is no ‘one Māori opinion’ and aims to dispel media and politicians comments about “Māori in fighting” use this to create further separation with Waitangi claims, iwi issues and other iwi/social issues that seem to make it to mainstream media. It is based upon Sir Mason Durie’s “Maori Health Decade…
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Facial Recognition and Artificial Intelligence Profiling
This article was originally commissioned by Ngā Toki Whakarururanga for a general audience. For a Te Ao Māori perspective, refer to my 2020 article Māori Cultural considerations with Facial Recognition Technology in New Zealand. Since the news attention in February 2024 that Foodstuffs North Island Limited‘s New World and PAK’nSAVE is trailing Facial Recognition Technology…
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Scammers target Māori Tangi
In a new threat to Māori online, a new scam is increasing where scammers are creating false social media accounts as death notices and online funeral streaming accounts. Facebook and other social media has become an essential way of communications, particularly with Māori. Many of us find that if we stop using social media, we…
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Feasibility of maori as a new Internet address
First published in 2012 as a pdf and republished in 2024. Discussion about the costs, procedures and the currently vast amount of space on the Internet for Māori that is either underutilised or not utilised at all. The issue that it will take at least two separate, but more likely three separate applications to have…
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Understanding Domain Names in New Zealand
With information relating to .iwi.nz and .maori.nz and domain name disputes (2016) Karaitiana N Taiuru and Te Rangikaiwhiria Kemara Fist published in 2016 as a pdf. Republished in 2023 as a post. Introduction This paper is a beginners guide to Internet Domain names in New Zealand with some reference to other domain names outside of…
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Māori being used as ‘guinea pigs’ for facial recognition tech by MSD
This post elaborates on my RNZ interview about the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) rolling out Facial Recognition Technology for beneficiaries to self-identity online without the need to visit a MSD office, despite the well documented racism and bias of the systems. The Ministry of Social Development’s decision is lacking a privacy, human rights, and…
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6 Te Tiriti Based Artificial Intelligence Ethical Principles by Karaitiana Taiuru
These peer reviewed principles were originally written by Dr Karaitiana Taiuru, to provide a Māori and Te Tiriti perspective on Artificial Intelligence with Health, complimenting the ‘Principals section’ written by Professor James Maclaurin – Te Whare Wānanga o Ōtākou | The University of Otago, for inclusion into the collaborative and peer reviewed report “Capturing the…
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Protecting Mātauranga on web sites from ChatGPT and Search Engines
This article is primarily for Māori web site content owners who may have some mātauranga Māori on their web sites that they do not want consumed by ChatGPT and other AI or search engines, or who simply want to exercise their own Māori Data Sovereignty principles and rights as afforded by Te Tiriti o Waitangi.…
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Te Tiriti o Waitangi Principles for Robotics
These principles have been adapted to general robotics for both the industry and research to better assist the industry to acknowledge Te Tiriti o Waitangi. If creating robotics for health, then there are nationally agreed Te Tiriti principles for health that should be used in stead. For researchers, these principles can be used as a…
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Is anonymised Māori Data a Taonga?
Anonymised Data is a western perspective for data that is anonymous as they human eye can’t see where the data came from, who the data is about and where the data originated from. From A Te Ao Māori (traditional Māori cultural perspective) anonymous Māori Data that originates from Māori Data, then that anonymous data is…
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Is Synthetic Data a Taonga?
This brief post will discuss and analyse if synthetic digital data that is used with Māori Data, is itself Māori Data and therefore a Taonga. It will use traditional Māori customary values and beliefs (tikanga) and Māori Data Sovereignty principles and applying those in an Māori perspective, resulting in a non western perspective explaining if…
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Artificial Intelligence and Mātauranga Sovereignty
I was honoured to present at the prestigious Gibbon Lectures earlier this year and to be hosted by the School of Computer Science at University of Auckland. I share my thoughts about how we (Māori) are at a crossroads in human evolution, and that AI could be used to decolonise and empower Māori. I discuss how all…
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Transferring iwi.nz
How do I transfer my domain name out of the Domain Name Commision holding registrar to my registrar/domain name provider of choice? What to consider when transferring your domain name? Level of support Before transferring your domain name, consider the level of support you need from your registrar, especially if you have multiple .nz domain…
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Te Reo Māori revitalisation and adaption with AI
ChatGPT has become a household name for many, and is usually in the mainstream media each day. There has been very little discussion about ChatGPT and the risks and benefits to Indigenous languages, and in particular Māori language – the indigenous language of New Zealand. ChatGPT and other Artificial Intelligence (AI) Language Learning Models (LLM’s)…
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Te Ao Māori considerations of AI with the dead and personal Data
Māori Data Sovereignty is now more crucial than ever, with “Dr. Pratik Desai, a Silicon Valley computer scientist who has founded multiple Artificial Intelligence platforms, boldly predicts that a human being’s “consciousness could be uploaded onto digital devices by the end of the year [2023]”. For my regular readers, you will know I predicted this…
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Google Civil Rights Audit – An opportunity for a Te Tiriti audit
On Friday (Saturday NZT) Google released a Civil Rights Audit that it had voluntarily contracted an external law firm WilmerHale that examines how its policies and services impact civil rights and made a number of recommendations to address misinformation and hate speech. It is too American centric and doesn’t even appear to consider the Indigenous…
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Chatbots need Indigenous Beta testers
Microsoft recently announced that it was upgrading it’s search engine Bing’ to include AI from OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. One new feature is a chat feature. Microsoft only sent out invites to select users so far, but it looks like it will be open for public testing in the coming weeks. At this early…
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Māori culture and language observations with ChatGPT
ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a chatbot launched by OpenAI in November 2022. It has been discussed by international mainstream media with many academics and education facilities concerned at it’s ability to assist with plagiarised writings and research. As with any new technologies, there is very little Indigenous perspectives or input into developments which…
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Indigenous versus Māori Data Sovereignty
This article will introduce the many notions of Indigenous Data and Māori Data Sovereignty and explain the differences. It is becoming common in New Zealand that the terms Indigenous and Māori Data Sovereignty are interchangeably used by Māori Data practitioners and the Crown, removing all Te Tiriti, legal and moral rights to Māori Data and…
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Māori Data Sovereignty in the Agriculture industry
Māori Data Sovereignty with Agriculture Data and how it could assist the Agriculture industry. A perspective piece co authored with myself and my two awesome colleagues Dr Karly Burch and Dr Susanna Finlay-Smits. A real Te Tiriti approach to sharing Māori and Western perspectives for the benefit of those in the Agriculture industry. Realising the promises of agricultural…
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Maori a popular search term with porn
WARNING: This article should be read by adults and in conjunction to having knowledge of the over representation of Māori victims of online sexual abuse/harassment. Pornhub, New Zealand’s most viewed pornographic web site released its New Zealand 2022 statistics in November (Stats link page with terms that some may find offensive and likely not…
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The NZ Supreme Court Judgement and the impacts to Māori Data Sovereignty
This is an opinion piece as a Tikanga practitioner and Māori Data expert who is not a lawyer and has no formal legal training. The recent Supreme Court judgement recognises Tikanga Māori is common law and applicable in the legal system. This gives further impact and recognition to the legal status of Māori Data Sovereignty…
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A Māori cultural perspective of AI/machine sentience
This is a copy of the opinion piece I wrote in the publication Goffi E. R., Momcilovic A., et al. (Eds). Can an AI be sentient? Multiple perspectives on sentience and on the potential ethical implications of the rise of sentient AI. Notes n° 2, (2022). Global AI Ethics Institute. The New Zealand Supreme Court…
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Māori Data Sovereignty Whakataukī
The following whakataukī summarises the whole notion and idea of Māori Data Sovereignty and the importance that Māori Data Sovereignty is a Te Tiriti right not just for Iwi, but for all of Māori society and individuals as noted in WAI 2522. The original intention of the whakataukī was not about Māori Data Sovereignty as…
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ReMāorification origins of Māori Data, Sovereignty and Governance
This is brief opinion piece uses traditional knowledge to show Māori Data, Māori Data Sovereignty and Māori Data Governance has existed since pre colonisation. The origins are found in mātauranga Māori (traditional knowledge) and in the natural and physical landscapes all over New Zealand and the Pacific. Māori Data is a living Taonga such as…
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Māori experiences with online harmful or inappropriate content
The Classifications Office released a report called “What we’re watching New Zealanders’ views about what we see on screen and online”. This is an analysis of the Māori findings with a conclusion identifying some possible solutions.
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Tikanga Associated with Biological Samples
An analysis of traditional Tikanga Māori associated with research, storage and analysis of Māori biological samples including DNA.
