INDIGENIA: Generative AI for Indigenous futures and ‘digital good living’
The ‘INDIGENIA’ research project explored digital inclusion and the appropriation of digital resources by the Indigenous communities of Abya Yala (Latin America), focusing on the possibilities and positive aspects of the “digital good”.
The project placed emphasis on the rise of Generative Artificial Intelligence applications such as ChatGPT and Midjourney.
In particular, the project aimed to answer the central questions:
- How can the Indigenous concept of ‘Buen Vivir’ (Good Living or Living Well) be transferred to the digital world?
- How, from this perspective of Indigenous ‘Buen Vivir’, might we provoke and inspire a global understanding of what the ‘Digital Good’ is and could be for humanity?
This project was carried out by means of a participatory and collaborative workshop with a group of artists, writers, educators and indigenous leaders from different ethnicities, cultures and knowledge systems of Abya Yala, carried out in the facilities of the Associação Indigenista de Maringá (ASSINDI) in January 2024.
Creativity and arts enhanced our research, reflections and the communication of our results with the public. The workshop culminated with the event ‘Conexões em rede’ and the exhibition ‘Indigenia do ser’ at the State University of Maringá.
Outputs
The project led to a manifesto for digital good living drafted by the participants and culminated with the event ‘Conexões em rede’ and the exhibition ‘Indigenia do ser’ at the State University of Maringá.
Alexsandro Cosmo De Mesquita’s Digital Good Network fellowship built on the work of this project. In a paper for Revista do Centro de Pesquisa e Formação (Journal of the Research and Training Center), Alex reflected on issues relating to indigenous peoples and artificial co-creation.
Read more on the INDIGENIA research project’s website.
Team
Professor Thea Pitman, Professor of Latin American Studies, University of Leeds
Dr Andreas Rauh, Assistant Professor in Sound and Emerging Media, Dublin City University
Tadeu dos Santos Kaingang, artist and researcher
Dr Sheilla Souza, leadership team and visiting professor, Indigenist Association of Maringá (ASSINDI – NGO) and Coletivo Kókir (artists’ collective)
Sebastián Gerlic, Director, Thydêwá (NGO)
