A DNA / Native Tech Advanced Programme
For those ready to think critically, build courageously, and act with care.
Who is this for?
This course is for rangatahi and adults (16+) who are already thinkers, builders, designers, writers, and cultural workers and is currently under development. But you’re not here to be spoon-fed definitions. You’re here to ask sharp questions, unlearn colonial assumptions, and co-design pathways that embed ancestral intelligence into the most powerful tools of our time.
You might be a coder. Or an activist. Or an artist. What matters is that you are ready to ask the critical questions: Whose intelligence is this? Who decides what it becomes?
COURSE OVERVIEW (DRAFT)
Each module blends critical theory, creative practice, and Indigenous frameworks.
You’ll map the terrain of AI, then carve out new paths within it.
Module 1: More than Machines: What is Intelligence?
Core Question: How do Indigenous and Western knowledge systems define and value intelligence?
- He whakaaro Māori: mauri, whakapapa, interconnection
- What’s “artificial” about AI?
- From IQ to GPT: How the West tried to bottle the mind
Module 2: The Machinery of Power: Data Colonialism & Algorithmic Bias
Core Question: Who benefits when data becomes the new land?
- Bias isn’t a bug, it’s a feature
- Surveillance capitalism and predictive policing
- Indigenous Data Sovereignty: ownership, agency, resistance
- Case Study: Amazon, Palantir, and iwi data
Outcome: Create a critical visual map of an AI system showing where power concentrates and where resistance can be built.
Module 3: Building Otherwise: Indigenous Tools, AI Ethics & Protocols
Core Question: How can tikanga inform AI development and governance?
- Protocols > policies: whakapapa-based tech development
- Indigenous frameworks (Te Mana Raraunga, CARE, OCAP)
- He Puka Whakaaro: designing consent in digital environments
- Outcome: Co-create a draft tikanga-based AI ethics framework.
- Optional white paper or wiki entry.
Module 4: Speculative Tech Futures: Reimagining AI from the Ground Up
Core Question: If we built AI from mātauranga, what would it look like?
- Design fiction & Indigenous futurisms
- AI for whenua, wai, whānau
- Counter-narratives in games, animation, and storytelling
- Hands-on with generative AI tools to prototype Indigenous concepts
Outcome: Concept piece, game design, art, short film, or code prototype for an Indigenous AI future.
Module 5: From Resistance to Leadership — AI Governance & Global Impact
Core Question: What does Indigenous leadership in AI actually mean—beyond consultation?
- Case studies: Māori AI working groups, global Indigenous AI coalitions
- Navigating partnerships with government, Big Tech, and academia
- Advocacy, strategy, and decolonial action plans
Outcome: Strategic brief or campaign blueprint to influence real-world AI systems or policies.
Capstone:
Design and present a provocation, prototype, or position paper that contributes to the global Indigenous conversation on AI. This will be published (if you choose) and submitted to relevant international or national bodies for recognition or feedback.
Delivery
- 10–15 weeks (flexible)
- Hybrid model (in-person + digital)
- Guest mentors from Māori tech, academia, global Indigenous AI initiatives
- Access to a sandbox of tools: Runway, GPT, Replicate, etc.
- Group critique, co-writing, co-design
Why This Course Should Exist
Because AI is not neutral. It’s being trained, scaled, and embedded at pace—often without our input, values, or visions.
This course will not just about literacy. It’s about agency.
We don’t just want Indigenous people in the room when decisions are made.
We want to build the room. Or walk away and build something better.
If this is something you would be interested in exploring get in touch with us [email protected].
