Exploring Digital and Virtual Protocols

Join us for a talk by Prof. Hēmi Whaanga who will speak about his current collaborative research projects exploring digital and virtual protocols, Māori cosmologies, Māori Indigenous knowledges, satellite imagery, and virtual and augmented realities. He will also speak about his role as Co-Director of the Abundant Intelligences research program and the exciting future research initiatives. 

How can you participate? Join us in person or online by registering for the Zoom Meeting or watching live on YouTube.

Have questions? Send them to info.4@concordia.ca  

Hēmi Whaanga 

Professor and Head of Massey University’s School of Te Pūtahi-a-Toi – School of Māori Knowledge, is recognized as a leading scholar researching the revitalisation, protection, distribution, and development of Māori knowledge and language, and incorporating mixed-method approaches, processes, and technologies to analyze, develop, present, and protect new and sacred knowledge in different linguistic, cultural, ethical, and digital contexts. His leadership in Māori digital initiatives earned him an invitation from the Science for Technological Innovation National Science Challenge to lead and develop the conceptual framework for ‘Ātea’, a multi-million-dollar spearhead project to conduct and share impactful research with experts in AI, VR and AR, NLP, ML, Indigenous and Māori data sovereignty, and digital repositories. He affiliates to Ngāti Kahungunu through his father, and Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Mamoe and Waitaha through his mother.

Prof. Jason Edward Lewis  

Jason Edward Lewis is a digital media theorist, poet, and software designer. He founded Obx Laboratory for Experimental Media, where he conducts research/creation projects exploring computation as a creative and cultural material. Lewis is deeply committed to developing intriguing new forms of expression by working on conceptual, critical, creative and technical levels simultaneously. He is the University Research Chair in Computational Media and the Indigenous Future Imaginary as well Professor of Computation Arts at Concordia University [and serves as the Co-Director of the Indigenous Futures Research Centre]. Lewis was born and raised in northern California, and currently lives in Montreal.  

Organized by 

The Indigenous Futures Research Centre (IFRC)

IFRC supports research that is led by and/or for Indigenous peoples and communities. We are interested in responding to community-identified needs and dreams, and in growing the capacity of Indigenous researchers with the ability to conduct research in ways that are grounded in community knowledge, values and culture. We welcome all researchers, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, who engage in research that prioritizes the co-generation of knowledge that is of direct use to Indigenous peoples and our communities. 

Abundant Intelligences

Abundant Intelligences is an Indigenous-led research program exploring how Indigenous Knowledges and Systems can expand and transform AI. Bringing together communities, researchers, and labs from across the Indigenous world to create transdisciplinary processes for an abundant future. Rooted in Pods, enriched by Partners and 48 co-Investigators, Abundant Intelligences explores AI from the perspective of language, storytelling, environmental stewardship, socio-neuro AI, multi-agent systems.