Meet the Indigenous Tech Summit kaikōrero
+ More speakers and panellists to be announced.
We will provide more information on their kōrero in the coming weeks.
An internationally recognized sociologist who studies the social impact of AI, emerging technologies, and health. He is an expert in democratizing AI and community-centric approaches, and regularly publishes research in leading AI journals such as AI & Society, AI and Ethics, and Philosophy and Technology. He is editor of the forthcoming edited collection, Black Lives and AI. His current research explores community-based approaches to AI governance across the AI lifecycle, safety, and ethics. Most importantly, he is a father, friend, and family member and enjoys serving the needs of older adults.
Ikaika Bishop is a Kanaka Maoli farmer, ocean-technologist and educator with over twenty years of field practice and three decades building for the web.
He works from inside the systems he studies — growing the food, restoring the fishponds, building and installing the instruments, and writing the software that puts governance of the data directly into the hands of the practitioners.
He is legally blind, and an advocate for learners with disabilities.
Dr. Desi Small-Rodriguez is a citizen of the Northern Cheyenne Nation and Chicana. She is a social demographer and Data Warrior whose research and praxis center on rebuilding data by Indigenous Peoples for Indigenous Peoples.
She is faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles, Director of the Data Warriors Lab, and Co-Director of the Indigenous Data Alliance.
She is a proud mama, deadly auntie, and good relative. You can find her getting Indigenous data back into Indigenous hands somewhere in between LA, Aotearoa New Zealand, and her tribal homelands in Montana.
Meg Smith (Ngāpuhi, Waikato Tainui; Ngāi Tāwake, Ngāti Mahuta) is CEO of Cloverbase, an author, governor, and technology strategist. She is known for connecting people, ideas, and technology to help organisations achieve their purpose. Drawing on experience across the Google and Microsoft ecosystems, Meg works with leaders to realise the potential of AI and emerging technologies in ways that create meaningful outcomes for people. She is passionate about creating pathways for Indigenous voices in technology, ensuring Indigenous communities are not only users of technology but leaders in shaping its future.
Prof. Te Taka Keegan is the first and only Māori Professor of Computer Science.
He works in the Department of Software Engineering at the University of Waikato, where he serves as Associate Dean Māori for Te Wānanga Pūtaiao (Division of Health, Engineering, Computing, and Sciences), and Co-Director Māori of the University of Waikato's Artificial Intelligence Institute.
His pioneering work lies at the intersection of computer science and te reo Māori. His focus on integrating te reo Māori into digital platforms ensures its vitality in the modern world, making technology more accessible to Māori speakers and setting a precedent for Indigenous language integration in digital platforms globally.
He was awarded Living Icon at the 2025 Matihiko Awards in recognition of his contribution to te ao matihiko.