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What is a Taonga Species
Comprehensive definition of what a Taonga Species is using mātauranga Māori and cosmology
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tikanga-tawhito-tikanga-hou-guidelines-for-dna-research-storage
As opposed to conforming to Eurocentric values and academic comfort levels, this guideline is the first published bioethics guideline encapsulating traditional and modern mātauranga Māori, to explore ethical research & storage of Māori genetic samples. This is the complete guideline with the ISBN: 978-0-9582597-8-1. Similar to the New Zealand Health system overhaul (2022) to…
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Tikanga Tawhito Tikanga Hou – Literature Reviews
Literature reviews of current Māori ethics and frameworks associated with research, storage and analysis of Māori DNA and biological samples
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Consumer Guidelines for Māori Non Fungible Tokens
As with any new technology there are positives and often more negatives for Māori and other Indigenous Peoples protecting their traditional knowledge from abuse, appropriation and theft. In the short time that Non Fungible Tokens have been created, traded and advertised online there is a large amount of cultural appropriation and stolen images being transformed…
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Māori Data Sovereignty and Domain Names
Can non-Māori can use the New Zealand Domain Name maori.nz? As the primary author of the application that lobbied InternetNZ to create maori.nz domain name in 2000, I say yes. Further information about Māori Data Sovereignty is in Compendium of Māori Data Sovereignty. Anyone anywhere in the world can register a maori.nz domain. But, only…
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Compendium of Māori Data Sovereignty VERSION 2
Māori Data Sovereignty has evolved over the past 6 years while commercial and government agencies are now seeking solutions and information. This is a compilation of all of the authors writings using only updated information. DEFINITION OF MĀORI DATA Māori as with many other Indigenous Peoples are one with the land and the water. Without…
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Tikanga: Cell phone on the table you eat from
Tikanga evolves is a common term. Often this means people who were not brought up with mātauranga creating new tikanga while traditional values are forgotten or not transitioned into evolving society. This article discusses several common tikanga about the tapu nature of the head, not putting food on your head, not sitting on a table…
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Māori Covid immunisation Data to be shared and the Sovereignty issues
The High Court decision that the Ministry of Health must hand over Māori Data to Whānau Ora is a significant and swift stride towards Māori Data Sovereignty that has left Māori and the government exposed. Ideally, the government and academia would have been engaging with Māori groups and Iwi to recognise Māori/hapū/marae/Iwi Data Sovereignty and…
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Marae Data Sovereignty Data Sets
This article introduces new datasets of Marae names that will form the basis of Marae data sovereignty for database administrators that recognise Marae rights and valuable information to navigate the whole Māori Data Sovereignty landscape. The data sets are available from https://github.com/ktaiuru Introduction Marae/Rūnanga Data Sovereignty refers to the inherent rights and interests of Marae/Rūnanga…
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Māori Data Sovereignty Principles – Updated
Update: All Māori Data Sovereignty posts have been combined and updated into a Compendium of Māori Data Sovereignty – https://www.taiuru.co.nz/compendium-of-maori-data-sovereignty/ These widely recognised principles are from Te Mana Rauranga and have been slightly modified to recognise tikanga Māori and all of Māori societies, modern and traditional and to ensure that the principles are future proofed for…
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Māori Data Sovereignty Commitment Statements
Update: All Māori Data Sovereignty posts have been combined and updated into a Compendium of Māori Data Sovereignty – https://www.taiuru.co.nz/compendium-of-maori-data-sovereignty/ To assist organisations to make public statements that both recognise and enact the instruments that protect Māori interests with Māori Data, all organisations should create public commitment statements that are committed to by the whole organisation.…
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Why I support a dual name for New Zealand
Aotearoa, while not an original name for New Zealand, has been popularised and is commonly used as the Māori name for the North, South and Stewart Islands. For this reason, I support the dual name being proposed by the Māori Party, to be an official dual name for New Zealand. It is important to note…
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Tikanga with face swapping filters and deep fakes
Using traditional Māori knowledge, I discuss cultural appropriateness of deep fakes and face swapping filters. Some of this discussion is also applicable to Facial Recognition systems. Apart form Māori, this article may be of interest to developers and organizations with Facial Recognition Systems. It is against tikanga Māori (customary beliefs) to have your image on…
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Online safety research ignores Māori
The latest research report Global Kids Online: Digital Parenting Strategies and Behaviours of New Zealand Parents, published by NetSafe interviewed parents of children aged 9-17 about the prevalence of different practices to influence or mediate children’s internet use. Yey! Māori and Pacifika were under represented in the research, Further contributing to the increasing discrimination and…
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Kaitiakitanga Māori Data Sovereignty Licences
This article introduces six new licence to protect Māori Data and recognise Māori Data Sovereignty rights today and for the next 1000 years. Māori Data Sovereignty principles are also updated to reflect Māori society and the Social Licence is reviewed as not appropriate for Māori and Indigenous Data. Citations This article can be…
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Hapū Data Sovereignty Dataset
A new dataset of Iwi and hapū names that will form the basis of hapū data sovereignty for database administrators allowing hapū to regain sovereignty over their own data in this new society where data is the new currency. Referencing This document may be referenced as: Karaitiana Taiuru (2021). Explanation and notes of the…
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Culturally Safe Mihimihi for non Māori
At the beginning of meetings, as practiced on marae and in meetings all over the country, a round of introductions and speeches usually occurs. During this time, Māori ordinarily stand to share a little bit about where they come from and who they are. If you are of Māori descent, these introductions often start with…
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Indigenising through Te Taha Wairua: AI, Algorithms, Data, Internet and IOT
This article indigenises the Internet and the global digital eco-system which is often called the Web or digital network, and has been specifically written to assist with understanding Data sovereignty, Internet, systems, robotics, algorithms and Artificial Intelligence (AI) from a customary Māori perspective. For those who have been reading my series of articles, this is…
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Māori Data Sovereignty Consultation Obligations
Update: All Māori Data Sovereignty posts have been combined and updated into a Compendium of Māori Data Sovereignty – https://www.taiuru.co.nz/compendium-of-maori-data-sovereignty/ This article is the most recent in a number of Māori Data Sovereignty and AI posts. My previous post is called Māori Data Sovereignty an Updated Definition. Māori Data Sovereignty consultation requires much more than only…
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Māori perspective to the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Amendment Bill
Research and statistics show that Māori are more likely to see harmful material online and to be victims of online bullying. Often Māori are the primary person in harmful materials online. Statistics released by the Ministry of Justice show that the main culprits are European men. Despite these alarming facts, Māori voices or at least…
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European men mostly charged under Harmful Digital Communications Act
In New Zealand European men aged between 20 and 39 years old are most likely to commit harmful digital acts and be charged, according to the annual statistics from the Ministry of Justice. The most likely victims of harmful digital communications are young Māori females, then Pacific and Asian females (NetSafe). Yet, Māori are more…
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Google Translate Māori – Sexist and Ignorant of LGBTQ+
Google Translate is another example of AI, Algorithms and Machine Learning discriminating against minorities, while misrepresenting the Maori language and customs . Google Translate interprets te reo Maori more accurately as it learns and is supporting the revival of te reo Māori. While it had the expertise of Dr Te Taka Keegan in its development,…
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Origins of the term Pākehā
The word Pākehā is a controversial word for some people. Some Māori and non Māori claim that the word Pākehā is offensive. Others have attempted to explain the word based on their own understandings and sometimes own hapū and whānau interpretations. Introduction This article provides an holistic analysis based on research from the early 18th…
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Tikanga about animated pictures of the dead
A new technological trend of animating images of people is becoming popular with images Māori tipuna and other dead people being animated for fun without knowledge of the offence to Māori, whānau, hapū and Iwi, nor the tikanga breaches. The app is called “My Heritage app”. In the past week I have seen several images…
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Māori Data Sovereignty an Updated Definition
Update: All Māori Data Sovereignty posts have been combined and updated into a Compendium of Māori Data Sovereignty – https://www.taiuru.co.nz/compendium-of-maori-data-sovereignty/ Over the past four years there has been such a directed focus on Iwi rights with Data held by the Crown that the definition of Māori Data Sovereignty has neglected traditional and modern Māori societal hierarchy…
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Can the Māori Language be colonised if used with AI and other digital technologies?
This brief article looks at the idea that the Māori language will be colonised if used in speech recognition, machine learning, AI and other linguist technologies. This article makes the argument that the Māori language can not be colonised and that by making such statements will only hinder Māori Peoples and wellbeing. As technology is…
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Māori Culture Guidelines for Brand Owners and Marketing
These high level guidelines have been written by Karaitiana Taiuru who has been involved with Māori Cultural rights, Indigenous and Traditional Knowledge and assisting brands both in New Zealand and internationally for over 25 years. Last updated January 10 2021. The motivation to write this document is to provide an introduction to Māori cultural appropriation…
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Expert Maori Cultural Commentary to the Law Commission DNA Recommendations
At the end of November 2020, the Law Commission released a report on DNA samples in Criminal Investigations that made sweeping recommendations that included protecting Māori cultural rights and recognising Te Tiriti obligations. It recommended that the law governing the taking of DNA samples the Criminal Investigations (Bodily Samples) Act (CIBS Act) be updated to…
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Classic racist reply to claims of cultural appropriation
I have been calling out and educating perpetrators of cultural appropriation for decades. Of the hundreds of responses and abuse mocking me, there is a common theme as follows: As a Maori/Indigenous Person (etc) you wear European clothes, a European watch, use a computer that your people didn’t use to have, drive a car which…
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Māori Cultural considerations with Facial Recognition Technology in New Zealand
The New Zealand Police, Customs, Ministry of Justice, DIA and other government agencies have a wide arsenal of Facial Recognition technologies with little or no regulation or consultation with Māori. This will likely lead to the likelihood of further widespread discrimination and cultural unsafe practices that will directly impact Māori as we have already seen…
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Māori Data Sovereignty and Associated Legal Instruments
Update: All Māori Data Sovereignty posts have been combined and updated into a Compendium of Māori Data Sovereignty – https://www.taiuru.co.nz/compendium-of-maori-data-sovereignty/ A new and inclusive of all Māori people and societies, not just Iwi as has been the status quo since Māori Data Sovereignty was first discussed in 2016 or thereabouts, definitions of Māori Data and Māori…
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Māori business self identification – end of racist profiling
Stuff reported a story that Māori businesses will soon have the opportunity to self identify as Maori. For the first time, a national register will let companies say if they identify as a Māori business. A change to the National Business Number register will give Māori enterprises the option to record data that identifies them…
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Māori Data Sovereignty and Digital Colonisation
Presentation to the Digital Justice – Emerging Technologies, Methods and Research on September 11 2020. Presentation here. Abstract An introduction to Māori and Indigenous Data sovereignty and digital colonisation. The presentation starts with a traditional Māori society view of Data, customary ownership values, Treaty of Waitangi values and Indigenises digital data to show the importance…
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NZ Algorithm charter – Are Māori protected?
