{"slug": "create-change-why-these-indigenous-entrepreneurs-are-leaning-into-ai", "title": "'Create change:' Why these Indigenous entrepreneurs are leaning into AI", "summary": "Métis entrepreneur Shani Gwin founded wasikan kisewatisiwin, a technology company that developed an AI tool to detect inaccurate representations of Indigenous Peoples in written content, after experiencing a lack of Indigenous perspectives in government communications. The tool, built with input from Indigenous elders and community members, can be used as an internal system or an add-on like Grammarly, but will not give away traditional teachings. Gwin worked with the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute to create the model, which aims to make reconciliation and truth more top of mind in daily interactions.", "body_md": "Shani Gwin's foray into the world of artificial intelligence began with a problem.\n\nThe Métis entrepreneur from Edmonton previously worked in government communications** **and found herself one of the only Indigenous people on her team. She was often tasked with reviewing Indigenous content for misinformation.\n\nShe noticed that Indigenous people frequently have to battle online hate speech and inform others on First Nation, Inuit and Métis history.\n\nIt prompted Gwin to create a technology company called wasikan kisewatisiwin, which means \"kind electricity\" in Cree. It has developed an AI tool that can detect inaccurate representations of Indigenous Peoples in written content.\n\n\"A lot of our history online is from a colonized perspective. It's not validated by us,\" Gwin said in a recent interview.\n\n\"I see this as an opportunity for us to share our truth, our history, that knowledge that we want to put in (the tool).\"\n\nGwin is among some Indigenous people who are exploring how AI can help organizations educate the public, preserve culture and language, and address environmental concerns.\n\nWith new AI agents popping up at lightning speed, Gwin's journey took a slower pace.\n\n\"Sometimes it's a good thing to be late in the game, because we can actually do this right.\"\n\nShe reached out to the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute in Edmonton to determine if an AI system could be developed to recognize harmful or misinformed comments against Indigenous Peoples.\n\nFrom there, Gwin worked with Indigenous elders and community members to construct and train an in-house AI model to detect domain-specific content that could be seen as spreading misinformation or racism.\n\nThe tool can be used in two ways: with companies' internal AI systems or as an add-on, similar to writing assistance software such as Grammarly.\n\nWhat it won't do, said Gwin, is give away traditional teachings.\n\n\"The goal is never to give away all of our knowledge for free,\" she said. \"But it is to make that reconciliation and truth aspect more top of mind for people in their day-to-day and not an afterthought.\"\n\nResearch shows there are limitations on cultural accuracy with generative AI, because of a lack of available information online.\n\nOpinions on the role AI can have in preserving language and culture vary from nation to nation. But there are shared concerns over data sovereignty, environmental effects from large data centres and cultural appropriation.\n\nMichael Sherbert, research associate with York University's Connected Minds and a member of the Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation, said there's a place for AI in language and cultural revitalization, if communities lead the process.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/create-change-why-these-indigenous-entrepreneurs-are-leaning-into-ai", "canonical_source": "https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/create-change-why-indigenous-entrepreneurs-120007765.html", "published_at": "2026-07-25 12:00:07+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-25 12:22:38.596458+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-ethics", "ai-products", "natural-language-processing"], "entities": ["Shani Gwin", "wasikan kisewatisiwin", "Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute", "Grammarly", "York University", "Michael Sherbert", "Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/create-change-why-these-indigenous-entrepreneurs-are-leaning-into-ai", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/create-change-why-these-indigenous-entrepreneurs-are-leaning-into-ai.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/create-change-why-these-indigenous-entrepreneurs-are-leaning-into-ai.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/create-change-why-these-indigenous-entrepreneurs-are-leaning-into-ai.jsonld"}}