May 05, 2022
Tikanga built in to artificial intelligence
The AI Forum is encouraging Māori to get involved in building artificial intelligence systems to develop solutions to complex problems.
Executive council member Matt Lythe says the forum has been working on applying AI to environmental planning, including finding ways to build Māori values into systems.
Examples include a group of rural marae which are using AI to explore how they can build resilience in the face of climate change and a project in which mana whenua identified 42 tikanga that can be applied to the management of catchments in the Wellington area.
“You don’t need to be an AI or a computer science expert to be working in this domain. If you understand your environment and the values that are important to that system, you can contribute, You can help train models and help contribute to the overall development so I think it’s a great opportunity for our people to create better jobs, create better outcomes for New Zealand and elsewhere,” Mr Lyffe says.
Māori participation in computer science is still too low, but putting an environmental slant in it might encourage more people in.