Indigenous at the United Nations Expose A.I. Data Centers and Racially-Biased Misinformation
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| Jaimie Williams speaking at the U.N. today on the harm by A.I. data centers. Screenshot Censored News |
"I was once convinced artificial intelligence could help my tribe build our language and culture -- but A.I. is not a sustainable solution." -- Jaimie Williams
By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, July 14, 2026, Updated
GENEVA -- The mediocre, middle-of-the-road approach to A.I. at the United Nations was countered by testimony today from Indigenous Peoples pointing out that artificial intelligence is not a solution, and is doing great harm to Indigenous with derogatory misinformation and massive data centers that are poisoning the land, water and air.
Jaimie Williams, Miami Nation in Indiana, speaking on behalf of the Society of Native Nations, at the U.N. Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, responded to the A.I. summary presented this morning.
Williams said the summary does not reflect the true impact of artificial intelligence, particularly in the way the technology is powered.
"AI data centers are rapidly being constructed on the land of Indigenous Peoples without free, prior and informed consent from us."
"My people came out of the water, the St. Joseph River in the southeast of Lake Michigan, along that river there are several data centers," she said, pointing out that Indigenous across Turtle Island share similar stories.
"These sacred waterways and lands are being used for A.I. data centers."
"I was once convinced artificial intelligence could help my tribe build our language and culture, but AI is not a sustainable solution."
"There is currently no available technology available to power A.I. without poisoning the water, drying up the rivers and causing further contamination in the territories of Indigenous Peoples, who are already disproportionately affected."
Williams pointed out that in the United States, the data center industry remains unregulated.
"These are unbelievably massive buildings."
A.I. data centers increase reliance on fossil fuels and pump toxins into the land, water and air 24 hours a day.
"Our Indigenous Peoples are already harassed and unjustly detained by government agencies infiltrating the cities."
Williams recommended that the Expert Mechanism report on the true impact of the data centers that power AI and the direct impact on Indigenous Peoples' land, water and ways of being.
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| Tai Chiming Cha, the President of Mong Heritage testifies the U.N. on the harm caused by A.I. Screenshot Censored News. |
A.I. Causes Great Harm for Mong Indigenous People
Artificial Intelligence search engines are causing great harm to the Mong People who are misclassified and defined with derogatory words in search engines.
Speaking for the first time at the United Nations, Taichiming Cha, the president of Mong Heritage, said his people, the Mong Indigenous People, are an ancient people with deep historical roots from Northern and Eastern Asia who are now scattered around the world. They possess their own unique history, language and culture -- and yet they are misclassified as being other racial groups.
On the web, the Mong Indigenous are either not found, or are being classified as Mongolians.
A.I. and search engines misrepresent Mong Indigenous as a subgroup and define the Mong name with derogatory meanings.
"This misrepresentation has caused lasting harm, discrimination, exclusion, and dehumanization."
He points out that A.I. systems are trained on existing information that often contains racially-biased misinformation.
"Mong and Mong-Miao have distinct histories, separate cultural lineages, and different identities. Misrepresentations have caused lasting harms, reinforcing discrimination, exclusion, and dehumanization."
"Our ancestral intelligence is carried through collective wisdom passed between generations."
"We are increasingly concerned that AI systems are reproducing our artworks without respect for cultural protocols, Sacred symbols and traditional artistic styles are being copied, modified, and commercialized by AI, eroding cultural integrity and depriving communities of the economic and cultural benefits that rightfully belong to them."
"Our voices must be present in the design, governance, and regulation of emerging technologies. Chair, as frameworks for AI are developed, they must also commit to protecting and respecting ancestral intelligence."
'A.I. the New Colonizer'
During the session, Valmaine Toki, Moari and newly-elected chair of the Expert Mechanism, said A.I. is seen as the "new colonizer."
Russia: Software for reindeer herders -- the company's profits are soaring
Vassili Nemechkin, professor at Mordova State University, said Russia is working with the company Yandex to preserve and teach Indigenous languages.
