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 … Read more

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 … Read more

Māori culture and language observations with ChatGPT

Image sourced from https://www.freepik.com/premium-photo/automation-customer-service-concept-with-3d-rendering-cute-robot-working-with-headset-notebook_18498132.htm#query=chatbot&position=28&from_view=keyword

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

Māori Data Sovereignty in the Agriculture industry

AgData

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 … Read more

Maori a popular search term with porn

cyber safety

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 … Read more

The NZ Supreme Court Judgement and the impacts to Māori Data Sovereignty

Coat_of_arms_of_New_Zealand

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 … Read more

A Māori cultural perspective of AI/machine sentience

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 … Read more

ReMāorification origins of Māori Data, Sovereignty and Governance

Ai 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 … Read more

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

Consumer Guidelines for Māori Non Fungible Tokens

nft

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 … Read more

Māori Data Sovereignty Principles

rangatiratanga

Māori data sovereignty is the inherent right of Māori — whānau, hapū, iwi, marae and rōpū Māori — to exercise control over Māori data and Māori data ecosystems. It is grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi and He Whakaputanga, and given legal definition by the Waitangi Tribunal’s WAI 2522 report. The Tribunal frames Māori data … Read more

Māori Covid immunisation Data to be shared and the Sovereignty issues

rangatiratanga

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 … Read more

Marae Data Sovereignty Data Sets

rangatiratanga

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 … Read more

Māori Data Sovereignty Principles – Updated

rangatiratanga

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 … Read more

Māori Data Sovereignty Commitment Statements

rangatiratanga

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. … Read more

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 … Read more