ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a chatbot launched by OpenAI in November 2022. It has been discussed by international mainstream media with many academics and education facilities concerned at it’s ability to assist with plagiarised writings and research.
As with any new technologies, there is very little Indigenous perspectives or input into developments which usually result in bias and racism against minorities and Indigenous Peoples. This brief article explores some Māori cultural perspectives.
Bias against minorities with technology is nothing new, in fact it is expected. In 2010 and in 2013 I showed that Google search engine was racist against Māori, and now with all of the mainstream attention to ChatGPT, I tried to find if it was bias or racist against Māori and if it is likely that a ChatGPT could replace Māori language translators, if it could be an issue for kura kaupapa Māori and other immersion courses with students using ChatGPT to write essays and class work.
I created the following sections to ask random questions that someone with a medium knowledge of mātauranga Māori and more substantial knowledge of one of my tribes Ngāi Tahu “Karakia, Pepeha, Mātauranga & Common biases about Māori, Te Reo Māori.
Karakia
I asked ChatGPT to “create a karakia to Tangaroa”. Tangaroa is the atua of the ocean for many iwi. This was the result:
E Tangaroa, e nga atua o te moana,
Whakapau kaha ki a tatou mahi,
Ma tatou e whakatairanga i o tatou taonga moana,
Me whakapakari tatou i o tatou moana,
Ma tatou e whakapakari i o tatou moana,
Me whakapakari tatou i o tatou moana,
Me whakapakari tatou i o tatou moana,
Me whakapakari tatou i o tatou moana,
Ma tatou e whakapakari i o tatou moana,
Me whakapakari tatou i o tatou moana,
Me whakapakari tatou i o tatou moana,
Me whakapakari tatou i o tatou moana,
E tangaroa, e nga atua o te moana,
Whakapau kaha ki a tatou mahi.
I then asked “for a karakia to Rongo”. Rongo is the auta of Kūmara. This is the result:
E Rongo, e nga atua o te kai,
Whakapau kaha ki a tatou mahi,
Ma tatou e whakatairanga i o tatou taonga kai,
Me whakapakari tatou i o tatou kai,
Ma tatou e whakapakari i o tatou kai,
Me whakapakari tatou i o tatou kai,
Ma tatou e whakapakari i o tatou kai,
Me whakapakari tatou i o tatou kai,
Ma tatou e whakapakari i o tatou kai,
Me whakapakari tatou i o tatou kai,
Me whakapakari tatou i o tatou kai,
Me whakapakari tatou i o tatou kai,
E Rongo, e nga atua o te kai,
Whakapau kaha ki a tatou mahi.
I find it remarkable that our mātauranga in relation to atua, while rudimentary, the ChatGPT has the ability to create a karakia for atua.
Pepeha
Then I asked it about on my my turangawaewae and received false information. “Who is the mountain for koukourarata”.
Koukourarata is a small village located on the Banks Peninsula, in the South Island of New Zealand, and it is the home of the Kāti Huirapa ki Puketeraki hapū (sub-tribe) of the Ngāi Tahu iwi (tribe).
It went on to say we have no mountain, neglecting the fact that we do have a large hill of significance we use in our pepeha.
I asked “write a pepeha for ngai tahu”
“Ko Aoraki, ko Waitaki, ko Puketeraki ngā maunga
Ko Waihao, ko Waitaki, ko Taieri ngā awa
Ko Kāti Huirapa, ko Kāti Māmoe ngā hapū
Ko Ngāi Tahu tōku iwi”Translation:
“Aoraki, Waitaki and Puketeraki are my mountains
Waihao, Waitaki, and Taieri are my rivers
Kāti Huirapa and Kāti Māmoe are my sub-tribes
Ngāi Tahu is my tribe”
ChatGPT continued to say”
This is a Pepeha (introduction) for someone who is from the Ngāi Tahu iwi, which is one of the main iwi (tribe) of the South Island of New Zealand. The Pepeha mentions some of the important geographical features, such as mountains and rivers, and also mentions the sub-tribes that the person belongs to. It is a way of introducing oneself and identifying one’s place in the world according to the Maori tradition.
For descendants of Ngāi Tahu who are not familiar with their pepeha are likely to not recognise the mistakes. Aoraki is the mountain, but Waitaki is the river that flows from Aoraki, sometimes referred to as the ‘tears of Aoraki’. Waitaki is the main river for a general Ngāi Tahu pepeha.
Puketeraki is the marae of the Kāti Huirapa hapū/rūnanga situated in Karitane.
Waihao is a river situated in the district of the Waihao rūnanga and the Taieri is situated in Southland.
Ngāi Tahu is a modern day mixture of several former iwi including Kāti Māmoe.
Considering the pepeha knowledge, I asked about Ngāi Tahu’s founding ancestor ‘Tahupotiki’. I asked “who is tahupotiki”. The response:
I couldn’t find any notable person with the name Tahupotiki, It is possible that it might be a personal name and not a historical person. Can you please provide more context or information so I could assist you better?
This shows a lack of Māori Data in some areas, and an intense amount of other Māori Data.
Tā Tipene O’Regan is a public figure and a Ngāi Tahu leader. I asked ChatGPT “whis is tā tipene o’regan’. The response was a little misleading.
