Why data sovereignty is crucial for Indigenous communities, with Shaun Cumming and James Gauci

Between the rapid commercial rollout of AI systems, the proliferation of online scammers and the integral role big tech plays in our day-to-day lives, data confidentiality has assumed a central importance in modern life.

But Shaun Cumming, co-founder of social enterprise consultancy First Nations Economics, points out that for Aboriginal Australian communities, ownership of data is much more than just a consideration about personal privacy. 

Between 1910 and 1970 the Australian government removed children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent from their families. The government now estimates between one in ten and one in three Indigenous Australian children were forcibly taken from their families.

A subsequent government report into what are known as the Stolen Generations described the policy as a “genocide”. That policy was only possible due to data gathered about Aboriginal households. So in those communities, there is recent experience of abuse and harm based on extraction of data. Clearly, any data gathered about those communities now must be handled extremely sensitively.

It’s the right thing to do, but it’s also the right thing to do from a business perspective

That’s where First Nations Economics comes in. Founded by Cumming and Rick Macourt in 2023, First Nations Economics provides economic advice, and monitoring and evaluation support for government, private sector and other clients, then offers those same services to Aboriginal communities pro bono.

Cumming and Macourt have developed processes of data gathering appropriate to the culture and traditions of Aboriginal communities. He said: “Data is not just hard numbers. It’s about storytelling, it’s about art, it’s about song, it’s about all these great things. And it’s theirs.”

This process of data collection isn’t just the ethical choice, said Cumming. It also leads to more accurate data, which in turn allows better decision making and successful projects. 

He said: “It’s really important that we can communicate to decision makers that it’s important we do this up front and it will save us time and money in the long run. It’s the right thing to do, but it’s also the right thing to do from a business perspective”.

Championing custodianship over ownership

Both Cumming and Macourt’s mothers are Indigenous Australian, and the founders have recruited a majority Aboriginal female board of directors. Any data First Nations Economics gathers about an Aboriginal community is retained by the social enterprise for six months, then that data is provided to those communities to use in the future. 

Cumming emphasises that Aboriginal culture champions custodianship over ownership, and First Nations Economics treatment of data reflects that. He calls this management of information “data sovereignty". 

Cumming sees an opportunity in AI, if used and governed in alignment with the values of Indigenous communities, to be a tool to improve economic outcomes, preserve language and manage traditional lands.

But First Nations Economics’ ethos of ethical information collection and data sovereignty leads to inherently limited sample sizes, which Cumming sees as a challenge for integrating machine learning into the social enterprise’s work. 

How to use AI and data without harming society or the environment are questions many social entrepreneurs are currently wrestling with. For James Gauci, founder of social enterprise AI consultancy Cadent, supporting organisations to use the technology ethically and effectively is day-to-day business. 

• Read more: James Gauci on why social entrepreneurs must lead the way through the AI moral maze

At the Social Enterprise World Forum 2025, held in Taipei, Taiwan, Pioneers Post recorded Gauci and Cumming in conversation for our Good Experts podcast. Listen to the podcast to hear Gauci and Cumming explore:

• Why data sovereignty is so important for Indigenous communities
• How data about Indigenous communities gathered ethically will lead to more effective problem solving and greater impact
• What steps businesses can take to ensure AI is used ethically when working with Indigenous groups

This podcast is the full version of our interview with Cumming which also features in our film The AI Dilemma: Can social enterprises innovate without compromising their values? Watch the film here. 

The AI Dilemma was produced in partnership with Cadent, with support from Social Enterprise World Forum.