By Dr Tamika Worrell and Professor Tristan Kennedy
Posted Friday 29 August, 2025

At Monash, we’ve recently introduced challenge space conversations, a new kind of dialogue inspired by Monash’s Programmatic Assessment and AI Review (PAAIR) project and our shared need to navigate educational problems or areas of inquiry where clarity is lacking and definitive answers are hard to come by.

Hosted as online webinars, challenge space conversations bring together a panel of people with specialist knowledge who are tasked, not with providing answers, but with thinking aloud and grappling with the complexity of the issues.

Hosted by Professor Claire Palermo, Professor Tristan Kennedy (Monash University) and Dr Tamika Worrell (Macquarie University) explored how Indigenous Knowledges might be respected in the age of AI. Their reflections challenged us to slow down, think relationally, and critically examine the systems shaping education. From the risks of homogenisation to the importance of sovereignty and refusal, the discussion offered powerful insights into how institutions can navigate AI ethically and inclusively.

This conversation was held 19th August, 2025. The recording and key takeaways from the conversation are below. 

A full transcript of this conversation is available. You can also explore our playlist of previous Challenge Space recordings.

Panellists

• Professor Tristan Kennedy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous) and Senior Vice-President, Monash University
• Dr Tamika Worrell, Senior Lecturer and Research Training Director in Indigenous Studies, Macquarie University
• Professor Claire Palermo (panel host), Deputy Dean Education, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University and Academic Lead of the PAAIR Project

Key takeaways

Start with reflection

Before we look outward to shape systems like genAI, we must first look inward to understand our own worldviews. This reflection is essential for relationality –the interconnectedness between people, Country, and knowledge. To act ethically, we must interrogate our own worldviews, biases, and assumptions.

“We must look in first and think about the ways we view the world and how that informs how we do business.” (Tamika Worrell)

Technology is not neutral

GenAI reflects the values of those who create and deploy it. LLMs are trained on vast datasets scraped from the internet, academic publications, and other digital sources. These sources overwhelmingly reflect Western, colonial worldviews, which means the models inherit and reproduce those biases.

“Non-Indigenous voices tell stories about us. They describe us, they homogenise us. They make entire careers off of our Knowledges. This is an extension of the settler colonial project. This is algorithmic settler colonialism at play.” (Tamika Worrell)

Instead of recognising the rich diversity of language groups, traditions, and epistemologies, AI systems tend to collapse them into a single, generic identity.

Protect Country and honour Sovereignty

The development and use of AI must prioritise sovereignty, the protection of Country, and respect for self-determination.

“We also need to honour people’s (including students’) self-determination and sovereignty in refusal and refusing to use these systems.” (Tamika Worrell)

Refusal isn’t necessarily a resistance to progress but a valid, informed stance rooted in relational ethics and cultural survival.

Slow down and make space

There is urgency around AI to respond very quickly. In fast-paced environments, slowing down creates room for deeper thinking and inclusion. Slowness is not inefficiency. It’s a deliberate choice to value the richness of multiple perspectives and to resist the urgency that often drives decision-making.

“If AI is allowed to continue without Indigenous perspectives, it is in danger of undoing a whole bunch of the positive work that’s being done by Indigenous peoples as we’ve ventured into the realms of knowledge creation in higher education. … If we don’t take the time to just slow down to have different perspectives at the table, you won’t get the opportunity to really fully consider what’s in front of us.” (Tristan Kennedy)

Value diverse voices

Diversity is a source of strength and innovation. We are encouraged to look around the table and ask: whose voices are present? Whose are missing? Inclusion must go beyond Indigenous perspectives to embrace people from all walks of life.

“If we got ten people around a table all looking through the same lens, we’re only gonna get one image of the issue at hand.” (Tristan Kennedy)

_{Note: Extraction of quotes and paraphrasing for this blog was supported by Microsoft Copilot.}