Artificial intelligence, or AI, is helping Indigenous communities detect illegal logging, track wildfires, and monitoring of traditional lands. But the data centers powering AI are driving new threats, requiring water, energy, and critical minerals often extracted from Indigenous territories. 

Now, Indigenous leaders at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, or UNPFII,  are wrestling with a paradox: how to harness AI’s protective capabilities without fueling the extractive forces they’ve resisted for generations.

A new study published by Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, who is Mbororo and a former chair of the Permanent Forum, highlighted some of the possibilities and challenges AI presents for environmental protection, as well as the impacts of the technology on Indigenous territories. These include land-grabbing, water overexploitation, and land degradation due to its high energy, water, and critical mineral needs.

“For generations, Indigenous peoples have protected the …

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