Young aboriginals initiated to artificial intelligence in Kahnawake

In a hall at the Host Hotel in Kahnawake, about forty young natives were invited on April 26 to participate in a day of workshops on artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Simon Deschamps Translation Dan Rosenburg In front of portable computers, youngsters aged 12-17 were initiated to computer data and models enabling them to make some predictions that would notably help in a decisional process. The activity was organized by Indigenous Data/Forrest Green, Microsoft, Blackberry and the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake. For the organizers of the event, it was an occasion to stir up an interest for the domain of technologies among young people so that they could consider this as a future career. ‘’It’s really exciting, I feel as if I’m in a recruitment fair,’’ admitted Microsoft representative Nuzio Ruffolo. [caption id="attachment_62457" align="alignright" width="407"] A day on artificial intelligence was held in Kahnawake. (Photo: Simon Deschamps)[/caption] It was a dreamed-about occasion, as the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business(CCAB) recently revealed in a study that the domain of technologies of information is the one where natives have the most difficulty breaking through in order to find a job. ‘’This is unacceptable. If we want to change this, we need to start having conversation with grade 9 students and we need to encourage them to get into science, technology and engineering programs. If we could encourage them in grade 9, in 10 years they’ll be the people we employ here in communities,’’ said Murray Rowe, president and CEO of Indigenous Data/Forest Green, adding that Kahnawake is a leader in the domain of technology and information. Rowe took advantage of his presence on the South Shore of Montreal to announce that Kahnawake is hoping to become a national centre of aboriginal data ‘’so that they remain on sovereign territory.’’ ‘’We cannot rely on status quo; we have to move,’’ said Kahnawake Grand Chief Joseph Tokwiro Norton.’’The technology world is there in front of us. So let’s take advantage of it and use it to our benefit,’’ he said.