Prof. Sona Jharia Minj shared insights on AI emerging technologies and their impact on Tribal Communities on the 11th day of the Tribal Futures Fest.
Prof. Sonajharia Minj, former Vice Chancellor of Sidho Kanhu Murmu University, spoke on the 11th day of the Tribal Future Fest, organized by the Tribal Design Forum. She discussed AI's history, its applications in inclusive education, and the need for data sovereignty for tribal communities. Prof. Minj highlighted challenges in digital representation and tagging of tribal communities. This talk, part of the festival's technology series, follows a previous session by Dr. Stefan Leichenauer and celebrates the International Day of World’s Indigenous People.
Staff Editor 
Prof. Sonajharia Minj, the former Vice Chancellor of Sidho Kanhu Murmu University, participated as a guest speaker on the 11th day of the month-long Tribal Future Fest organized by the Tribal Design Forum. She shared insights into the history, evolution, and current state of Artificial Intelligence. Prof. Minj’s research interests include Spatial and Data Analytics, AI & Machine Learning, and Big Data. She also provided a detailed overview of the various branches of AI and its aspects which can impact tribal communities .
During her talk, Prof. Minj explored the potential applications of AI in the context of tribal communities, with a particular focus on inclusive education. Emphasizing data sovereignty and ownership for tribal communities, she highlighted the urgent need for accurate digital documentation of tribal history, art, and culture. She asserted that tribal communities should have ownership rights over this data.
The discussion also touched upon the lack of geographical, linguistic, cultural, and regional tagging for India's tribal communities on social media platforms. This makes it challenging to reach these communities through digital targeting. Several academicians from Sikkim, Gujarat, and Assam also participated in the discussion.
Image: Prof. Sonajharia Minz during her presentation at Tribal Futures Fest.
This was not the first discussion on AI and other technologies at the Tribal Future Fest. Earlier, Dr. Stefan Leichenauer, an AI expert from the renowned American company SandboxAQ, had participated on the fifth day of the festival. Prof. Sonajharia Minj's participation was part of the festival's technology-focused series. Currently, she serves as a professor at the School of Computer and Systems Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.
The Tribal Design Forum is celebrating International day of World’s indigenous people this year with a month-long Tribal Future Online Fest. This event offers a platform for intellectual discussions and highlights the significant contributions of creative young individuals from various tribal communities in India, focusing on topics such as art, design, technology,illustration, culture, textiles, animation, music, fashion and film.