In Russia, one strategy is to label all audio-visual by A.I. in order to prevent manipulation, he said, pointing out that Yandex has 21 Indigenous languages in Russia.
"Languages are a key area where AI opens significant opportunities for indigenous peoples in Russia. I'll give you a few examples from our sociocultural region. In Russia, you have a project called Languages of the Peoples of Russia. It's implemented by the IT company Yandex together with the organization, the Home of Russian Peoples, with the support of the Federal Agency on Nationalities. Twenty-one indigenous languages are already accessible on Yandex.
"Six languages are available for word recognition and synthesis. In other words, it helps neuronets analyze sound patterns and transform them into words, and also analyze text and then place a human voice with the language of the indigenous language. The plan is that very soon 25 indigenous languages will be available on those services."
Nemechkin said "Smart Chum" is being used by reindeer herders in the Arctic. There are now translations of videos providing translations of 15 Indigenous languages, Nemechkin said, adding that Russia has made revitalizing Indigenous languages a priority.
Smart Chum, referring to the dwelling of reindeer herders, allows herders to follow their herds without ever leaving their tent.
Describing Smart Chum, Nemechkin said, "It is to help herders using internet and with a satellite connection, and then the person can monitor herding and using a drone quadcopter. Quadcopter, he can monitor direction of deer, use services of telemedicine, et cetera."
Meanwhile -- profits are soaring for the Russian-owned Yandex, which provides Russia's leading search engine and collaborates with Russia on the creation of software.
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Noelani Arista, Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) and professor at McGill University in Montreal, said for most Indigenous, knowledge is not property. Arista said there are few Indigenous speakers of the language who are actually involved in overseeing the production of A.I. language revitalization, in order to ensure its integrity. Far too often, computer scientists and linguists produce A.I. unaware of Indigenous protocols. She points out that in Canada and the U.S. there are no standards to ensure data sovereignty. At McGill University, Dr. Noelani Arista serves as the Director of the Institute for Indigenous Research and Knowledges. "While governments promote optimistic plans promising AI for all, there are few Indigenous people at the table who are trained in both computer science and Indigenous knowledges and languages, necessitating conscientious and respectful collaboration,"Arista said. "Our current AI boom has the energy of a nascent gold rush, and the people who supply funds or technological savvy are the ones who drive decision-making content creation, and delivery. Far too often, project leaders are unfamiliar with our languages, the cultural protocols governing the care and transmission of knowledge, and have not considered the socially corrosive effects of new technologies." Speaking of her work at McGill University, she said, "So far, student-led collaborative projects include a digital dictionary co-created with elders in the Swampy Cree dialect, producing machine-read scans of Māori language newspapers, and new standards for language vitality in Kanien'kehà:ka (Mohawk of Kahnawake) communities." |
This testimony came after the U.N. Expert Mechanism began with a summary which stated that A.I. is beneficial in revitalizing Indigenous languages and culture.
The Theft of Copyrighted Words, Photos and Songs
The Expert Mechanism's summary fails to point out that A.I. companies are already stealing massive amounts of copyrighted data for A.I., as revealed in the massive lawsuits now challenging the theft of copyrighted books, music and news articles.
The theft of Indigenous words, medicine, and knowledge is already underway -- and is being done without free, prior and informed consent, for corporate profit.
Further, Meta has been data-scraping public posts on Facebook and Instagram since 2007 for its A.I. -- and most users were unaware of this. Now, Twitter/X uses posts there for its A.I. search engine.
The U.N. Expert Mechanism opened the panel presentation:
"While AI presents opportunities to support Indigenous language revitalization, the preservation of oral histories and cultural practices, and broader knowledge preservation for future generations, it also poses significant risks."More:
Society of Native Nations https://www.societyofnativenations.org/mission
Mong Heritage http://www.mongheritage.org/index.html
Copyright Brenda Norrell, Censored News 2026
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