In honour of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on 9 August, the UN hosted a virtual commemoration on Friday on the theme AI: Defending Rights, Shaping Futures. An estimated 476 million Indigenous Peoples live across 90 countries, representing 5,000 different cultures. Without proper safeguards, AI risks harming Indigenous rights through inequitable distribution of the groundbreaking technology, environmental damage and the reinforcement of damaging colonial legacies. The growing amount of electricity generation needed for AI data centres and other infrastructure is also intensifying climate change pressures, according to the UN.
Indigenous Peoples Day highlights AI’s risks and opportunities | UN News