The Algorithm charter for Aotearoa New Zealand was released by the New Zealand Government earlier this year. The charter has the potential to further discriminate against Māori than the current biases of Data, Algorithms and Machine learning already does. This discrimination against minorities and women is well documented internationally. The government also claimed the Charter…
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Kingi appropriation or ill informed individuals
The NZ Herald and Stuff have run a number of stories about a restaurant using the name “Kingi” and a few Māori and non Māori claiming it is cultural appropriation. The arguments are in my opinion getting so absurd that that I worry about the knowledge of some people who claim to be cultural experts…
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Govt app discriminates against Māori language in another embarrassing ICT lesson
Another embarrassing lesson for the ICT and Digital industry when working with the New Zealand government. If you don’t consider Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti with digital projects you could unintentionally discriminate against Māori, Treaty and in this case legislation that protects and enhances the Māori Language. The New Zealand Covid app provided by the Ministry…
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Eroding tikanga of the hongi
The recent introduction of kissing females on the cheek and ignoring the customary practice of a hongi creates a number of issues including the loss of tikanga and the real possibility of discriminating against people in our community. THe earliest written account in the South Island of Ngai Tahu of the traditional practice of the…
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5G spectrum is a taonga Māori
Māori have an unique opportunity to gain substantial social, economic and educational advantages with 5G spectrum now that the government has allocated Māori a slice. The biggest risk is the lack of consultation with the handful of treaty claimants who it appears to be making the same mistake again as occurred with 3G spectrum allocation…
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Kiwiana, Religious abuse or appropriation?
This article discusses the inappropriate and satirical usage of Māori religious icons and racial stereotypes of Māori in the Tasti bar advert that TVNZ recently played on air. The advert is also online here. UPDATE: Tasti apologise and state they will remove the advert. Their media statement here. The advert promotes racism…
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Tips to protect tapu and Māori knowledge online
Cultural appropriation of taonga Māori online is continually increasing despite the backlash on social media and in the media (mainstream and Māori). Just recently one art shop in Nelson who continued to offer offensive culturally appropriated art, despite apologising to the local Iwi, was forced to shut down. This post provides a number of suggestions…
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Māori Children online safety statistics analysis
NetSafe released their second Ngā taiohi matihiko o Aotearoa – New Zealand Kids Online. The research analyses New Zealand children’s experiences of online risks and their perceptions of harm. Two milestones for Māori. One ‘Kia ora’ is spelled orthographically correct this time (also AirNZ has rectified this too) removing a distraction. I believe this is…
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Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti and Māori Ethics Guidelines for: AI, Algorithms, Data and IOT
Author: Karaitiana Taiuru Published: May 04, 2020 ISBN: 978-0-9582615 ISBN: 0-9582597-6-3 (Digital) Download Citation: (Taiuru, K. 2020. Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti and Māori Ethics Guidelines for: AI, Algorithms, Data and IOT. Retrieved from http://www.taiuru.Maori.nz/TiritiEthicalGuide). Copyright © Copyright Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti and Māori Ethics Guidelines for: AI, Algorithms, Data and IOT by Karaitiana Taiuru…
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macrons in .nz domain names
This blog post is an update to my June 05 2011 post “Registering a domain name with a macron“. Since July 26, 2010 in New Zealand, all authorised .nz registrars have to be able to register a .nz domain name with a macron. Not all offer this service though. This type of domain is called…
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Māori Cultural Appropriation
I was recently interviewed about Cultural Appropriation for an AUT Bachelor of Communication Studies paper about Intercultural Communication. The first part of the interview was via email, then video. I feel that this information may be useful to others, so I am publishing it. 1: Karaitiana, you have spent many years challenging the use of inappropriate…
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Online learning and tikanga Māori
This article is for Whānau, Māori: students, teachers and academics. The same principles can be applied to working remotely online. I have recently heard it stated that online learning is not tika, it is not right and that it is not our tikanga as our tikanga is kanohi ki kanohi, face to face. This article…
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Karakia or cultural appropriation
This article is about karakia in post-colonial New Zealand and introduced religious influences that have changed Māori cultural beliefs and practices. This is not an article about religions and what religion is the more appropriate. Every person has a right to practice their own religious beliefs without hurting others or being hurt because of their…
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Waitangi Day 2020: Flag cultural faux pa
The Christchurch City Council (CCC) and the Okains Bay Māori and Colonial Museum held their 45th Waitangi Day celebration with a citizenship ceremony at Opara (Okains Bay), Banks Peninsula, South Island. The Christchurch City Council and the Okains Bay Māori and Colonial Museum chose to ignore flying the national Māori flag recognised by the New…
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Māori statistics of online Hate Speech
This is a summary of Māori statistics extracted from the 2019 Net Safe Hate Speech Report “Measuring trends in online hate speech victimisation and exposure, and attitudes in New Zealand.” The report explores adult New Zealanders’ personal experiences of, and exposure to, online hate speech. It was as a direct result to the March 15…
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Māori children’s access to the Internet
This is a summary of Māori statistics extracted from the Net Safe Report “Exploring New Zealand children’s internet access, skills and opportunities”. The research report presents findings from a study that explores New Zealand children aged between 9 and 18, their internet access, online skills, practices, and opportunities. In terms of ethnicity, the sample was…
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DIA release Māori baby names with non Māori name again
Department of Internal Affairs releases their top 20 Māori baby names with mistakes again. Mia features in the girls names for the second year in a row. Despite Mia not being a Māori name. Māori language expert Tāwhirimātea Williams also publicly stated this with the 2018 list after myself and others stated it was not…
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Submission on Government algorithm transparency and accountability
This is the Fifth in a series of articles I am writing about Māori ethics with AI, Data sovereignty and Robotics. Article 4: Treaty Clause Required for NZ Government AI Systems and Algorithms; Article 3: Māori Ethical considerations with Artificial Intelligence Systems; Article 2: Māori ethics associated with AI systems architecture and Article 1: Māori cultural…
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Treaty Clause Required for NZ Government AI Systems and Algorithms
UPDATE: A complete set of Māori ethics Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti and Māori Ethics Guidelines for: AI, Algorithms, Data and IOT This is the fourth in a series of articles I am writing about Māori ethics with AI, Data sovereignty and Robotics. Article 3: Māori Ethical considerations with Artificial Intelligence Systems; Article 2: Māori ethics…
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Māori Ethical considerations with Artificial Intelligence Systems
UPDATE: A complete set of Māori ethics Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti and Māori Ethics Guidelines for: AI, Algorithms, Data and IOT This is the third in a series of articles I am writing about Māori ethics with AI, Data sovereignty and Robotics*. Article 2 Māori ethics associated with AI systems architecture and Article 1 Māori…
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Māori Internet Safety Statistics 2019
A summary of Māori Internet safety statistics taken from three NetSafe reports from 2019. Image based sexual abuse report (2019) Threatening someone with image-based sexual abuse was more common among Asian (8%) and Māori (6%) compared with other ethnic groups. Parents of NZ European/Pākehā, Māori, and Pacific children were significantly more worried about their children…
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Is the UK Haka Pale Ale offensive?
Stuff wrote a story today about the UK brewer Butcombe producing a Pale Ale called “Haka” featuring a silver or white fern. I did accuse Butcombe of cultural appropriation earlier in 2017 of their Haka branded pale ale. They were among 7 other UK brewers I contacted. In contrast to the other UK brewers whom…
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Māori Data Sovereignty Rights for Well Being
Update: All Māori Data Sovereignty posts have been combined and updated into a Compendium of Māori Data Sovereignty – https://www.taiuru.co.nz/compendium-of-maori-data-sovereignty/ In today’s modern society, Māori need to consider the impacts of colonialism upon all aspects of life, including Digital and Māori Data. The definition of Data is taken from “Data is a Taonga” . “Data that…
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Māori ethics associated with AI systems architecture
UPDATE: A complete set of Māori ethics Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti and Māori Ethics Guidelines for: AI, Algorithms, Data and IOT This is the second in a series of articles I am writing about Māori ethics with AI, Data sovereignty and Robotics. Article 1 Māori cultural considerations with Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. Background My primary…
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Indigenising knowledge of Telecommunications and Smart Phones
The complete paper in a pdf format can be downloaded here. An introduction, explanation and indigenising of current day natural phenomena radio technologies that are used for technologies such as 3G, 4G and 5G for mobile phones and indigenises modern day smart phones. Then, the paper compares pre colonial communications and traditional knowledge to explain…
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TradeMe guilty of cultural misappropriation
As a descendant of Tūwharetoa, I have no idea if my whakapapa is being offered for sale on TradeMe, just like any other descendant of Tūwharetoa wouldn’t. I agree that the whakapapa is personal property, but not of one individual selling it, but to the whānau, hapū and Iwi that the whakapapa is about. New…
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Māori cultural considerations with Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
UPDATE: A complete set of Māori ethics Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti and Māori Ethics Guidelines for: AI, Algorithms, Data and IOT This is the first in a series of articles I am writing about Māori ethics with AI, Data sovereignty and Robotics. Article 2 Māori ethics associated with AI systems architecture. I spent this week…
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Digital Threats to Democracy that impact Māori
A Law Foundation-funded report Digital Threats to Democracy, one of the most in-depth reports published locally to date on the negative side effects accompanying the rise of digital media. The report also considers Māori and Indigenous democratic issues. Again, the first time this has occurred. I have extracted key Māori views from the report which…
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.nz New Zealand Domain Name Commissioner Submission
The regulatory organisation of the Internet Domain Name .nz domain name space asked for feedback on their consultation. My submission considers Māori and Iwi representation and the lack of consultation in past reviews of .nz and it appears they have also been overlooked in this consultation. My feedback is based on 22 years of Māori…
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te reo Maori Spam
Be aware of Spam being circulated using Te Reo Māori and another language. Below is a screen shot of the latest te reo Māori spam I received. While this is not very sophisticated, it very quickly and easily could be made to look legit and from someone you know. Unfortunately there are no services to…
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Māori hacker retaliates against white supremacists
This is an analysis of the hacker who calls them-self “Māori” who inserted a disk wiping code into the alleged Christchurch mosques alleged shooter’s manifesto. It is not the first time we have seen a vigilante Māori hacker(s) appear from the dark and then dissapear again. The first time a Māori hacker gained international attention…
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Submission to the Law Commission: DNA in Criminal Investigations
In 2019 the Law Commission called for public submissions regarding the Use of DNA in Criminal Investigations. This is my public submission and impacts on Māori culture and Tikanga Māori. Introduction What is a Taonga Why DNA is a Taonga C.1 Tikanga C.2 Traditional Knowledge Data Sovereignty of DNA samples Māori world view Recommendations References…
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Māori are still prominent victims of online bullying
Māori are still prominent victims of online bullying according to the latest research by Action Station discussing impacts and usefulness of the Harmful Digital Communications Act (HDCA) a powerful piece of legislation that was enacted to address the issue of online abuse. However it is not sufficient to address every issue of online hate, harassment…
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DNA is a Taonga: A Customary Māori Perspective
Introduction What is a Taonga Tikanga –Whakapapa – Mauri – Wairua Traditional Knowledge Loss of customary knowledge Data Sovereignty of DNA samples Digital Colonisation Tikanga Test Links of Interest References Download the paper in pdf Introduction This paper was originally written in direct response to the Law Commission’s public consultation (and forms a part of…
