When the American technology firm Open Artificial Intelligence (OpenAI) introduced the audio transcription and English translation app ‘Whisper’ for dozens of languages, including the indigenous language of New Zealand, ‘Maori’, many native New Zealanders So the alarm went off.
According to Reuters, when Whisper was introduced in September, it received 680,000 hours of online audio training, including 1,381 hours of Maori language.
Local experts in technology and culture say that while such technologies can help preserve and restore languages, they risk acquiring language data without permission, misusing it and disenfranchising minorities. can produce
In New Zealand, where the ‘Maori’ language is recovering, the government aims to have 100,000 speakers by 2040.
‘Data is our land and natural resources,’ says Maori linguist and Honorary Fellow at the University of Auckland, Kraitiana Taiuru. If indigenous peoples do not gain control over their own data, it is clear that they will be recolonized by information technology in their society.’
OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment on this story, but in a statement on its website it said it would “work with industry leaders and policymakers to ensure that artificial intelligence systems can be used in reliable ways.” should be prepared from.’
This is especially true in the case of indigenous communities that have a long history of culture being stolen and adopted, says artificial intelligence expert Professor Michael Runningwolf.
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In 2019, when Air New Zealand, a New Zealand airline, wanted to trademark its logo with the words ‘Kia Ora’ from the local ‘Maori’ language, local leaders were outraged. These words are used to find happiness in this language. This highlighted the issue of tensions between local groups in adopting their language and culture.
In this situation, questions have arisen regarding the intellectual rights of the content on the Internet for the production of software related to artificial intelligence, whether it is legally correct to use that content or not.
Recently, a group of graphic designers filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against artificial intelligence companies Stability AI, Midjourney and Deviant Art for copying their artists’ styles. Who was
Stability AI, the company named in the lawsuit, said that ‘our work is protected under the fair use principle which allows limited use of copyrighted material.’