Organizations like First Languages AI Reality, IndigiGenius, Tech Natives, and the Wihanble S’a Center for Indigenous AI are training Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian computer science students to preserve Indigenous culture and language. AI is also being used to fill Indigenous cultural gaps beyond language, such as creating virtual reality experiences for Native youth to visit their traditional lands and using machine learning in art. The goal is to revive dying languages and enable new generations of Native speakers to create ethical tech.
Key takeaways:
- Indigenous researchers are working to preserve endangered Indigenous languages using AI, but face a shortage of Indigenous computer scientists who understand the language and culture.
- Organizations like First Languages AI Reality, IndigiGenius, Tech Natives, and the Wihanble S’a Center for Indigenous AI are training Indigenous computer science students to help with language preservation projects.
- AI is also being used to fill cultural gaps, with projects such as virtual reality experiences to connect Indigenous people with their ancestral lands, and using machine learning in art to process Indigenous knowledge.
- Despite the progress, Indigenous people still make up less than 0.005% of the tech workforce in the U.S., and Native-founded companies received only 0.02% of total venture capital funding in 2022.