Australia's CSIRO co-designing AI for indigenous health

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations in Australia are leading initiatives to build new AI tools to improve indigenous health outcomes.

This comes following findings from a two-year project by Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, which examined the role of AI in the country's indigenous communities.

Through four workshops in 2023-2025 with 53 leaders, clinicians, researchers, and health service providers, the study noted three critical priorities for responsible AI use in indigenous health.

First is building AI health literacy and cultural appropriateness. According to indigenous leaders, "AI systems must first make cultural sense" to their communities. There must also be transparency in the data used. Leaders recommended providing real-world education for end-users and advancing AI with "competency, integrity and goodwill."

Second is emphasising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations’ custodianship of indigenous health data. Leaders stressed that data must stay in their hands, with incentives for stewardship, oversight through their own review systems, and AI models designed to reflect their cultural perspective.

Third is self-determination in AI development. For any AI initiative, such as clinical decision support and patient self-management tools, it is important that communities are involved from the outset, according to leaders. Projects must involve patients, providers, and community bodies in system design, with local organisations taking the lead in defining, preparing, and hosting AI systems for their communities.

The scoping project was done in partnership with the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO), the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service (ATSICHS Brisbane), the Centre of Excellence for Aboriginal Digital in Health (CEADH), and the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet.

WHY IT MATTERS

Aboriginal scientist and project lead Dr Andrew Goodman noted that current frameworks for AI development and application tend to be "overly general" and lack sufficient detail to account for cultural diversity.

"If AI is to benefit our mob, it must reflect our voices, our data and our ways of knowing. Without indigenous-led governance, there's a real risk that AI will perpetuate bias and repeat the mistakes of the past," he warned.

Dr Jill Gallagher, a Gunditjmara from western Victoria and CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, affirmed that view, stressing that indigenous leadership in AI projects is essential to "ensure true self-determination."

The three critical priorities identified from the CSIRO workshops underscore the importance of embedding cultural knowledge in the design of AI systems. These findings now inform their current development of AI systems for indigenous communities.  

THE LARGER TREND

Aboriginal Medical Services in Australia are set to test culturally informed digital onboarding of patients as part of efforts to increase the uptake of digital health services of indigenous Australians, especially those dealing with chronic conditions. 

Over the years, similar initiatives have been launched, such as an indigenous-led project that linked disparate health records of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders across health facilities to improve maternal and perinatal health outcomes. Another project built a cancer website that provides culturally-safe support and information for patients, their families, communities and health professionals.