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- By Chez Oxendine
- Economic Development
Advances in artificial intelligence technology have prompted fears of a rogue, coldly logical AI taking over the world. Meanwhile, the AI in use at Skokomish Indian Tribal Enterprises (SITE) seems content with filing invoices.
SITE, the economic development arm of the Skokomish tribe in Washington, has employed financial automation and artificial intelligence software Stampli to fill out, sort, and file invoices across multiple departments. The implementation of the software has significantly reduced error rates through fewer keying errors and freed up many of the company’s accountants from what CFO Greg Yochum called “input work.” Instead, those same employees have more time for more valuable work like inventory management and financial analysis.
“The AI is basically our accounts payable clerk now, so anybody in the department can take that processed invoice, quickly check to make sure it was done correctly, and then move on,” Yochum told Tribal Business News. “We’ve turned the accounts payable clerk position into more of a generalist position — which means staff are spending more time on things we want them doing.”
Across Indian Country, tribes and their enterprises are finding practical applications for AI technology, from customer analytics and language preservation to grant-writing.
The SITE finance team humans (from left)— Jessica Toppano (controller), Greg Yochum (CFO), and Lindsey Thomas (accountant) — have transformed their accounting department by implementing AI automation for invoice processing. (Courtesy photo)
Native entrepreneurs are also entering the field. Tech entrepreneur Melissa Leone (Oglala Lakota Sioux) has launched three AI startups: SpiderV2X, which improves smart vehicle communication; Hu-GPT, a 2023 venture to support AI-generated content detection: and Datagent, another 2023 venture that develops in-house AI assistants for tribal governments.
Through Datagent, Leone is working to help tribes maintain control of their data while improving efficiency. The system is designed specifically for tribes that want to keep sensitive information away from external services like OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
“The AI can make connections and correlations between tribal research, economic data, and so on — so you could track things like migration patterns for animals, or where medicine is growing this year,” Leone told Tribal Business News. “The tool can make suggestions as to how to enhance or protect those tribal assets or cultural resources going forward.”
Leone sees growing AI adoption among tribal governments and enterprises encouraging. “The adoption rate can be fairly slow moving, so hearing that people are already utilizing this magnificent tool gives me hope there are opportunities in all avenues of business in our nations,” Leone said.
At Mohegan in Connecticut, AI serves as a tool for improving customer retention through a partnership with Novato, Calif.-based Gaming Analytics. The system analyzes customer behavior to see how they are reacting to ads, and then optimize promotions and marketing campaigns, according to CEO Ray Pineault.
Mohegan plans to expand the AI tool’s use to refine their marketing campaigns and eventually generate content for those campaigns. It’s part of a wider move to embrace new technologies across the whole of Mohegan’s tribal enterprises, he said.
“By integrating advanced AI-driven platforms, we gain insights into player preferences and behavior that allow us the ability to offer more personalized experiences, from tailored promotions to recommendations for dining and entertainment, enhancing guest satisfaction and engagement,” Pineault wrote in an email to Tribal Business News.
(L-R): Ray Pineault, Melissa Leone
For tribes seeking federal and state funding, AI is helping streamline the grant research and application process. The Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa uses Marquette, Mich.-based Syncurrent’s AI technology to match tribal needs with grant opportunities. The system is designed to reduce the grant searching process “from months to minutes,” according to Syncurrent CEO Dhruv Patel.
Efficiency notwithstanding, tribal leaders emphasize the need to implement AI carefully, especially when it comes to data sovereignty. Bazile Panek, a member of the Red Cliff Band and a tribal liaison, pointed to an experiment in which ChatGPT was taught the Maori language without the consent of Indigenous leaders. He called the incident “offensive.”
AI systems can also present technical challenges. Chat bots are known to “hallucinate,” providing misinformation or missing critical context — issues that already affect Indian Country through traditional channels, according to the Journal For American Indian Higher Education.
The wider AI landscape has also come under fire for scraping data without permission, pulling down everything from books and recipes to YouTube videos. For tribal nations protecting sensitive cultural and economic information, these types of privacy concerns are particularly acute.
Despite these concerns, the benefits could be incredible, if the technology is carefully and respectfully implemented, Red Cliff Band’s Panek believes. “I think my general answer is that yes, I do see a future for AI in tribal governance,” Panek said. “If done right, this could be a powerful opportunity for tribes.”
Syncurrent’s Patel said tribes should educate themselves about AI technology even if they’re not quite ready to implement it right now.
"AI is just the next internet, it's the next big thing that can make life easier. At least learn about it - at least be equipped with knowledge so you can understand their intentions if someone approaches you," he said. "Do your homework and come prepared so you don't feel like you're going to be in the corner."
