The Stuff Group Te Puna, global language cloud provider Straker and Microsoft are working together on translation software to increase the number of stories in Māori on the Stuff news website.
Stuff’s pou tiaki, Carmen Parahi (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Hine, Rongowhakaata), says Stuff has been producing bilingual articles for years but this will be the first time AI will be used.
“We will be using AI to translate even more articles at scale, which will be quality-checked by a human translator and our editorial team before being published.”
Stuff Group chief executive Laura Maxwell (Ngāti Mutunga, Te Āti Awa) says the new translation tool means the Stuff audiences will be able to engage with more bilingual Maōri and English articles every day. " We’re thrilled to amplify and promote the use of te reo Maōri across Aotearoa.”
Grant Straker (Ngāti Raukawa) says despite working for 20 years as chief executive of his company, Straker, this was a career highlight for him.
“When I was going to school as a young Māori in the 1970s and early 1980s, te reo Māori was not spoken or taught in schools, and actively discouraged in general.
“It means that today’s generation of Māori and everyone that comes after will be able to engage with regular news content in their own language,” Straker said.
Microsoft Aotearoa managing director Vanessa Sorenson says artificial intelligence is currently the talk of almost every organisation.
“It’s not about how technology can do more than humans. It’s about how this technology can do more with humans, for humans, and for the things that are important to us. We’re delighted to be working with two truly visionary local organisations to show how technology can be a real enabler for Aotearoa society and culture,” Sorenson said.
Stuff has been publishing bilingual news articles with the support of the Māori Language Commission, Te Taura Whiri i te reo Māori and NZ On Air Irirangi Te Motu since 2020.
In 2020 Stuff published Our Truth Tā Mātou Pono: The truth about Aotearoa, a public apology for the way it portrayed Māori, from its first editions up until 2020.
Stuff has increased its reo content from one or two articles a week to every day but it doesn’t compare to the “over one hundred pieces” of reo Pākehā content published.
“We’ve made it very clear we support the revitalisation of te reo Māori, a taonga and official language of New Zealand,” Parahi said.
“Our journey started with introducing macrons on Māori words and continues with our ability to now scale our (te) reo Māori capability with AI. It’s integral to our pou tiaki fair representation strategy, and commitments we made in our company charter,” she said.
Last year, The Spinoff reported Stuff had downsized the Pou Tiaki team, with three of its members not having their contracts renewed and two returning to their previous roles in the company.