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Law Commission DNA consultation: Māori implications
Law Commission is seeking public submissions on DNA with criminal cases. Submissions close: 31 March 2019. DNA is a Taonga: A Customary Māori Perspective view The aims of the consultation are to ensure that the law (Criminal Investigations (Bodily Samples) Act 1995) governing the use of DNA in criminal investigations is: Fit for purpose Constitutionally sound Accessible…
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NZ businesses continue to appropriate Māori culture
New Zealand businesses continue cultural appropriation of Māori culture in their marketing. I believe that cultural appropriation of Māori has become normalised over multiple generations by New Zealand businesses. We cannot directly blame the businesses, but we need to learn from these experiences and deploy better protection mechanisms and new partnerships to stop appropriation. Firstly,…
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Online Māori Scams – careful of the scuzzie
Online Māori are increasingly becoming targets of direct ethnic online scams that utilise our culture to try to take advantage of Māori. The latest scam involves someone on Facebook, Instagram, Phone message and other social media claiming to he one of the whanau, a cuzzie. The scams are sophisticated and take a bit of effort.…
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Data is a Taonga. A customary Māori perspective
Also see Māori Data is a Taonga Chapter Also of interest and diverse views, an interview in English with myself, Tau Henare and Ngapera Riley discussing Māori Data as a Taonga https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57nFcXAycFg 2018 version (original) This paper has been written to fill a void of information about data being a taonga and why there are…
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Young Māori favor an online pornography filter
An analysis of Māori data from the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) report titled “Research findings of a survey on how and why Young New Zealanders view online pornography” published in December 2018. The complete report is available from https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5425697/NZYouthandPorn.pdf A young person is a person aged between 14 and 17. The report…
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Māori Experiences of Online Hate Speech
This article extracts Māori specific information from the NetSafe report titled “Personal Experiences of Online Hate Speech and offers personal analysis of their results and my personal experience with online hate. I have critiqued the definitions used int he survey. That critique is at the end of the article. Māori appear to be statistically better off…
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BP New Zealand cultural appropriation of Māori
BP New Zealand appears to have used Māori culture without consultation, offering Fair Trade coffee that will help you to become more fertile by placing the Polynesian recognised deity of fertility Tiki in the corner of it marketing material. Moreover, the Tiki used in the marketing appears to be a West coast of the North Island…
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5th Craft Beer brewer removes offensive Beer Label
Belgium Beer brewer Brussels Beer Project removed their offensive beer label within hours of the New Zealand media publishing concerns at the cultural appropriation. This is now the 5th craft brewer this year that has removed offensive beer labels after my complaints. This case differs from the others. In this instance the New Zealand media…
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Cyber Safety issues for Maori
Culture and Context in Online Safety Session at the Crossroads. Notes from the panel discussion I was involved with at the NetSafety conference Crossroads. The latest Internet Safety research from NetSafe shows that Māori are again over represented in negative statistics, this time for being victims of online abuse in its various forms. On the…
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New web could be Indigenous friendly
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, is leading the design of a new initiative called Solid. The project aims to radically change the way Web applications work today, resulting in true data ownership as well as improved privacy. Solid could have positive benefits for Indigenous Peoples of the world. The World Wide Web…
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Māori teens are more likely to be victims of online predators
Māori teens, especially girls and those with a disability are at higher risk than any other ethnic group in New Zealand to be harassed and to receive unsolicited nude images. The latest NetSafe report shows that Māori are more likely to be harassed online via unwanted communications. The most common types of unwanted digital communications…
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Can te reo Māori be digitally colonised?
Voice recognition of te Reo Māori and automated Maori translations via a computational device is colonisation and commercialisation no matter if by Māori or by tauiwi. Our traditional stories warn us of such recordings of the voice. Hence, I believe the reason why our learned old people shied away from recordings of the person and…
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Introduction to Māori Cultural Considerations with Genetics
This paper discusses the implications of traditional tikanga Māori practices with Genetic scientific research. Objectives There are four primary objectives for this research: To show a direct relationship between traditional Māori tikanga and cosmology to explain why tikanga is applicable to genomic research. To review the current guidelines for dealing with Māori and genomics. To…
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Fourth culturally offensive UK brewery apologises
28 hours after writing a public tweet (DM UK media) and a detailed article on my web site accusing UK brewery Rammy Craft of ignoring correspondence regarding culturally offensive beer label, they reply with an explanation and apology. The email reply is copied in full is below. It is frustrating that it took 7 weeks, seeking…
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Culturally offensive UK brewery ignores requests
Rammy Craft Ales, a UK brewer producer of the beer labeled Flaori Maori have ignored several communications over the past 7 weeks that their beer label is likely to be offensive to Maori. This is the fourth UK brewery I have approached this year, and the only brewery who has not communicated and or rectified…
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Artificial Intelligence and Māori
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…
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Third UK Brewer removes culturally offensive label
A third UK brewery in the past few months has removed offensive to Māori beer labels and apologised after being made aware of the fact. As with the other two cases to date, I used the same letter I originally wrote and modified the names to suit the company and the beer brand. As in…
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Culturally offensive UK brewery – honest mistake
I was approached by whanau in the UK about the Whakatu beer logo (see below). I was asked if I could/would do anything as I have has some success in the past with such cultural appropriation. After looking at Exmoor marketing document, I agreed. The following images are from the web, not the marketing document.…
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Tikanga Māori considerations with digital apps
This analysis uses two apps offered by Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and looks at their tikanga and privacy issues. The purpose of the article is to raise awareness of traditional knowledge being used to create new ideas to attract youth Māori to new initiatives such as education and being proud to be Māori. Their third…
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UK Craft beer removes offensive to Māori material
A craft brewery in a small town in England, branded a small batch of their beer NZ Pale Ale with an image that is likely to be offensive to a large population of Māori. Within hours of raising the issue with the Managing Director, the company apologized and removed all of the material from their…
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Taking on the international conglomerate and succeeding
After writing my story about Huggies New Zealand (owned by international company Kimberly-Clark Corporation) and their incorrect and offensive baby names advise on their web site, I contacted Radio Waatea who very professionally and neutrally interviewed me on the topic on March 08 . I too was cautious with my wording on this very serious matter.…
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Huggies New Zealand – culturally offensive with Māori baby names
HuggiesNZ a trusted brand for new parents is an example of a corporation discriminating against Māori with little or no disregard to the long term implications for individuals, cultures and laws. Their advice, if followed, could cause irreversible damage to children and parents. Huggies respond here. Prior to December 29 2008, or over 10 years prior to…
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Indigenous Peoples access to the new digital Terra Nullius
This research shows that there is a lack of access to Internet and infrastructure by Indigenous Peoples of Alaska, New Mexico and Hawai’i and proves that the Internet is a digital Terra Nullius where colonizers have systemically obstructed access and denied equitable representation to Sovereign nations of: Alaska, New Mexico and the Indigenous Peoples of…
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Hijacked Māori domain name still held to ransom 12 years later
The early years of .nz Internet domain names saw Māori and Iwi marginalized and ignored, Māori domain names held to ransom and Iwi dictated to about their online representation. This is important to remember as a domain name is the digital equivalent of a pepeha, tā moko or whakapapa for online Māori. The consequence of…
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Prevalence and attitudes of Māori teenagers about sexting
In late 2017 NetSafe released a research report about New Zealand teenage sexting. NetSafe state that the report was the first time this type of research had been completed in New Zealand and that it is a snap shot that they hoped would be a springboard for more research. This report analyzes the NetSafe research…
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Te reo Māori alternative for Lorem Ipsum
Te Re Māori is an official language of New Zealand. It is the Indigenous language of New Zealand/Aotearoa. The use of Latin as a place holder, while an international practice, there is no reason why any Indigenous Peoples can not and should not promote their own identity with their own language. Use of te reo…
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Māori cultural ethical considerations in Digital Security
A presentation given to the BSidesWLG 2017 conference on Māori cultural ethical considerations in Information Security (infosec). The point of the presentation was to very broadly and at a high level touch on private and government infosec communities to raise awareness of tikanga Māori issues. The presentation is available here. BSidesWLG is a diverse and inclusive information…
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Ngai Tahu Pepeha and mihimihi resource
Identifying ancestry and family links with a person’s tribal affiliations and whakapapa (genealogy) to the land via pepeha (formulaic expression of ancestral connections) is one of the most common and integral forms of identification in the Māori world: hence the common question “Nō hea koe?” translated as “Where are you from?” This scoping report will…
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Digital Whakapapa and image considerations
Digitising whakapapa records and images of tipuna to be shared on the Internet is increasingly becoming common practice without any discussion about the consequences. Internet protection agencies such as NetSafe have no cultural resources to advise Maori of potential issues. Whakapapa and tipuna images including images of the dead, that are accessed via wifi Internet…
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Iwi Citizen or Tribal Member
The terms ‘tribal member’ and ‘hapū member’ are colonial terms with a number of detrimental connotations. Many Indigenous Peoples of the world have suffered the same fate with colonial and derogatory terms to describe them. The definition of the word ‘tribal’ includes a division of a barbarous race of people. The definition of the word…
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Dangerous game of DNA testing for Maori
Using scenario and future planning techniques: I will discuss how DNA testing to prove how Māori you are, to identify your ancestry via DNA testing, or the more recent issue of New Zealand school teachers being offered free DNA testing kits by National Geographic Genographic project to help pupils learn about evolution , has a number…
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Protecting digital ancestor images
Digitising images of ancestors, taonga and places of cultural value and then sharing the image with whanau and friends on the Internet is common, as it is quick and easy to share with multiple people with just a few clicks of a button. Regularly I see ancestor images at marae being photographed on someones smart…
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Keyboard warrior definition
The definition of a keyboard warrior is often used by non technically literate people as a derogatory term applied to online trolls/cyberbully and people who are online activists using technology to fight and raise concerns for a cause. Warrior is a term often reserved for elite special forces, learned people of fighting arts and experts of contact sports.…
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2017 govt domain name update
New Zealand Government usage of Māori Language in domains 2017 update A number of Māori language domains are no longer used from 2013, thus heavily reducing the amount of te reo Māori used in government domain names used by the New Zealand government. Ministry of Justice kaupapature.co.nz kaupapature.org.nz maorilandcourt.govt.nz maorilandonline.co.nz maorilandonline.govt.nz maorilandonline.net.nz maorilandonline.org.nz waitangitribunal.govt.nz waitangi-tribunal.govt.nz …
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Ethnographers for digital Maori world?
