Artificial Intelligence Posed Threats Identified for Indigenous Communities by United Nations
The United Nations has proposed a series of measures aimed at ensuring meaningful inclusion, data sovereignty, and culturally grounded innovation in Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Indigenous populations. The focus is on elevating Indigenous jurisdiction, implementing data sovereignty principles, funding Indigenous technological sovereignty, embedding Indigenous ethics into AI, and promoting collaborative global governance.
The UN's proposals underscore the need for respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples in the development and use of AI. Recognizing Indigenous sovereignty and participation is at the heart of these measures. Indigenous Peoples must be involved from the inception of AI projects, not as token participants, but as co-creators of rules, systems, and policies affecting their lives and technologies.
Data sovereignty is identified as a key factor to ensure AI strengthens Indigenous communities. Indigenous Peoples have rights to maintain, control, and protect their cultural heritage and traditional knowledge, including data. The UN promotes the 2020 CARE principles for Indigenous data governance, focusing on Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics to ensure Indigenous control and benefits over their data.
Access to new technologies, particularly in rural areas, is a challenge for Indigenous Peoples. The UN advocates for financial and institutional support towards Indigenous-led research institutions and technology projects that embed Indigenous languages, values, laws, and cosmologies. Examples include Māori language models governed by Māori law (tikanga) and community-guided language revitalization projects like the Maasai Language AI Project.
The potential impact of massive data centers on territories, resources, and ecosystems of Indigenous Peoples is another concern. The UN stresses the need to prevent AI infrastructure from exacerbating environmental damage on Indigenous lands and climate change pressures, linking sustainable AI development with Indigenous stewardship and rights.
Indigenous protocols are essential for governing emerging technologies to optimize Indigenous benefits and prevent technological harms such as cultural appropriation, environmental degradation, and exclusion from decision-making processes. The UN encourages inclusive forums such as the global digital compact to bring Indigenous leaders alongside governments, civil society, and the private sector to jointly shape AI ethics and policies that protect Indigenous rights and knowledge.
In summary, the UN's measures focus on empowering Indigenous Peoples meaningfully and equitably in the AI era. By elevating Indigenous jurisdiction, implementing data sovereignty principles, funding Indigenous technological sovereignty, embedding Indigenous ethics into AI, and promoting collaborative global governance, the UN aims to ensure that AI strengthens rather than harms Indigenous communities.
- Implementing data sovereignty principles and funding Indigenous technological sovereignty are crucial steps in the UN's measures to ensure that science and technology benefit Indigenous Peoples.
- The UN's proposals emphasize the need for Indigenous Peoples to be involved in AI projects from the start, not just as observers, but as creators, to ensure that science and technology align with their cultural values and ethical standards.
