This report presents findings from the Relational Futures project, an Indigenous led study examining how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are encountering and responding to artificial intelligence (AI), including generative systems, automated decision-making tools, and AI companions.

This research demonstrates that artificial intelligence is not only a technical issue, but a relational, cultural, and political one. The findings highlight the need for action across government, industry, and research sectors, including strengthening Indigenous governance, implementing Indigenous Data Sovereignty, regulating high risk uses of AI, protecting cultural knowledges and setting limits on the use of AI in care contexts.

Key recommendations

• Establish Indigenous leadership in AI governance through formal decision-making roles and regulatory participation. 
• Embed Indigenous data sovereignty in all AI systems, including consent, control, and community governance of data.
• Strengthen regulation of high-risk AI, particularly in health, policing and social services. 
• Protect Indigenous cultural knowledge from extraction, misuse and unauthorised inclusion in AI systems. 
• Set clear limits on the use of AI in care and relational contexts, ensuring human accountability remains central.