with Dr Karaitiana Taiuru
The posts in this category discuss cultural appropriation of traditional and customary Māori knowledge. This section also offers solutions to stop and prevent further appropriation.
This category is also a useful resource to prevent and educate businesses from mistakenly appropriating Māori cultural knowledge.
What is a social licence? A social licence to operate (SLO) is the ongoing acceptance or approval that an organisation receives from communities and other groups affected by its activities. It is different from formal legal permission. A social licence reflects trust and credibility built through responsible practices, ethical behaviour and meaningful engagement. The idea … Read more
Voyager Broadband‘s (Actrix Networks, 1st Domains / Affordable Domains / Register Direct) latest advertisement (via RNZ) shows two Māori/Pacific men, one of whom is attacking a Pākehā man by having him in a chocker hold on the floor, after their internet drops out during a UFC match on the television. The advert was made with … Read more
My ongoing investigation of scraped and stolen Māori knowledge by AI has identified more than 80 Māori authors, 8 non Māori kaupapa Māori authors (194 plus titles) and song artists; 100’s of videos from Te Karere TVNZ and Marae TV sourced primarily from YouTube, Māori academics articles published in Elsevier and JSTOR, including texts from … Read more
In 1907, the New Zealand Government passed an Act with a single purpose: to suppress tohunga and the traditional Māori knowledge and beliefs they held. It was not repealed until 1962. This was in addition to the Natives Schools Act, repression of reo Māori and culture and other systematic cultural erasure. I grew up seeing … Read more
The current coalition government has announced the elimination of approximately 8,700 public sector positions or 14% of the public workforce alongside NZ$2.4 billion in spending reductions over three years, with AI deployed as the replacement mechanism. The PSA has been direct in its assessment: AI is being used as a justification for politically driven job … Read more
A social media wildlife expert called a First Nations version of Steve Irwin drew a large following that The Guardian exposed the account as an AI-generated character. A South African content creator reportedly ran the operation from New Zealand. Indigenous experts have described the account as AI and digital blackface: modern racial impersonation that simulates … Read more
After generations of successful assimilation of Māori culture by governments including Native Schools, Tohunga Suppression Act, The Hunn Report, etc, many Māori were left without knowing their identity. There has been an increasing trend for those Māori individuals to reclaim back that knowledge. For many people, they are disconnected from their families and communities, so … Read more
The digital future is being written right now. AI is already here. Māori are at a crossroads. Māori Data Sovereignty is now a must. In an increasingly digitised world, Artificial Intelligence systems and algorithms shape key aspects of daily life, from healthcare to law enforcement. However, these technologies are often developed without sufficient regard for … Read more
Below is a script I used for a debate about if AI will replace humans in the Aotearoa screen industry at the Big Screen Symposium at Auckland University. It is a well-known fact that most of the world’s AI is dominated from big tech companies that are dominated by white middle class men, and based … Read more
Aukaha News story of a Māori women Ellen Tamati was woken my her mokopuna today to hear that her image of her face and moko kauae has been used in racist billboards advertising anti Māori wards. A campaign by Hobson’s Pledge. The media clip of the woman is here https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19LKSEc1f8/ Hours later, there was a public … Read more
This YouTube video clip is a perfect example of why AI will not replace our talented people in the screen industry. It was reported in RNZ and in the Spin Off. The Chat GPT AI generated video is just over 10 minutes long and is supposed to be about about keeping your phone silent in … Read more
Earlier this week the Honourable Winston Peters, in an open parliament debate about the punishment of three politicians of the Māori Party, made what is considered a derogatory and racist comment. He commented about the Honourable Rawiri Waititi’s moko kanohi. This is a traditional tattoo that covers the face, while a moko kauae is on … Read more
Following on from my two previous successful online webinars Artificial Intelligence Impacts and Preparation for Māori – Environment and Employment, on June 05, 2025 at 1pm I will be discussing the implications and benefits of AI with Māori IP, Art and Reo Māori. Free registration is here . The tickets are capped at 125. They have been … Read more
It’s a cultural norm for Māori to mihi or greet people with a ‘Kia ora’ or other salutation. This is done in person, 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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more