The digital age has many unknown consequences for Māori culture and history. I question if we need to be our own ethnographers in this rapidly changing digital world? Writing whakapapa or other important information for future generations in the sand at the low tide mark with no other record verbal or written is similar to writing a message on…
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Māori activism with Domain Name System
For over 20 years up till 2017, Māori fought for the right to be to be fairly represented in the New Zealand Internet Domain Name System and to a lesser extent for recognition within the New Zealand Internet governing body InternetNZ, in an act of Māori Internet activism. A simple right that most people take for granted.…
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Timeline of Indigenous Domain Names
A timeline of Indigenous domain name developments that shows factual dates that will clarify some misconceptions of achievements. 1992 – nsn.us created. The worlds first Indigenous Domain Name. 1994 – iwi.nz created 1997 – First .maori.nz submission 2000 – Karaitiana Taiuru appointed .iwi.nz moderator 2000 – iwi.nz moderation policy updated 2001 – Second .maori.nz submission 2002…
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New Zealand government response to te Reo Māori email addresses
Research into how many .govt.nz web site contact forms and contact email addresses would accept an email address with a Māori macron (IDN). First published in 2015 here. Contents Methodology. 2 Introduction. 4 Summary. 5 Key findings. 6 Conclusion. 7 Appendices. 8 New Zealand Government Departments who accept IDN email addresses in online forms. 9…
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Value of .iwi.nz and protection options
iwi.nz is a moderated 2nd level domain specific to Iwi Māori. It is moderated to protect Iwi applicants from individuals: Using an Iwi name for non Iwi purposes From purchasing an Iwi name in the .iwi.nz area, and offering to sell it back at huge inflated prices Directing an iwi name to distasteful websites, and…
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Historical .iwi.nz criteria
All historical .iwi.nz moderation policies from the original in 1997. The current policy is here. The original moderation policy was casual and was not written or published in in any formal manner until 1997. 1994 Guidelines 1997 2000 2003 2011 1994. Prior to the founding of Internet Society of New Zealand, the following guidelines were…
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Cultural analysis of Emotiki app and why it could be offensive
Emotiki contains a number of culturally unsafe issues: the satirical use of a Polynesian deity Tiki, Tame Iti and the use of his face and tā moko without permission (only in release 1, despite their denial to Te Kaea Maori Television, here is a live link to the web archive), several other possible ethical and tikanga issues…
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Analysis and directory of Māori ICT Groups- Contents
An analysis and directory of Māori ICT groups and individuals designed for easy authorative reference to the myriad of Māori ICT organisations that are often created specifically for one purpose. Introduction The Māori ICT organisations landscape is diverse and un documented which creates confusion or misunderstandings by governments and lobby groups as to what Māori ICT groups…
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Digital whakapapa, where is it – Digital authorship and founders?
The nature of the web and digital technologies leads Māori ICT organisations, kupu hou creation, Māori related software, web sites and digital tools to by default, ignore whakapapa in the digital world. I have already spoken widely about tikanga in the digital world on my site. Māori stories from many generations ago remind us of the early…
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Māori ICT Organisations analysis and directory
The Māori ICT organisations landscape is diverse and un documented which creates confusion or misunderstandings by governments and lobby groups as to what Maori ICT groups exist resulting in Internet/ICT consultations not being held with relevant Māori groups or misconceptions from non Māori perspectives being the norm. This has resulted in Maori economic, social and consultation opportunities with the…
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Māori ICT Groups analysis and directory
The Māori ICT organisations landscape is diverse and un-documented which creates confusion or misunderstandings by governments and lobby groups as to what Māori ICT groups exist, thus resulting in Internet/ICT consultations not being held with relevant Māori groups or misconceptions from non Māori perspectives being the norm. The end result for Māori is economic, social…
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Dictionary of Māori Computer and Social Media terms
Over 374,000 unique headwords with translations from 32 different recorded sources makes this dictionary over six times larger than Ryan Modern Māori Dictionary, with almost 15 times more head words than the Williams dictionary.
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Name change for Massy Univesity – historical racism against Māori
New Zealand is made up of numerous colonial place and street names, as are organisations and brands. Likewise, there are many place, street, educational institutions and government organisations with Māori names. A Massey academic is suggesting a name change for Massey University – Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa as his research has revealed that its namesake was racist against…
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Google Translate and NZ society’s stereotype of Māori people
The media article on the blunder of using Google translate by a mayoral candidate created lots of social media discussions that focused only on the tool and its te reo Māori issues and not the subtle racism in the story. In summary: Hamilton mayoral candidate James Casson wanted to appeal to Māori voters and thought…
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Social media censorship of traditional moko images
Media reports censorship of moko images on Facebook and Instagram but some misunderstand which organisation can assist. In one article by Māori Television it states that the Ministry of Culture and Heritage have been approached for comment and it states: Te Kaea is awaiting a response from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage to see whether they will…
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Disney releases Polynesian skin kids outfit
Labeled as a Maui Costume for Kids based on the Disney movie Moana. The costumes are made to look like brown skin with Polynesian tattoos. UPDATED Disney pulls Maui costume 22/09/207 There are a number of issues for Polynesian cultures and for Māori special considerations will need to be considered around the Ta Moko (tattoo) as each ta mako is…
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Kauamatua threatened with arrest for speaking e reo Māori
Kaumatua Kura Moeahu parliament’s Senior Māori Advisor was threatened with arrest for speaking te reo Māori after a traffic stop in Lower Hutt MāorTV has reported. It is only when the officer noticed Kura’s jacket had a Police related logo on it that the officer was informed by Kura that he is a Police Māori advisory board…
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Word list of te reo Moriori
This is not an academic or linguist publication, but a compilation of several historically published sources that contain word lists of Moriori. For full details including sources and an analysis download the publication here. My intention as a researcher was to compile and publish this material which is scattered among many historical publications that are…
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Māori baby names list
Over 1300 Maori Baby names; Christian, Mormon and non religious first names and their equivalent English name. Before using a name in the list, you should also check what other meanings are associated with the name. In the Maori language one word may have multiple meanings.
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The Māori ICT Report
Māori access to Internet and ICT report has been released which covers Māori engagement in the digital world, including Internet, mobile usage and employment in the ICT industry identifies pathways for Māori to achieve higher incomes and management opportunities in the ICT industry. Māori me te Ao Hangarau 2015 – The Māori ICT Report 2015 was produced…
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Pokemon Go on the Urupa, Marae – Tapu?
Pokémon is a free location-based augmented reality game played on mobile phones which places creatures called Pokemon that can fight each other at randomly selected places including marae, wahi tapu and Urupa. Augmented reality is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment with a computer or other animation that can be seen…
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Digital colonialism and the hidden issues for Maori today
One of the most remote Māori communities in Aotearoa gets broadband Internet says Te Karere. I suspect this will have a number of cultural implications that has yet to be considered. Ruatahuna is not unique for this as it has happened numerous times in rural and urban areas by non Māori organisations and government pushing technology into…
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Ngai Tahu youth going to Silicon Valley
Great to see that ten Ngāi Tahu youth are going to Silicon Valley in October for a five-day science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) boot camp an opportunity was provided by Callaghan Innovation and NZQA which is a part of the Callaghan Innovation and NZQA “Āmua Ao: Experience Silicon Valley 2016” programme . Congratulations to…
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Top 20 Māori baby names for 2015
The most popular Māori baby names collated by Department of Internal Affairs was names were Maia for girls and Nikau for boys. All names were verified by Te Taura Whiri to be Māori. The list is below. The top 20 names for girls were: 1. Maia 2. Manaia 3. Anahera 4. Ana 5. Aroha 6.…
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Warning: Twitter spam targeting Māori
The past 48 hours we has seen a large concentrated Twitter spam attack targeting Māori using popular key words and soft pornography. This is the first time Māori has been targeted in a spam campaign on Twitter and there appears to be no real reason or justification for it. On the surface it appears as…
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Māori youth digital access stats and ICT
Careers New Zealand via Project Kāmehameha, dedicated a chapter to Rangitahi and Digital Channels Survey. Speaking to rangatahi from Years 7 to 13 including focus groups with teachers and family/whānau examined their roles, and a quantitative survey of 1,300 rangatahi investigated how Māori use digital channels. Key findings include: Type of technology used to access…
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Taonga Collection no eating sign
The free to distribute poster below can be downloaded for free to use in any taonga collection for a library, museum or place that has taonga Māori where food should not be consumed. The poster is in English and Chinese as its original purpose was for the Lincoln University Library where there is a high…
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Māori Data Sovereignty: Utopia or feasible?
