The relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and art has become a relevant field of critical and aesthetic exploration in recent years. However, when this intersection expands to include the perspective of historically marginalized communities, such as Indigenous peoples of Latin America, new possibilities arise. The project “IA/AI: Artificial Intelligence, Art, and Indigeneity” proposes a critical analysis of generative AI tools and their implications for the representation of Indigenous cultures while seeking to develop technologies more aligned with the aesthetics and epistemologies of these peoples.
Objectives and Methodology
The project was developed in two main phases. The first phase focused on investigating the representations generated by MidJourney, a widely used generative AI tool for image creation. Indigenous participants from Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile were invited to create prompts imagining scenes from their communities in the future. The analysis of the results revealed concerning patterns: many generated images reproduced colonial stereotypes, portraying Indigenous peoples homogeneously and statically, often disconnecting them from contemporary technologies.
The second phase of the project involved developing IndigenIA, an AI tool based on the open-source Stable Diffusion model, designed to be trained directly by Indigenous participants. This initiative aimed to provide greater autonomy to Indigenous artists and thinkers in constructing their visual narratives, avoiding the reproduction of colonial biases embedded in commercial AI models.
Impacts and Findings
The project’s results sparked discussions about the relationship between AI, art, and identity. The initial investigation demonstrated that tools like MidJourney tend to favor Eurocentric representations, reinforcing Indigenous communities’ need for greater control over their images. The development of IndigenIA, in turn, opened new possibilities for producing images more faithful to Indigenous cosmologies and aesthetics, allowing participants to experience a truly collaborative digital creation process.
Beyond technological innovations, the project also generated an important debate about AI ethics in art. Participants contributed to creating a manifesto advocating for the ethical use of AI, with principles that include Indigenous autonomy in image production and the need to regulate these technologies to prevent cultural appropriation.
Future Perspectives
The project continues to expand, with exhibitions and debates in various countries, including participation in academic and artistic events such as the “Ficciones Generativas” exhibition in Chile and the upcoming show planned for the Botanical Garden of Dublin. These events have been essential in disseminating the project’s results and broadening the discussion on AI and digital colonialism.
The project “IA/AI: Artificial Intelligence, Art, and Indigeneity” critiques the shortcomings of contemporary AI systems in representing Indigenous peoples and proposes concrete alternatives for more inclusive and autonomous artistic creation. By bringing together art, technology, and traditional knowledge, the initiative reinforces the need for a future in which artificial and natural intelligence can coexist in a respectful and collaborative manner.