Fifty years after Māori Language Week began, the fight to keep te reo Māori alive has shifted from the streets to the screen.

With artificial intelligence and digital tools emerging as powerful allies, a new generation is using technology to support the revitalisation of te reo.

“Ki ētahi e mataku ana, he kinonga kei roto i ngā mahi nei, ka mea au ki a rātau, kua oma kē te hōiho. Kua tīmata kē te AI te whakamāori, te whakawhiti i ngā kōrero Māori,” says Ngahiwi Apanui, Chief Executive of Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori.

Among the experts leading in this space is Dr Karaitiana Taiuru, who has spent more than 20 years researching AI, Māori data sovereignty and emerging technologies. He says te reo Māori is now more accessible in the digital world than ever before.

“It’s important to understand that AI tools help with revitalisation – to be able to learn at home, anywhere in the world and in their own time.”

Dr Taiuru sees huge potential in technology, but also recognises its limits.

“Technology is a powerful educational tool, but it alone won’t achieve intergenerational transformation for te reo Māori.”

Dr Taiuru says te reo Māori is also gaining visibility in new spaces.

“We now see te reo Māori being used on social media and in gaming spaces where our rangatahi spend a lot of time.“

“If reo Māori isn’t present in these spaces, our youth simply won’t use it. We’ve seen this before, when social media platforms didn’t support reo Māori, it was barely used. But once it became available and accessible, it started gaining traction. Young people had a reason to use the language in their social lives.”

He says the solution lies in how we teach our tamariki.

“We need to take tamariki back to their marae, back to their homelands, where they can learn their dialects, their pepeha, how to speak formally and perform karanga. Things that AI simply can’t replicate.”

“If we don’t adapt our tikanga and open up these opportunities, we risk losing important intergenerational knowledge and practices.”

Te atamai hangahanga - he kauwaka anō mō te reo Māori

At the grassroots level, whānau are creating their own solutions. One of them is Lee Palamo (Ngāti Awa), a graphic designer studying towards a Master of Technological Futures. She is developing a conversational AI to support learning te reo Māori.

“I’ve integrated a kōrero agent I’ve named Oriwa, after my nana,” she says.

“I thought conversational AI could create a safe, non-judgemental space for people to learn, be able to talk out loud.”

Raised in Māngere, Palamo says she experienced intergenerational language loss.

“You got teased if you were Māori. So I disconnected from being Māori.”

“I made a deliberate decision that my kids would have Māori, so they wouldn’t have the same disconnection that I had.”

Although still a beginner learner herself, Palamo works closely with her whānau in Ngāti Awa. Her main cultural advisor is her whanaunga Wharepapa Reuben.

“I tread carefully, because I know that our reo is taonga and we need to treat it like that,” she adds.

“I’ve started with my own iwi first. If I can build a good template, I can replicate it for different dialects.”

Palamo recently ran a wānanga in Whakatāne where 20 people tested the Oriwa platform and shared feedback.

“I think of it like, I’m bringing a new school tool to an old school fight.”

Oriwa is part of a learning platform called Mana Ako, which includes lessons on pronunciation, greetings and farewells and self-introductions.

Users can then have a conversation with Oriwa about what they’ve learned. However, Palamo sees it as a supplement, not a replacement, for learning te reo Māori.

Kei te tipu tonu ngā māharahara

Dr Taiuru says there are still concerns around the sensitivity of data being shared on digital platforms.

“Some fear that the language could become so influenced by AI that it forms new dialects, replacing traditional words and meanings.”

He warns that whakapapa, pepeha, and kōrero tuku iho must be handled with care. There are also concerns about corporate tech companies profiting from Māori language data.

“The reality is the corporates, everyone’s had our language, they’ve got our language already. A language can’t be owned by one person – it’s not a property right.”

“We have our reo experts, who have dedicated their whole lives to preserving and nurturing our taonga. We have to decide how do we get a balance so we can respect both sides of that argument.”

Despite the challenges, he remains hopeful.

“Personally, I see that we will have virtual reality kaiako that will teach reo Māori. The potential is totally unlimited.”

Palamo hopes her work is a stepping stone for what’s to come.

“My hope is that in 50 years we won’t need [AI tools]. Hopefully, we’ll all be well, everybody would embrace te reo Māori, and we would all be fluent. Because the technology is here, why not use it?”

Behind the scenes, organisations like Te Hiku Media have led the way in reo Māori AI innovation. Platforms such as Whare Kōrero and Kaituhi were developed under the leadership of Peter Lucas‑Jones.

Data sovereignty remains a priority for many in this space.

“Kei te noho ngā raraunga, ngā kōrero ki tētahi wāhi motuhake ki Aotearoa nei,” says researcher Gianna Leoni.

“Kāore e tuku atu ki hea, ki hea. Kaua e utu atu ki ētahi atu umanga kē, ki whenua kē. Mā rātou e mahi, he mahi hē tērā.”