Blending Indigenous Knowledge with Digital Tech Ft. Alejandro Mayoral Baños Purposeful Empathy Hosted by Anita Nowak

Watch this episode to learn why leading companies are turning to Indigenous Elders for guidance about the evolution of AI. Alejandro Mayoral Baños, Founder and Executive Director of the Indigenous Friends Association (IFA) and Ashoka Fellow, champions tech equity and digital sovereignty. In this episode, he explains why everyone has a role to play to ensure that technology acts as a tool for revitalization rather than marginalization. 00:00 Preview 00:40 Introduction 01:05 About Alejandro Mayoral Baños 02:47 Why Alejandro is passionate about tech equity and digital sovereignty 05:35 Alejandro’s backstory that led to Indigenous Friends Association (IFA) 09:32 How IFA promotes equality and inclusion 14:01 Why IFA values mentorship to foster a deep connection to culture 16:15 How to leverage Indigenous knowledge to improve digital technology 22:04 The importance of slowing down 26:52 The Inner Development Goals (IDGs) 33:51 Having uncomfortable conversations to promote digital sovereignty 38:10 Incorporating Indigenous wisdom into AI 42:20 The role of empathy in technology: It’s about listening 44:50 How has Ashoka Canada impacted Alejandro’s work? 47:40 Alejandro’s Purposeful Empathy story CONNECT WITH ANITA ✩ Email [email protected]  ✩ Website https://www.anitanowak.com/ ✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitanowak/ ✩ Instagram https://tinyurl.com/anitanowakinstagram ✩ Facebook Page https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyFacebook ✩ Facebook Group https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyCommunity ✩ Podcast Audio https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyPodcast CONNECT WITH ALEJANDRO ✩ Ashoka Canada Profile https://ashokacanada.org/fellow/aleja... ✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/alejandromayoral/ ✩ Indigenous Friends Association https://www.indigenousfriends.org/ Season 14 of Purposeful Empathy is brought to you in collaboration with Ashoka Canada. Ashoka Canada is devoted to catalyzing social entrepreneurship and innovation aimed at driving systemic change. The Ashoka Canada story is one of solutions, developed over decades of searching, selecting, and supporting our country’s highest impact Social Entrepreneurs. Together, they represent some of Canada's most impactful responses to critical challenges. Learn more at https://ashokacanada.org/ Show Notes Inner Development Goals https://innerdevelopmentgoals.org/ Bayo Akomolafe’s piece https://www.bayoakomolafe.net/post/th... Alejandro's background (IFA artwork) by Tsista Kennedy: @hotdog.water.art Video edited by David Tsvariani