Recently I was asked what my long term vision of Māori Data Sovereignty would look like. Interestingly this was asked at a Māori Data Sovereignty hui where: Facebook is used to promote the group, despite Facebook claiming all IP and ownership of anything you share on it 1. By using Facebook, all New Zealand laws…
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Māori Data Sovereignty: A definition
Update: All Māori Data Sovereignty posts have been combined and updated into a Compendium of Māori Data Sovereignty – https://www.taiuru.co.nz/compendium-of-maori-data-sovereignty/ Data sovereignty is: The concept that information/Data which has been converted and stored in digital form is subject to the laws of the country in which it is located. A person’s right to control access to,…
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Farewell Te Huarahi Tika Trust and Hautaki
After serving a 3.5 year term on Te Huarahi Tika Trust and 3 years on its commercial arm Hautaki Limited, I tendered my resignation at the previous AGM (November 2015) to take effect April 01 2016. As with any Māori organisation there are rumors and scaremongering among our own. So I thought I would take this unrestricted opportunity to…
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Twitter is the latest digital Indigenous risk
Section 5 of the new Twitter Terms of Service state that Twitter users are now bound to giver full worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute any information you tweet. Twitter stops short of claiming any copyright or intellectual property rights…
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NZ School oversight of Māori in the house system
Little or no consideration has been applied to the house system in New Zealand Schools and the impacts that they have on Māori children. Many Māori children may be placed in a house that competes against another house that may have their ancestral name or other significant tribal sensitive name. The house system at school is…
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Google Doodle of Whaea Dame Whina Cooper
Google Doodle published (in New Zealand only) on Dec 09 2015 Dame Whina Cooper which was a significant cultural step forward raising awareness of Māori land issues. A definition of a Google Doodle “Doodles are the fun, surprising, and sometimes spontaneous changes that are made to the Google logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of…
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Snapchat the new Indigenous IP thief
Snapchat is the latest social media company to claim Intellectual Property Rights with your data, pics and info including your voice and facial recognition. Under these Terms of Service, if you had recorded your elder sending family a message does so in a traditional chant, wearing traditional clothes and accessories and the face has traditional tattoo,…
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Digital Indigenous Issues – My Ramblings
Here are some of my ramblings of Digital Colonialism and issues of Indigenous knowledge on the Internet. When I have time, i will expand on these more. Digitising Traditional Knowledge is like mining the earth for precious metals. With every scoop of earth there is a void. Eventually there will be no mana or tapu…
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Māori Data Sovereignty issues
Free services such as Google, Microsoft Office 365, Facebook, Cloud, web hosting etc, are risking Indigenous Data Sovereignty issues and ownership of their own data and knowledge. Wherever your digital information is stored, it is subject to the laws, or legal jurisdiction, of the country in which it resides. The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001,…
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Definition: Digital Colonialism
Digital colonialism deals with the ethics of digitizing Indigenous data and information without fully informed consent. Digital colonialism is the new deployment of a quasi-imperial power over a vast number of people, without their explicit consent, manifested in rules, designs, languages, cultures and belief systems by a vastly dominant power (Renata Avila, 2017). A new…
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Macrons in Gnome
Preferences->Keyboard (from the gnome panel menu), the Layout tab has the Maori keyboard layout. –
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Macrons for Mac OSX (older than Lion)
To enable macrons to be created in Mac OSX systems that are older than Lion. 1. Launch the System Preferences application 2. Navigate to Language & Text, then the Input Sources tab 3. Find Māori on the list and tick the checkbox next to it 4. Tick the box next to “Show Input menu in…
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Macrons in iPad 4, iPhone 4 and later
These devices and their operating systems have system wide keyboard(s) available by default. Mac OSX Lion can also create macrons this way. Hold down the key for the vowel you want to macronise (Maybe a second). A small dialog will pop up showing you several options, including a macron.
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Te Reo Maori macrons in Samsung Galaxy
Samsung Galaxy 4 Samsung Galaxy 4 has several default common languages that do not include Māori or other language to create macrons. To install Māori and other languages, the easiest method is to install an app from Google Store. Latvian is the only language currently available that will create and recognise macrons. Install any soft keyboard…
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Macrons not recognised in email by Government and Polytechnic web sites and systems
If you have te reo Māori or macrons in your email address, it is unlikely you will be able to contact a government department, MP, local council or a polytechnic. Read the full report here. Most of the 158 NZ government department website online contact forms surveyed, would not accept an email with macrons. This…
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Obituary for Richard Ozrecki
He Aituā Kua hinga te totaranui O te ao nui a Tāne Auē te mamae e E te rangitira Kua hoki koe Ki Hawaiki Nāna koe i whakaruruhau Nō reira haere atu rā, haere atu rā The ICT industry is so new and even newer for Maoridom, that it is uncommon for a digital leader…
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Te Reo Maori to prevent hackers
Using a Creative Commons Aotearoa list of Māori words from Te Ngutu Kura, Taipo and Indigenous developer has created a Māori Diceware word list to create pass phrases. The instrucitons and download can be found here https://github.com/Taipo/MaoriDiceware This list can be used for kura kaupapa, kura, whanau, iwi and hapu to generate secure passphrases that…
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Maori respect for the dead considering cyber land
Uncle Api Mahuika was an esteemed Māori leader with his people and the government. Moe mai ra e te rangatira. The first I heard about it this tragedy was on Facebook when via Te Wananga o Takiura were seeking some form of authoritative clarification that the devastating news. Immediately you may be saying “Huh?” But…
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Indigenous Domains not effected by new .nz domains
Latest .nz statistics today show little change with Indigenous Domain names despite registrations being made directly at .nz and the new .kiwi.nz and .kiwi domains. Stats for March 2015 .maori.nz = 1059 registered domains with 126 renewals with 19 cancellations (in line with previous months) and 17 new registrations. .iwi.nz = 87 registered domains with…
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Kapa Haka Meme – New digital age warning
A number of meme’s were produced from the recent Te Matatini Kapa Haka causing offence to the individuals whose images were manipulated. Recently, an incident occurred where memes featuring manipulated images from Te Matatini Kapa Haka performances were circulated online, causing distress to the individuals depicted. The situation began when an American social media platform known…
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Macrons in Microsoft Surface
Typing macrons in Microsoft Surface tablet is the same as with an Apple i-device such as an iPhone or iPod, but the macrons are installed by default. To create a macron, hold down the key of the vowel you want to add a macron to and a list of characters will appear. It is important to…
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Te Mangai Paho to administer the proposed $30 million ICT fund for Māori
This is a positive step forward for Māori society and for tax payers. The money is being administered by a government entity that has a proven track record in administering large amounts of funds, is publicly accountable and who are being transparent with the way they plan to structure the organisation. The Māori ICT…
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Te Reo Māori Strategy lacks modern day thinking
The Minister of Māori Affairs, Hon Dr Pita Sharples announced a proposed change in te reo strategy but failed to miss the fact that technology plays a vital role in this area. For any language to be spoken by the masses it must be normalised and easy to access and widely used in not only…
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te reo Māori Spam brings te reo Māori into 21st Century
With so much emphasis on te reo Māori being normalised; it looks as though spammers are now using Google Translate to translate spam into te reo Māori according to Robyn Gallagher http://www.robyngallagher.com/2014/01/11/te-reo-Māori-419-spam/ . Is this a new avenue of normalisation albeit an annoying but normal part of our online lives? I suspect so! and that…
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Automated Google Māori translations
Google recently announced its support for several minority languages to translate into and from English with Māori being one of the minority languages. Background information from my October 15 2009 post is here. To use the translator visit http://translate.google.com For years a computer generated system to translate to and from te reo Māori has only…
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Digital Divide Stats for Maori
The World Internet Project New Zealand released their latest report “World Internet Project, New Zealand; The Internet in New Zealand 2013.” with some interesting statistics based ethnicity and in particular, Māori. I have extracted the ethnicity statistics and have included commentary. Māori and Pasifika internet users, especially those in lower income households, take the…
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Google autocomplete racist to Māori
Responding to Stuff.co.nz story about sexism against women titled “Shocking sexism in Google search” I have written about the way Google autocomplete discriminate against Māori. It is unfortunate that no effort has, nor has ever been made to discuss the racist and offensive auto complete relating to Māori or any other Indigenous Peoples of the…
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Indigenous Issues with new GTLD’s
I was asked to present to the ICANN 47th meeting Durban South Africa about Indigenous perceptions of the new GTLD program. The speech I gave is written below and on YouTube. Considering I only had 5-7 minutes and a few weeks to prepare, it was very light on details but does cover a number of…
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Social media and web usage for the Ikaroa Rāwhiti 1
Introduction Only this year have I seen an increase in Māori politicians joining and using Social Media and the web. Recently one Māori politician told me that the web and social media were a waste of time, as the old people have the votes and want to see him at birthdays, tangi and various other…
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Colonisation of the Internet: Māori Comparative Literature Review
Introduction A review and comparison of Māori with Native American Indian rights, based on the award winning research “Uncharted Domains and the New Land Rush: Indigenous Rights to Top-Level Domain”; Miss Lucy Yan, accessed via http://www.law.asu.edu/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=67fmPnuMWEY%3d&tabid=803 . Background information about the author and her research here Yan discusses the colonisation of the Internet Domain Name…
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Te Reo 2 Tweet
A fantastic Twitter tool that Tweets pre-set Māori language phrases, questions and sentences is available to use. Created by Professor Kevin Scannell of Saint Louis University, the te reo Māori sentences have been added by myself, by sourcing popular phrases and high frequency lists of sentences. It is an ideal tool for beginners of te…
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Macrons available in .iwi.nz web address
A recent collaboration between GodZone Internet Services a domain name company and myself as the .iwi.nz moderator will ensure that Iwi can now register their web addresses and names with macrons within the exclusive .iwi.nz address. For example ngāi-mea.iwi.nz is now a feasible web address. Despite such technology being available for the past 3 years,…
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Radio Spectrum – Digital Land in a new era of confiscation
