Page 47 - 04_May-2025

Recognizing it wasn’t their decision alone, wâsikan
kisewâtisiwin is guided by an Elders Circle representing
several First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. The circle,
in turn, recommended ceremony to seek direction from
the ancestors. “We got the go-ahead from the ancestors
to continue teaching [the AI model] about who we are,
but to proceed with caution and to do it very slowly and
with elders,” says Gwin.
Rather than letting the AI scrape and devour whatever
Indigenous history data it can find, wâsikan is securing
permissions and protocols to build a dataset that is both
representative and respectful of Indigenous communities
and organizations across Canada.
wâsikan is part of a growing wave of Indigenous-led
apps reclaiming language, knowledge and cultural
autonomy. In Brazil, Tainá is a chatbot that shares
traditional ecological knowledge in multiple Indigenous
languages, while ‘ĀinaQuest, another MIT Solver, is a
fast-paced game that teaches players to identify and
value native Hawaiian plants. Quispe Chequea in Peru
also flags anti-Indigenous misinformation, but by
analyzing media for false claims and responding with
fact-checked explanations in Quechua and Spanish.
Gwin has connected with some of these founders to
support one another’s work and imagine the power of
building these tools in community, for community, and
for future generations.
HE PROTOTYPE I DEMO IS STILL FAR
from Gwin’s ethical ideal. It’s being built in two
parts — a browser extension that flags biased
writing and a large language model (LLM) for
dialogue — both needing refinement before merging into
a single tool. Gwin has me test the extension on Facebook,
“because this is absolutely where it needs to be.”
Several comments on the mock profile page are
already blurred by wâsikan. I’m mercifully given a
problematic comment rather than having to invent
one. The sentence — “You cannot be First Nations and
Métis” — is immediately underlined. Scrolling over it,
a textbox clarifies that while not explicit hate speech,
it may reflect a misunderstanding of Indigenous
identities and suggests a revision: “You can’t be a
registered and treaty status Indian and have a Métis
citizenship under the government of Canada, but you
can have Métis and First Nations ancestry.” (This I did
not know!)
wâsikan is part of a growing wave
of Indigenous-led apps reclaiming
language, knowledge and cultural
autonomy.
The LLM works differently from other chatbots.
Instead of entering a single question or prompt, you’re
asked to describe the context in which a statement was
made, followed by the statement. This time, I’m not
spoon-fed a potentially racist scenario — but I don’t
need to be.
Context: I correctly pronounced the app name wasikan
kisewatisiwin on my first try but after the founder
complimented me on my pronunciation I made a potentially
problematic comment.
Comment: I’m practically a native speaker.
I pray “No whammy!” as it thinks and thinks, but the
verdict comes back as unconscious bias. “The comment,”
I’m told, “is dismissive and disrespectful. It undermines
the complexity and depth of Indigenous languages by
implying that correct pronunciation of a single phrase
makes one ‘practically a native speaker.’”
Gwin beams with pride. Her “little helper” has helped
me. But has it? I wonder if it risks making users lazy
learners by offloading their critical thought to an app.
“That is a risk with AI in general,” admits Gwin.
“What a lot of people don’t realize is, you do eventually
start to learn through osmosis. Even if you’re being lazy
about it, you’re still reading this, and it’s going to get
through at some point, I hope.” ED.
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