Robots Can Create Karakia Now???

By Cameron McCausland-Taylor

I’ve managed to stay out of the artificial intelligence kōrero for quite some time now. While I’m fascinated by its seemingly endless capabilities, the thought of robots rendering our human existence unnecessary is a nightmare that plagues me from time to time. Therefore, I tend to stay out of it, skipping over articles about the topic. In all honesty, I think I looked at it as some faraway phenomenon that didn’t really have anything to do with me. That was until I saw the rise of AI within our Māori communities and kaupapa, and it started to really hit close to home.

In a Stuff article, Speaking my indigenous language with new AI, written by Pou Tiki reporter Joel Maxwell, Dr Karaitiana Taiuru paints a frightening picture. Taiuru discusses how Māori could be “recolonised” by AI, suggesting it could “write out of history” Māori leaders and Māori achievements. When you think of all the mamae our people have been through, and still experience to this day, these suggestions are absolutely devastating.

Te Ao Māori and all that it encompasses (tikanga, te reo, etc) thrives on oral tradition. Our whakapapa, our karakia, our pūrakau, our whakataukī - passed down from generation to generation through kōrero. Our oral traditions also live on in visual forms such as whakairo, tā moko and raranga, with each piece having its own unique story and whakapapa. Upon European arrival, the art of writing was also introduced, allowing our tīpuna to continue passing down their kōrero through a new channel. Perhaps, you could argue, that AI is another form that could contribute to maintaining our cultural history and knowledge; another addition to the whakapapa of Māori oral tradition. On the other hand, AI lacks what all of these other forms have in common: a human creator.

For those who didn’t know, the AI software ChatGPT can create karakia tailored to particular needs or intentions. I decided to ask for a karakia about artificial intelligence itself. Here’s the result:

Karakia for Embracing Artificial Intelligence: E te Atua, e whakarongo mai ki ēnei kupu, Whakarauora ngā whakaaro, ngā māramatanga, E whakarato ana i te Atamai Tūturu.

Whakatūpato i ēnei ahuatanga hōu, Kia whakapono ai tātou i te āhua o te whakapau kaha, Me te āwhina i te hunga whai hua.

Whakapau kaha i ā tātou whakaaro, Kia mārama ai tātou ki te whakahaere i te Atamai Tūturu, Me te whakapakari i ā tātou whakawhitinga huarahi.

Whakarangatira i te whakapau kaha o te hōtaka, Me te whakapakari i ngā āpiha hinengaro, Kia tūturu ai te ao i runga i te māramatanga. E whakarongo mai, e whakarongo mai, E te Atua, whakarongo mai.

Translation:

O God, listen to these words, Revive the thoughts, the understanding, That embrace Artificial Intelligence. Caution us in these new developments, So that we may have faith in the power, And assist those who seek its benefits. Strengthen our minds, That we may comprehend the operation of Artificial Intelligence, And enhance our pathways. Uplift the power of the program, And strengthen the intellectual capacities, That the world may stand firm in knowledge. Listen, listen, O God, listen.

Note: This karakia acknowledges the presence and potential of artificial intelligence and seeks guidance and understanding in its utilization. It emphasises the need for caution, faith, and the empowerment of the human mind in the face of advancing technologies.

Now, I can appreciate a good karakia, don’t get me wrong. But when I learned that ChatGPT had this ability, it made me feel so unsettled. I think of a quote by Richard Taylor in Jane McRae’s pukapuka Maori Oral Tradition : He Korero no te Ao Tawhito: “The Māori never undertook any work, whether hunting, fishing, planting, or war, without first uttering a karakia; he would not even take a journey without repeating a spell to secure his safety”.

Our tīpuna had a karakia for eeeeeeverything. It also seems that ChatGPT has a karakia for everything too, which I trialled by making it create karakia after karakia about a range of topics. However, as said in McRae’s book, the reciting of karakia often evokes a wairua of connection between living descendants and our tīpuna. When ChatGPT creates karakia, which tīpuna’s spirits is it calling forth exactly? Furthermore, as an un-sentient being, meaning that ChatGPT is incapable of feeling human emotion, the karakia it creates has a severe absence of wairua in my opinion. If that’s the case, why must it create karakia in the first place?

Dani Lucas, former Analytics Lead for Nicholson Consulting, also touched on the risk and challenges around tikanga in the AI space: “What does it mean when we have a robot weaving a tukutuku panel? How do you karanga a stranger on to a virtual marae? Can a chatbot know as much as a tohunga?” Like I said, there’s an absence of wairua within the mahi that these AI softwares churn out. It’s those human connections that really allow our culture to flourish and as much as I try, I really struggle to see how AI can be interwoven into our cultural spaces and kaupapa.

Another crucial issue within AI is Māori data sovereignty, a Te Tiriti o Waitangi right for Māori that is sadly not always enforced or upheld. In July 2022, a Stuff article shared how Māori data specialists were not consulted on a new facial recognition technology in the Ministry of Social Development and Waka Kotahi, described by former executive council member of Digital Identity New Zealand, Janelle Riki-Waaka, as “absolutely another case of things being done to Māori, without Māori.” Dani also touched on this issue, sharing how past data-collecting meant that there was a ton of biased data that didn’t appropriately reflect Māori communities, nor was it shared with these communities. To me, this brings up a deep amount of fear about recolonising principles being strengthened and maintained through AI.

On the other hand, however, Dani shed light on some of the exciting opportunities that may be upon us in the world of Māori AI. One of these opportunities is the Tikanga in Technology research project, in which academics from Waikato, Auckland and Victoria University are devising a framework that decolonises algorithms. This project allows for Māori worldviews to be properly developed in the digital space and has equitable outcomes for Māori as a key factor. While I find AI a difficult space to navigate personally, it is so epic to see ‘by Māori, for Māori’ approaches in these spaces.

Another example is the He Ara Poutama mō te reo Māori model, combining information from the Integrated Data Infrastructure and community Te Reo Māori initiatives. By doing this, the model provides an in-depth understanding of the fluency and usage of te reo Māori in Aotearoa, as well as providing a support framework to continue te reo revitalisation. Commissioned by Te Whare o te Reo Mauriora (Te Mātāwai, Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, and the Ministry of Education), it’s another example of how the ‘by Māori, for Māori’ procedure is absolutely essential in these spaces.

So, while AI still high key freaks me out, I’m not completely ruling it out just yet. There are plenty of risks and challenges to be aware of as Māori begin delving into these advanced technologies, but there is also plenty of room for growth and opportunity ahead. As our society progresses into the future, there’s no sign of technology wavering, hence the need for Māori to have a seat at these decisionmaking tables. I’m both thrilled and terrified to see how the world of Māori AI develops.

Glossary

Kōrero - to tell, say, speak, etc

Kaupapa - topic, matter for discussion, plan, etc

Mamae - hurt/pain

Te Ao Māori - the Māori world

Tikanga - correct procedure and custom

Te reo - language

Whakapapa - genealogy

Karakia - prayer/incantation

Pūrakau - stories

Whakataukī - proverbs/sayings

Whakairo - carving

Tā moko - Māori cultural tattooing

Raranga - weaving

Wairua - spirit/soul

Tīpuna - ancestors

Tukutuku - ornamental lattice work

Karanga - ceremonial/welcome call

Te Tiriti o Waitangi - The Treaty of Waitangi