Big Tech Won’t Revitalize Indigenous Languages w/ Keoni Mahelona
Jul 20, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 177
Episode description
Paris Marx is joined by Keoni Mahelona to discuss the colonial nature of data extraction by major tech companies, and how Te Hiku takes a very different approach to revitalize the Māori language.
Keoni Mahelona is the Chief Technology Officer at Te Hiku Media. Follow Keoni on Twitter at @mahelona.
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.
The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.
Also mentioned in this episode:
- Keoni and some of his colleagues wrote about why OpenAI’s Whisper is another example of colonialism.
- Wired and MIT Tech Review have written about the work Te Hiku is doing with Māori language in Aotearoa New Zealand.
- Mark Zuckerberg owns a lot of land in Hawaiʻi, and it’s quite controversial.