Artificial intelligence has the potential to improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but only if the technology is in community hands, a report shows.
Wiradjuri man and Paul Ramsay Foundation fellow Kyle Turner examined the impact AI could have on the 17 established Closing the Gap targets, including health, justice, education, environment and child protection measures.
What he found was a mixed bag.
For health, education, language revitalisation and environmental targets, there were clear advantages to using AI, Dr Turner said.
But others areas were murkier or presented a risk for Indigenous communities.
For example, using predictive policing models, trained on biased data, could amplify discrimination.
In the area of child protection, automation could mean mistaking surveillance for safety.
The report found the most promising uses of AI were those taken up on community terms rather than imposed.
AI has the power to improve Indigenous lives but the technology also has dangers, Kyle Turner says. (PR IMAGE PHOTO) Credit: PR IMAGE
Dr Turner's interest in AI came about after he created an AI technology to scan photos of teeth and gums to allow people to have free dental checks at home.
"I knew, historically, that First Nations people as well as other disadvantaged groups, they're usually the last to benefit from advancements in technology, health, education," he said.
Dr Turner's latest research points out many challenges still remain including a digital divide in remote regions.
However, he sees future benefits if Indigenous data sovereignty is mandated in all AI programs, and the technology is shifted into community hands.
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