Indigenous leaders urge AI safeguards, assert data sovereignty
At a U.N. forum, speakers highlighted artificial intelligence's dual role as a tool for cultural preservation and a threat of digital exploitation
Artificial intelligence is creating new opportunities and risks for Indigenous communities, according to Grist. Speakers at the Aug. 9 United Nations International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples said AI models are trained on large datasets — often including cultural knowledge, histories and languages — without consent, raising concerns about erasure and distortion. They called for “data sovereignty” and the use of free, prior and informed consent in AI development.
Panelists highlighted AI’s potential for language revitalization and climate forecasting. Examples include PolArctic, cofounded by Yup’ik Alaska Natives Leslie Canavera and Lauren Decker, which combines AI with Indigenous knowledge for Arctic sea ice and fish forecasts, and Te Heku Media in New Zealand, which developed Māori language transcription and storage tools. Leaders compared AI’s rise to historic resource extraction and urged tribes to secure protections before further exploitation occurs.