Radio Spectrum is largely unheard of in our non-technical society and especially in Maori culture, despite radio spectrum being recognised as a Taonga 1 by the Waitangi Tribunal which resulted in the New Zealand government giving Maori $5 million dollars to invest in Maori ICT participation. In turn this was used to form a part…
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Radio Spectrum – Digital Land in a new era of confiscation
What is Spectrum The Treaty Claim Who will benefit from the Claim Groups involved Radio Spectrum is largely unheard of in our non-technical society and especially in Maori culture, despite radio spectrum being recognised as a Taonga by the Waitangi Tribunal which resulted in the New Zealand government giving Maori $5 million dollars to invest…
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Cyber Squatters in Indigenous Domains
It really surprises me that people are still trying to hold the dot iwi dot nz domain name to ransom, or cybersquatting of domain names. All the cyber squatters are doing is making .iwi.nz more authentic for the public and valuable to Iwi. In 2002 I with Ross Himona and Te Rangikaiwhiria exposed a businessman…
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Cyber Tangi – A need to better utilise high speed Internet
My controversial thoughts about cyber tangi are below so as to raise debate/ideas and to make people think about cyber tangi, or to at least respect the rights of any whanau who want a cyber tangi. When my children’s mum from Taranaki suddenly and unexpectedly passed away almost three years ago at the age…
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Spectrum rights for Maori and the future
I read this in an email signature this morning. It struck me of the technological age we live in now and what our future generations technology will be like in 100 years time. It also raises the important issue of that Māori are now facing over spectrum rights and what the future issues and opportunities of…
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Te Reo Maori gate keepers for the future or for the cemetery
Reo has to evolve or it will die, and it cannot be controlled by a small team; it has to be community driven. Gate keepers of the Māori language only hinder and halt its evolution. We live in an Information Technology driven society that needs Maori language to adapt. I have documented my personal thoughts…
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Papakupu Māori
Commercial Māori language projects hold our people to ransom for what is our birth right – our language The Papakupu is a Māori Language Dictionary that consists of headwords from published Māori dictionaries , databases, glossaries and Iwi dictionaries. It is estimated there will be over 150,000 unique headwords with each headword consisting of up…
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Facebook in the Maori Language
Archived from September 13 2012 Facebook is now available in the Maori language thanks to a small partnership of language revitalisation experts. View the word list https://www.taiuru.co.nz/publicationslib/facebook-maori-language-terms.pdf We live in exciting times in terms of the Māori language where with the right combination of Language speakers and technical people we are able to have software and…
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Dot Māori Internet suffix
Archived from August 12 2012 .maori is a possible Internet address suffix that is being discussed by groups of Māori and non Māori. This is a summary of findings from thefeasibility reportI wrote. .maori will not provide any benefit to Māori and will likely be more detrimental to the increasing Māori presence on the Internet.…
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GTLD objections will help protect Maori online
Archived from August 20 2012 The new GTLD program from ICANN which closed its first round of applications included a number of cultural identity and society names being applied for by corporations. The public have been able to express their objections to strings and have been busy doing so here. While it may seem as…
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dot kiwi nz launches with new Maori cybersquatting
Archived from September 10 21012 .kiwi.nz was launched at 10am this morning in an effort to gain at least 500 registrations within a month so that the domain could be a permanent domain. Within one hour 1000 registrations occurred. Already I have noticed a dozen cyber-squatted Māori names. If you have not already done so, I would suggest you…
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Cultural and society GTLD objections will help protect Maori on-line
The new General Top Level Domain GTLD program from ICANN which closed its first round of applications included a number of cultural identity and society names being applied for by corporations. The public have been able to express their objections to strings and have been busy doing so. While it may seem as though it…
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New web domains in NZ
The New Zealand governing body of .nz domain names has released a new public consultation to discuss changing the way .nz web addresses look. As opposed to .co.nz , .maori.nz, .iwi.nz, etc., the proposal calls for a simple .nz address. This will have a number of positive impacts (if managed correctly early in the process)…
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Iwi implications of .kiwi.nz
As the .iwi.nz moderator, I publically opposed the .kiwi.nz application. The main reason was that I believe it would force Iwi to register their current domain names in .kiwi. to protect Iwi on-line identity. It is a common practice for unscrupulous people to register names that are similar to genuine names that may be spelt incorrectly…
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Bilingual Web for Māori
Māori will soon have a bilingual Internet system and guaranteed protection of Iwi and God Names with the introduction of the new web address .kiwi being introduced possibly next year. .kiwi http://www.dot-kiwi.com/ will be an alternative to the current options of domain names such as .nz or .org . .kiwi will be introduced along with a…
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maori.nz statistics for Dec 2011
The Domain Name Commissioner released her monthly statistics on .nz domain names for December 2012. The details and summaries are below including my commentary. .maori.nz / māori.nz 663 registered .maori.nz names in December 2011 compared to 621 in December 2010. There were 82 renewals, 8 new registrations for December 2011 with 12 new registrations and 97 renewals…
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Māori initiatives in the Mobile phone industry
It has been a busy past two weeks with major Māori initiatives and developments by New Zealand telcos and associated parties. This is a summary of those initiatives with an explanation of who the Māori groups are. 2 Degrees 2Degrees Mobile announced a Te Reo Maori smart phone, the IDEOS X3 , while at the Te Huarahi Tika Trust…
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Smartphone in Māori language
2 Degrees yesterday announced the release of an Android phone with Māori menus. They did not mention that they have in fact blocked the development of Māori language development with smart phones for those who do not use 2Degrees and their “one” mobile phone. Android phones use an open source system to operate. Open Source means…
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September 2011 Māori and Iwi domain summary
The Domain Name Commissioner released her monthly statistics on .nz domain names for September 2011, the details and summaries are below including my commentary. .maori.nz / māori.nz 642 registered .maori.nz names with 118 renewals, 15 new registrations .iwi.nz 76 registered .iwi.nz names with 17 renewals and no new registrations. Summary .maori.nz / .māori.nz is still…
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New Zealand and Māori Predictive TXT database
Using word frequency lists including: a Māori predictive text list, lists of common Māori words in New Zealand English and common Māori words used in Māori. I discuss and analyse which words would be most beneficial in a Māori predictive text database for Māori and introduce the need to update New Zealand English databases used…
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New Zealand National Anthem with Māori words.
The vowels with macrons indicate the vowel is pronounced longer. 1. E Ihowā Atua, O ngā iwi mātou rā Āta whakarangona; Me aroha noa Kia hua ko te pai; Kia tau tō atawhai; Manaakitia mai Aotearoa 2. Ōna mano tāngata Kiri whero, kiri mā, Iwi Māori, Pākehā, Rūpeke katoa, Nei ka tono ko ngā hē Māu…
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Using Citizen Media Tools to Promote Under-Represented Languages
I gladly accepted an invitation to participate as a practitioner for the on-line dialogue on Using Citizen Media Tools to Promote Under-Represented Languages from November 16 to 22, 2011 from New Tactics http://www.newtactics.org . I am writing this post in the hope to raise more publicity of this key initiative which will allow anyone with a…
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August 2011 Māori and Iwi domain summary
The Domain Name Commissioner released her monthly statistics on .nz domain names for August 2011, the details and summaries are below including my commentary. Again, there is currently no public statistical information about International Domain Names-IDN (domains with macrons). .maori.nz 636 registered .maori.nz names with 9 renewals and 2 expired domain names. As with last month, it…
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A decade of free Māori Language software
It is hard to believe that a decade ago I nervously released Te Ngutu Kura Māori Spell Checker for Windows: then just last week I released version 3 with over 58,000 words for a wide range of applications and systems. It was about 12 years ago I created Moana Kupu Māori spell checker, which is…
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Māori macron urban myths
Macrons can be simply created with Māori keyboards available for all computer and smart phone systems. No longer does the need to press multiple keys to create a macron exist, despite the many articles which suggest otherwise. As an advocate and developer of macron technologies for more than 12 years: I am shocked that so many articles…
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Māori Language Week in Twitter
Twitter is buzzing with Māori words and tweets about Māori Language Week/Te Wiki o te reo Māori. Below are my initial observations, after reading several hundred tweets this morning. Other ad hoc commentary this week will be via my Twitter account @ktaiuru The hashtags for those that are using them, appear to be as follows:…
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Google Maori
Google Māori is still in dire need of translations to complete its user interface in Māori language. The statistics below show that many parts of Google are still 100% English. Contrary to popular belief, anyone with a Gmail account, can begin translating Google into Māori. You do not have to commit to plethora of translations,…
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Registering a macron domain name
Macrons within New Zealand domain names and international domains (.com, .org. .net, etc ) are possible, but with many limitations with finding a suitable New Zealand provider. .nz Since July 26 2010 in New Zealand, all authorised domain.nz registrars have to be able to register a .nz domain name with a macron, they are not…
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Macrons in .iwi.nz domains
In 2010, New Zealand domain names became technically “able” to include Māori macrons ā ē ī ō ū. The principal community of interest for macrons are those holders of .iwi.nz and .maori.nz domain names, though any .nz address can have a macron. Most domain name providers have not made it easy to register addresses with…
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Te Ngutu Kura Mac OSX
Te Ngutu Kura Macintosh download has been updated with relevant information to OSX. While Te Ngutu Kura does not directly offer the software, there is a link to the Hawai’i keyboard with creates macrons. Considering the small market for Māori language software and the fact that Hawai’i also use macrons. I felt that it was…
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Māori language txtn suggestions
If you are reo txt’a, send thru the kupu or how you create the txt Mri or txt them thru to 027 845 7200 so they can include in the reo txt list below, and in the Papakupu project. Txtn in te reo Māori is not a new phenomenon and has been developing over the…
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Genre Specific Māori Dictionaries
A discussion about the reason why Māori Dictionaries should stop being genre specific and be more inclusive of all Māori words. I use loan words as an example here. As a child who was brought up with te reo Māori (including Te Karere Māori News) in the late 70’s and early 80’s, I heard a…
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Do we need a new Māori Dictionary
It may appear that this Papakupu project has arisen out of nowhere, but the truth is that the original idea began over 16 years ago as a budding young IT probie. I was the architect and builder of Te Reo Tupu Māori dictionary (now known as Reo Tupu). Many said Te Reo Tupu is and…
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Is it only the rich who can afford to learn Māori?
