TE KARAKA

Ngā Hau e Whā
From the Editor

Leadership: a word with multiple interpretations. It is both a quality and an action, and something that most of us demonstrate in some aspect of our lives, whether it’s within our whānau, community, or workplace. Growing future leaders has long been a priority for Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu – leaders who are confident in…

From the CEO
A time to give thanks

As another year draws to a close, I can’t help thinking of the extraordinary heartfelt reaction to the harrowing events of March 15 in Christchurch. This changed not only the city but also the country; and had a profound impact across the world. We give thanks to the bravery of all those affected, especially our Muslim communities both near and far. At a time of great sorrow they brought a loving and compassionate response that has left an everlasting impression across our wider society. In this time of great trauma, I watched how kindness prevailed to bring inner peace. We need to imbue this within our way of being.

Whenua
Te Wehi-a-Te-Wera

Te Wehi-a-Te-Wera is the Māori name for The Neck, the long, narrow peninsula at the entrance to Te Whaka-a-Te-Wera (Paterson Inlet) at Rakiura (Stewart Island). The name refers to the well-known Ngāi Tahu tipuna, Te Wera, who escaped to Rakiura following a series of inter-tribal conflicts in Otago.

Ka hao te Rakatahi
The dodgy world of deepfakes

A big step up from simply “fake news”, a deepfake is a particular kind of manipulative media in the form of doctored videos. Deepfakes present real challenges to democracy and our electoral process, especially at the hands of those with the money to drive influence.

The term “deepfake” is a combination of the words “fake” and “deep”, as in “deep learning”, an Artificial Intelligence function. Using deep learning, a machine can analyse thousands of images and recordings, and use this to convincingly transpose one face over another in a recording. This creates increasingly hard-to-spot videos of deception. Increasingly, believable-looking videos are depicting people doing and saying things they have never said or done. It’s sometimes described as “Photoshop on steroids”.