As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the digital landscape, Māori experts are warning that the technology risks becoming a new form of digital colonisation unless stronger protections are put in place for Māori data, imagery, language, cultural knowledge and creative works.
Dr Karaitiana Taiuru, one of Aotearoa’s foremost authorities on Māori data sovereignty, cyber ethics and emerging technologies, has long argued that Māori communities must have greater control over how their information, culture and intellectual property are collected, stored and used by technology companies.
His concerns come amid growing international debate over AI systems that have been trained on vast amounts of online content without the knowledge or consent of creators, indigenous communities or rights holders.
Recent controversies involving AI-generated music, the scraping of Australasian artists’ work, and the unauthorised use of taonga pūoro recordings have intensified concerns that Māori culture is being absorbed into global AI systems without appropriate protections, attribution or benefit-sharing.
Artificial intelligence relies on enormous datasets to learn patterns and generate content. Those datasets often include text, images, audio recordings, videos and artwork collected from across the internet.
For Māori communities, the issue extends beyond copyright.
Many cultural expressions, traditional knowledge, whakapapa records, waiata, karakia, reo Māori resources and taonga imagery carry cultural significance that cannot be adequately protected through conventional intellectual property laws.
Experts warn that AI systems can reproduce, remix and commercialise cultural material in ways that remove context, distort meaning and disconnect taonga from the communities to whom they belong.
The result is growing concern that indigenous knowledge may be harvested, digitised and monetised without consent while the original custodians receive little control or recognition.
The recent emergence of AI-generated music trained on Australasian artists has raised fresh concerns among Māori musicians and cultural practitioners.
Taonga pūoro, traditional Māori instruments and their distinctive sounds, are increasingly available through digital recordings online. While these recordings help preserve and share cultural knowledge, they may also become vulnerable to unauthorised collection by AI developers.
The concern is that AI systems can learn from these recordings and reproduce similar sounds, compositions or styles without permission from the artists, composers or communities connected to the works.
For Māori creators, safeguarding intellectual property requires a combination of legal, technological and cultural approaches.
Artists are being encouraged to maintain clear ownership records, register copyright where appropriate, include cultural usage conditions on digital content and carefully consider how and where works are shared online.
Some experts are also advocating for the development of indigenous data licences that specifically recognise Māori cultural rights and collective ownership principles.
The dangers of AI extend beyond creative works.
The recent case highlighted on TVNZ’s Marae programme, where a whānau allegedly discovered family photographs had been manipulated into explicit AI-generated content, has shocked many New Zealanders.
The incident illustrates how ordinary social media images can be copied, altered and repurposed without consent.
Modern AI image generators require only a handful of photographs to create realistic synthetic content, making it increasingly difficult for individuals and families to control how their images are used.
For Māori whānau, the misuse of personal images can have profound impacts, affecting mana, wellbeing, identity and relationships.
The incident has also raised concerns about the exposure of tamariki whose images are frequently shared across social media platforms.
Digital safety experts recommend several practical measures to reduce risk.
Families can strengthen privacy settings on social media accounts, restrict public access to personal photographs and regularly review who can view or download content.
Parents are encouraged to think carefully about the number of images of tamariki shared publicly and to discuss online safety with children from an early age.
Using watermarks on photographs, disabling public downloads where possible and limiting location information attached to posts can provide additional layers of protection.
Experts also recommend regularly searching online for unauthorised use of images and keeping records of suspicious activity should reporting become necessary.
If harmful content is discovered, families are advised to document evidence, report the material immediately to the relevant platform and seek support from organisations such as Netsafe.
The debate surrounding AI has increasingly become a debate about data sovereignty.
Māori data sovereignty is founded on the principle that Māori should exercise authority and control over data relating to Māori people, communities, resources and cultural knowledge.
Advocates argue that current AI systems often operate without recognising indigenous rights, tikanga or collective ownership models.
Without stronger safeguards, there is concern that Māori information could be extracted and utilised in ways that conflict with cultural values and self-determination.
Many Māori technology leaders believe indigenous communities must have a seat at the table when governments and technology companies develop AI policy, regulation and ethical standards.
Addressing the challenges posed by AI will require cooperation across multiple sectors.
Government agencies are being urged to modernise privacy, copyright and digital harm laws to account for rapidly evolving AI technologies.
Technology companies face increasing pressure to improve transparency around training datasets, obtain meaningful consent and provide stronger safeguards against the misuse of personal and cultural content.
Iwi and Māori organisations are also being called upon to develop community-led frameworks that reflect tikanga Māori and establish clear expectations for how Māori data and cultural knowledge can be used.
Many experts argue that the future of AI should not be determined solely by technology developers or global corporations.
Instead, they say indigenous peoples must play a central role in shaping how emerging technologies interact with culture, identity and collective rights.
Artificial intelligence presents enormous opportunities for innovation, education and economic development. However, it also raises serious questions about ownership, consent and cultural protection.
For Māori communities, the challenge is ensuring that technological advancement does not come at the expense of cultural integrity, whakapapa and self-determination.
As AI continues to evolve, calls are growing louder for stronger protections that recognise Māori data sovereignty and ensure that indigenous voices help shape the digital future rather than simply becoming part of the data that powers it.