There are many published Māori Dictionaries, some general and others specialised that much tax payers money is consumed funding the creation of multiple resources of which many have major cross over in terms of words and definitions. The Papakupu project has referenced over 200 various dictionaries and glossaries. The Canterbury Public Library online book catalogue…
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New Māori Language Dictionary
I am working on a new Māori Dictionary that will revolutionise the way we think of, and use Māori Language Dictionaries.
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maori dot nz myths
There are many misunderstandings about .maori.nz and its availability. This brief post should educate and dis spell any misunderstandings.
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Technologically correct macrons
Creating umlauts for macrons is no longer acceptable and is an outdated practice. Free and supported macron software is available on the web and should be installed.
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Avoiding GNA with tribal databases
Out of date membership details can cost organisations hundreds of thousands of dollars per annum. Despite the fact society has dramatically changed the way it communicates, database structures appear relatively un modified.
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Introduction to macrons in NZ web addresses
With the introduction of the 5 Māori macrons in .nz web addresses at the end of July this year, there has been little Domain Name registrar attention with most simply choosing not to advertise the fact that it is possible to register such names. There has also been little media attention to the fact that…
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Google Racist auto suggestions
More examples of Google auto text suggestions showing inappropriate and racist suggestions about Māori and Polynesians. Or perhpas this is unlucky SEO optimisation that makes some search suggestions look bad. Maybe if you are bored try insurance companies are etc, etc. and
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Macrons in .nz domains
The ability to register macrons in .nz domain names started to become a reality today for current .nz domain name owners. It is a happy day for me as the original initiator for this to occur in New Zealand some three years ago. An one month sunrise period was launched today by the Domain Name…
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Dealing with hate based – FaceBook groups
Some content may offend. Just today was made aware of a New Zealand based racist FaceBook group called “fuck i HATE dirty black MAORI’S” with a group description “this is a group that is devoted to the pure hatred of those dirty shitskined white girl bashing prison-monkeys otherwise known as Maoris”. Firstly it is sad…
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Māori online content to be archived without permission or consultation
The National Library is archiving New Zealand web sites without your permission and with little or no consultation with Maori? The project is called New Zealand Web Harvest 2010. It is now seeking comments on past issues that have been raised by mainly the technical community. I see no Maori concerns or consideration. Web Harvest…
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Google Aotearoa in Your Local Domain
The latest Google Doodle competition that recently announced the finalists provoked an old thought regarding the Google Aotearoa logo for the Visit Google’s Site in “Your Local Domain” page where Aotearoa is not shown in the listings. The Google Wiki tool for Google Aotearoa is also in English much to my surprise. But I am…
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Google Translate Toolkit Translates into Māori language
Google announced today. It was made possible by Dr Te Taka Keegan of the University of Waikato while on secondment to Google. Google Translate Toolkit is a translation tool that is edited by humans not automated by computers such as Google Translate. Google Toolkit relies on the community to add words and translations. It then…
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LinkedIn te reo Māori profiles
A number of months ago the professional networking site LinkedIn announced the ability to offer multilingual professional profiles via a set of existing languages and custom language options. The task is simple and can be used for any language in the world no matter how small the language population may be. Bilingual profiles in English…
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Twitter in Te Reo Māori
Twitter today announced that it would offer Twitter interface in multiple languages with other languages to be offered in the future. Currently Twitter is available in two languages English and Japanese. Twitter are calling for volunteers to assist with translating Twitter into French, Italian, German, and Spanish. The Twitter team have made it clear that…
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10 Suggestions to assist the process to have FaceBook Translated into Māori
For many years there have always been small groups of people fighting for what they believe is a natural right – to have software and online services presented in Māori. Most groups are short lived while others achieve results, often in a modest fashion. One-day translation issues and will not be an issue, it will…
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Multilingual web site tips for SEO
It is not uncommon for web sites to be bi or multilingual considering our international relationships and use of native languages on the Internet. But often there is little or no consideration for Search Engine Optimisation in the non English languages as they are not viewable upon reading the site. By following the above practice…
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Indigenous domain name cybersquatted
For many Indigenous Peoples and any other organisation it is common to prepare to register your domain name only to find that someone has cyber squatted it or perhaps a member is using it for their own use. Too often groups are confined to thinking that if their name is not available in the .com,…
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Māori Language with IDNs
Issue 1: An immediate issue for Māori Language is the use of the umlaut (äëïöü). There are two issues here. (a) For many years the umlaut was implemented as an alternative for the macron and is widely accepted as a macron. It is quite likely that a user with Māori fonts will use an umlaut…
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Haka on Twitter
Two days ago I wrote at my disbelief and sadness of the lack of innovation that was being used by Māori Language advocates. While no public comments appeared on my blog, my cell phone and email certainly were busy with people questioning me and seeking advise. Not to mention those people who reminded me that…
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Māori macrons in domain names are now available
Recently and with minimal media attention in New Zealand and the Pacific, the ability to write non English characters into Web addresses became a reality for many of the worlds popular extensions such as .com, .org, .net, .tv and so on. Thus giving Māori the ability to correctly spell macron Māori words in web addresses,…
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Dot Indigi Domain Name
.indigi is a new Internet domain name that will be the self governing Indigenous equivalent of the .com or .org . In late December 2008 i was appointed the Leader for this initiative which can be found at www.dotIndigi.com . While preparing our policy paper on .indigi i am often asked the same questions by…
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Social Media overlooked for Māori language week
We are at the end of another Māori Language week here in Aotearoa New Zealand. Most of us have seen and heard Māori language being spoken in mainstream radio, television and newspaper. The children’s television program “Sponge Bob” was also in Māori language. But alas!, the uptake of social media to promote Māori language has…
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FaceBook allows macrons and non English Characters in names
Many Māori and Pacific Peoples use alternative names to their birth names, often adopting an English name to be known by outside of the family. This is also a common practice with many non English speaking cultures in Asia. FaceBook.com in their quest to recognise the multilingual world we live in, today announced a new…
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FaceBook – your name in the link
FaceBook to offer vanity URL’s the Saturday. The consequences of not getting the right name for your organisation are significant.
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Page Squatting
Page squatting or Cyber Squatting also with sellable ads for sale are becoming popular in FaceBook and Twitter.
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macrons on iPhone
I am investigating how to create macrons the iPhone. I must admit to feeling like i have gone back 13 and more years in my career to the days when i worked on macron technology for web sites and the PC. Thankfully a task that is now simple and requires little cognition. Like the old days ASCII…
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International web site accessibility
Some countries restrict access to popular web sites. Knowing in advance will save you embarrassment and save you time.
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Organisations are vulnerable to ID and Brand theft
The increase in social media use also means an increase in your organisation name and brands being registered by others including your competition leaving you without a Social Media ID.
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Online profiles of a deceased person
I have had the fortunate experience of not knowing anyone with a heavy online presence that has passed away. But I have seen a few social media profiles with farewell messages to the person who has since deceased. This made me curious as to what the average Internet user who has multiple accounts and passwords…
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International domain name statistics
At the end of 2008, there were 177 million registered TLD domain names. Of the 240 cc TLDs there were 71.1 million registrations with 65% of them from only 10 ccTLDs according to Verisign. Of the top ten ccTLDs .cn, .de, .uk, .nl, .eu, .ar, .it, .ar, .br, .us and .au only 3 of the…
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The power of passive online activism
After wide spread protest over FaceBook’s new Terms of Use claiming perpetual ownership of all information you place on FaceBook.com, they have reverted their Terms of use as can be seen in their latest updated below. In a recent Mashable poll 56% of users were unhappy with the new Terms of Use. Now if our politicians…
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Hacking the Internet
During the recent Denial of Service (DoS) attack on a large international registrar effecting over 7.5 million web sites in 48 hours. I have learnt of an effective Internet vulnerability. I am only writing about it as once you read it, it is common knowledge and is only dangerous if you were inclined to try…
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Social Networks and Māori
I finally succumbed to perpetual requests from family and close friends to create a Bebo.com account. We know that Hi5.com is preferred by Thai’s and Orkut by South Americans, FaceBook.com and MySpace.com by a good international mixture. An observation that most intrigues me is that Bebo.com is, as is documented fact more for the younger generations (Gen M etc).…
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Māori representation on ICT boards
I have just heard Ernie Newman CEO of TUANZ speak at a Māori ICT conference (of which ironically we had no wireless Internet connection and cell phones were banned). Ernie expressed his vision for Māori and how Māori are creative and should participate more in ICT. Ernie was asked what TUANZ had done for Māori…
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Dot tel domain name
I have often wondered over the years how long the traditional paper based phone book will be in existence and how useful it is in today’s society when we are all connected to the Internet and have instant access to online phone books from all around the world as well as web sites that contain…
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.РФ TLD
With ICANN approving the IDN TLD for Russia, I hope this will start a “fast” flow of other TLD and GTLD’s being introduced in quick sucession. My understanding is that Russia will implement .РФ in June 2009. Then i am assuming they will offer all of thier 2LD’s in Cyrillic Russia already have 2 other TLDs…
