Colonial bias found in AI-generated images of Aotearoa

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-02-13 10:12

New Zealand

What does this mean?

Jump to: MultimediaAttachmentsExpert Reaction

A researcher used an AI image generator to create pictures of Aotearoa’s past to see how much colonial bias was in its training data. The Sora-created images depicted Māori life in the precolonial era as static and unchanging, and colonialism as a peaceful and consensual process. The researcher makes recommendations on how to reduce this bias, and highlights the need for users to have AI literacy.