My Whānau and I are descendants of Tūtāmuri.
We are Te uri o Patumoana raua ko Raikete Amoamo
Our tribal land is the Whakatōhea.
Our ancestors were legendary seafarers, historians, protectors of our genealogy, acclaimed orators and the guardians of the many treasures that surrounded them.
Post-colonisation. Māori are now over-represented in underachievement in education, poor health, dependency on welfare and incarceration. These poor statistics exacerbate the inequalities in our country inflamed by individual and institutional racism.
In Aotearoa, it is public knowledge that algorithms are now being used by ACC, Corrections, Healthcare and the Police to try to predict behaviour. The over-representation of Maori exhibited in poor statistical rates are now evolving in imperial dominated algorithms and are proving to amplify biased stereotypes in Artificial Intelligence systems.
When Dr Hēmi Whaanga asked Professor Rangi Matamua his thoughts on the impact of new technologies, Professor Mātāmua responded, “Is Artificial Intelligence the new revolution or the new coloniser of Māori?”
This research will examine the way my whanau, including tohunga or spiritual experts, data scientists and thought leaders, how we want to respond to dominant colonial cultured technologies and to find ways to ensure that a new coloniser does not become a reality.
Our research is grounded in kaupapa Māori theory which means we can conduct research by Māori, with Māori and for Māori in our Whakatōhea tribal context. Whakawhanaungatanga, or relationship building is at the heart of this investigation. We as whānau will engage wānanga kōrero sharing our experiences with technologies providing suggestions around governance and intellectual protocols which will then be woven into algorithms that will inform the building of next-generation Te uri o Patu raua ko Raikete Amoamo AI systems.
Our whanau research will help identify the conceptual elements of tikanga Māori that will help us to shape the development of Māori AI.
My whānau and I are the guardians of these gifts.
No reira, tēna koutou, tēnā tatou te whare
AI connecting our Whānau 