AI for Mayan Languages: A Cultural Approach

José María Morelos — The incorporation of artificial intelligence into Mayan languages represents a strategic opportunity to prevent these languages from being excluded from global technological development, provided it is done responsibly and with community participation.

This was explained by Dr. Silvia Fidelina Fernández Sabido, a physicist specializing in artificial intelligence applications and researcher at CentroGeo Yucatán, who noted that AI advances with or without society’s participation, so remaining on the sidelines implies misinformation and lagging behind.

She indicated that while there are legitimate fears about the risks and control of these technologies by large corporations, it is also true that only through knowledge and training can one have an informed opinion and critical participation in their development.

The researcher explained that one of the main challenges is that artificial intelligence feeds on data available on the internet, dominated by languages like English and Spanish, while indigenous languages are almost not represented, creating a technological and cultural gap.

She added that this situation can also become an opportunity if indigenous languages and knowledge systems are incorporated carefully, gradually, and respectfully, avoiding the reproduction of extractive models where communities only generate data without receiving benefits.

Finally, she emphasized that the development of technologies for the Mayan language must be built together with communities, taking into account their real needs and cultural relevance, with the goal that the resulting tools are useful, respectful, and truly functional in the long term.