REIMAGINING INDIGENOUS EDUCATION IN THE AGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: ETHICAL PATHWAYS, OPPORTUNITIES, AND CHALLENGES

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping educational systems worldwide through adaptive learning technologies, automated assessment, predictive analytics, and intelligent tutoring systems. In Indigenous education contexts, AI presents both transformative opportunities and significant ethical, cultural, and epistemological challenges. Indigenous communities have historically experienced educational marginalization, cultural suppression, and linguistic erosion within formal schooling systems. AI technologies, when designed and governed responsibly, may contribute to language revitalization, culturally responsive pedagogy, and improved access for remote communities, and documentation of Indigenous knowledge systems. However, risks such as algorithmic bias, data colonialism, intellectual property violations, digital inequity, and erosion of relational knowledge frameworks pose serious concerns. This chapter critically examines the dual dimensions of AI in Indigenous education, highlighting the need for community-led design, Indigenous data sovereignty, culturally grounded AI governance, and ethical safeguards. It proposes a principled framework rooted in self-determination, reciprocity, and epistemic justice to guide the responsible integration of AI in Indigenous educational contexts.