@danielleboyerr: There’s a saying in the tech industry, move fast and break things. But what it’s breaking is communities like my own. By stealing my language, threatening our sovereignty, and distorting our ways. I am here to loudly stand up against generative Al used with Indigenous languages. For Al regulation and policy. To protect our kids, our MMIW from harmful technology use cases. For tech giants like the ones in the room with me to keep their hands off our culture. It was scary being in that room knowing I’ve spoken to so many higher ups in AI companies you and I know well, and they’ve told me that they won’t stop doing what they’re doing. That they don’t care about communities like my own. But, I get in those rooms for a reason. Because I work with tech. Because I develop AI that isn’t generative and doesn’t harm our environment or languages. If we want to fight against technology, our people HAVE to know what’s going on. To understand the nuance of the tech. To be able to say exactly WHY we don’t want data centers on Tribal lands. To say what kind of data centers we don’t want. To speak to how our information is getting scraped from the web. To speak to the lawsuits launched and won against AI companies for their harm. I also believe as Anishinaabe, we have always been innovators. Inventors. Engineers. Scientists. I believe that technology can have useful cases, but only when done slowly and with intention, permission, and reciprocation. If it can’t be done the right way it should not be done at all. It must remain accessible, ethical, and it must never harm the land. It must be FOR us BY us ALWAYS. We have a long way to go, both in terms of education on the subject matter and also pursuing self determination within tech for our communities. Chi miigwech to my parents, my Nokom Bernadine Edwards, Lucy for the beautiful fit, and to my community and students. Gizaagi'ininim.

Danielle Boyer

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Region: US

Thursday 17 September 2026 11:38:18 GMT