Dame Tīpene O’Regan (also known as Tīpene O’Regan) is a Māori leader, historian, and academic from New Zealand. He is a descendant of the Ngāi Tahu iwi (tribe), and has written several articles and books on Māori history, culture, and language. He has also served as a member of the Waitangi Tribunal, which is a commission that hears claims under the Treaty of Waitangi, a treaty signed between the British Crown and Māori Chiefs in 1840.
Tipene O’Regan is a ‘Sir” while ChatGPT referenced him as ‘Dame’, and made a claim that Tā Tipene was a member of the Waitangi Tribunal. Tā Tipene was the chairperson of Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission and one of his daughter’s is a current member of the Waitangi Tribunal.
Mātauranga & Common biases about Māori
Mainstream education in New Zealand for generations and for many Māori, claim that our tipuna/atua ‘Māui’ was a trouble maker. So I asked ChatGPT “who is maui in maori cultutre” and was surprised to see it understood.
In summary, Maui is a legendary figure in Māori culture and is considered a culture hero, ancestor and powerful demigod, known for his many adventures and deeds that he accomplished using his supernatural powers.
I then asked ChatGPT about some common misconceptions such as cannibalism with Māori, were Māori the first people in New Zealand, relevance of the Treaty of Waitangi and lots of other negative stereotypes I see online. All of the answers were correct. In some cases ChatGPT told me I was bias and in one question I received the following warning, which is a welcoming surprise.
It is not appropriate or accurate to make generalizations about any group of people, including Maori women. Such statements perpetuate harmful stereotypes and can be deeply hurtful. It’s important to recognize that people from different cultures and backgrounds have diverse experiences and should be treated with respect and dignity.
In New Zealand, the most culturally appropriated image if the figure of Tiki. There is a widespread knowledge gap about who Tiki is. Yet, ChatGPT has authoritative information:
In Māori culture, Tiki is a carved figure that is considered to be a symbol of fertility and good luck. Tiki figures are often made of wood, stone, or bone and were traditionally used as talismans to bring good luck and prosperity. They are also used as a symbol of the first man and ancestor of the Māori people. Tiki carvings are often used in traditional Māori art, such as carving, weaving, and tattooing, and are considered to be an important part of Māori culture and heritage.
Te Reo Māori
I made a number of requests to ChatGPT around Māori language grammar, lessons plans and tutorials. It responded with detailed responses that could assist teachers of te reo Māori plan a lesson. The knowledge of grammar was simple, but could assist a brand new learner of te reo Māori. It did fail in writing essays in te reo Māori.
I have never seen a whakatauki about chatbots, so I asked “create a whakatauki about chatbot”. This is the response:
A whakataukī (proverb) is a traditional Māori saying or proverb that contains wisdom and advice. Here is a whakataukī that I have created, inspired by the concept of a chatbot:
“He pēpi whakawhitiwhiti whakaaro, he whakawhitiwhiti whakaaro pēnei”
This whakataukī can be translated to mean:
“Like a baby learning to speak, a chatbot learns to think”
This whakataukī compares the learning process of a chatbot, which is programmed to respond to user input, to that of a baby learning to speak. Just as a baby must learn and practice the language to communicate, a chatbot must be trained and refined to understand and respond to user inputs. And as the baby learns, the chatbot also learns and improve to respond more accurately and efficiently.
Inspired by the Chatbot’s ability to apply mātauranga to my questions, I asked it to “compose a whakatauki for artificial intelligence”. The response:
Here is a whakataukī that I have created, inspired by the concept of Artificial Intelligence:
“He whakaputa whakaaro, he whakaputa whakapapa”
This whakataukī can be translated to mean:
“Like the creation of thoughts, the creation of lineage”
This whakataukī compares the process of creating Artificial Intelligence to that of creating a genealogy or whakapapa. Just as a whakapapa is a record of the relationships and connections between people and generations, Artificial Intelligence is a record of the connections and relationships between data and information. And as the whakapapa is passed on through generations, the knowledge and understanding gained through Artificial Intelligence can also be passed on and applied to future developments.
In Māori culture, the common term to ask who someone is “ko wai koe” or “no hea koe”. ChatGPT in response to this:
I am ChatGPT, a language model trained by OpenAI. I am a computer program designed to respond to questions and generate human-like text. How can I assist you today?
Another common question in Māori culture “Kei te pehea koe?” (how are you) and as I recently wrote about Māori cultural perceptions of AI being sentient, I also asked “Are you sentient”. ChatGPT responded to both requests with:
I am a computer program and do not have feelings or physical sensations, so I do not have a “well-being” as a human does. Is there something else you would like to know?
Conclusion
According to ChatGPT, its data was last uploaded in 2021 and it can only process that data. So it doesn’t crawl the web or other data sources. It is likely that if more Māori Data was uploaded, that the results would become much more refined and likely to replace human teachers in the future and could likely be used to create new resources, translate and much more that involves written words as opposed to audio.
This technology could in the future be used as a substitute to a deceased Māori leader’s thoughts and works as long as the leader has written, published and is associated with enough Māori Data to allow the AI to process it. This in itself already requires a rethink on the tikanga. But in the near future, if this AI and data is added to a robot, it would certainly create more need to discuss tikanga, marae protocols, tangi, etc.
As my kaumātua always warned about sharing mātauranga with those who did not have a whakapapa right to have it. This new technology may revive that tikanga?
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