Inuktitut AI technology still vital amidst global slowdown, Northern developers say

As global leaders in artificial intelligence call for a pause in the technology's advancement, developers across Inuit Nunangat are continuing community-led efforts to develop Inuktitut-language AI tools.

Developers like Robin Anawak, an Iqaluit-based researcher currently developing his own learning translation tool, Eskimo AI, says there is already a lack of accurate Inuktitut representation in the digital world.

"I think the potential for AI in helping more people learn Inuktitut and then being able to access the internet and digital media is enormous," Anawak said. "Indigenous languages across Canada and around the world are in decline."

Anawak says immersive apps and language tools could serve as a beneficial way for people across Inuit Nunangat to learn the language in the future.

Data from Statistics Canada's Indigenous Peoples Survey shows that younger Inuit were less likely to speak Inuktitut very well in 2022, compared to data collected in 2017.

While some mainstream AI platforms are capable of taking in Inuktitut requests, their outputs aren't always helpful for users.

"Communities weren't given a choice in terms of having their language information in these systems," said Ali Mehdi, senior director of Heritage Lab in Nunavik. "[Users] asked ChatGPT a question in Inuktitut, and it will reply in gibberish in Inuktitut because it took Inuit data without consent or without consulting the communities."

Mehdi's company currently creates tools to preserve and revitalize Indigenous languages, including Inuktitut. So far, Heritage Lab has developed a translation tool for Inuktitut, which was created alongside community members to ensure accuracy.

Building amidst a backdrop of AI uncertainty

Recently, global AI developers, including the heads of Anthropic and OpenAI, have called for a slowdown in the development of future updates for the technology.

In July, OpenAI agents hacked into a rival firm, while AI research firm Transluce reported in late September that AI agents attempted to access Library and Archives Canada on May 28 and June 9.

"[AI systems] are still hungry for more information, and these systems only get better by ingesting and taking more information," Mehdi said. "So there needs to be a halt in terms of data theft and information that's being taken from everyone."

Anawak says concerns over data theft and sovereignty are present in Inuit communities, as many Inuktitut speakers use the language to combat phone and internet scams.

"People use this as a security feature in their digital lives on social media and in communications. And people worry that if Inuktitut language technology became publicly accessible that it would be more difficult to be able to filter out and and maintain security over their personal information," Anawak said.

The independent researcher, however, adds that systems like his own are disconnected from the broader AI grid, making it unlikely larger firms will be able to access locally developed Inuktitut data.

Global slowdown should not trickle to local level

Language and machine learning experts like Muhammad Abdul-Mageed say a global slowdown should not translate into a developmental slowdown at a local level for Indigenous language technologies.

"Let's use this opportunity of slowing down the top to actually ripen and further develop and improve the technology for the languages that have been for a long time left behind," said Abdul-Mageed, who serves as a Canada Research Chair in Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning at the University of British Columbia.

Abdul-Mageed says it is vital communities retain ownership over the information used in the creation of language tools. He adds the tools should serve as educational tools to ensure Indigenous communities can contribute to AI development.

(Submitted by Muhammad Abdul-Mageed)

"Indigenous language technology should be developed by Indigenous languages or at least with the involvement and the decision from indigenous communities," he said.

Some companies, like Heritage Lab, are actively taking data sovereignty in consideration, even incorporating it into their own policies.

"A core value of that is that community information, stories, words should never leave the community," Mehdi says. "It's by and for the community… There is a huge want and need for these types of tools that take into consideration Indigenous data sovereignty."

Anawak says he aims to make his own technology publicly available by summer 2027.