Work

RiverBot: Reimagining AI, Technology, and Leadership via Indigenous Co‐Leadership and Relational AI

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Contemporary chatbot development is often led by teams with highly specialized technical training, leaving little space for imaginative and community-centered approaches to technology. This can limit the ability of AI systems to reflect community priorities, place-based knowledge, and diverse ways of knowing. Using RiverBot as a case study, we examine how Indigenous scholars, students, and community partners co-led the development of Relational AI by carrying Indigenous epistemologies into chatbot design, evaluation, and implementation. We argue that Indigenous leadership fundamentally transformed what the technology became, demonstrating how collaboration across epistemologies can reshape AI development. Finally, we discuss how this collaborative process cultivates student leadership, expands interdisciplinary participation in emerging technologies, and strengthens Tribal communities through culturally grounded approaches to water education, stewardship, and decision-making.

Source: New Directions for Student Leadership

DOI: 10.1002/yd.70075

Authors: Liliana Caughman, Stephen Carradini, Claire Lauer, Sanjiv Thompson, Tallia Robledo, Natalie Parra Miguel

Institution: Arizona State University

Language: English

Topic: Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights

Subfield: Health

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: Arizona State University