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01Why we exist

AI is being builtwithout the peopleit will shape.

Artificial intelligence is already deciding who gets hired, funded, diagnosed and heard. It is being trained on data our communities did not consent to, in languages it does not speak, by teams we are not in. Left alone, that gap widens with every model release.

Inati Labs exists to close it. We build AI capability with Pacific communities — not for them — so the knowledge, the tools and the decisions stay in our hands. Every programme we run sits under one of three pillars.

The founder of Inati Labs speaking at a community event, presenting a slide titled “Tokelau’s solar story”.

Tokelau met almost all of its electricity needs from solar in 2012 — a world first, built around local resilience rather than scale. Power, compute, data, governance: the same sequence, and the same argument, is what we are asking of AI.

Speaking on sovereign infrastructure — small, local and community-governed is not a limitation.

01

AI education

AI literacy, workshops and professional development for schools, workplaces and community organisations — plain language, practical, and built for people starting from zero.

02

AI innovation

An applied innovation lab where Pacific teams design, test and ship AI tools, guided by responsible AI research and real community problems.

03

Community impact

Volunteer networks, scholarships, partnerships and island-based programmes — including our work in Tokelau — that put capability where it is least likely to arrive on its own.

Where we stand

Everything on this site should be traceable back to one of these three sentences.

Purpose
Technology should strengthen communities, culture and people — not replace them.
Vision
A future where Pacific communities confidently lead, shape and benefit from artificial intelligence.
Mission
Build AI capability through education, innovation, partnerships and community-led programmes.
01.1Founder & director

Someone has to beanswerable for it.

A hub that asks communities to trust it with their data and their language should be able to say who is accountable, by name. This is who carries that.

Portrait of Tracey Savelio, founder and director of Inati Labs.
01

Tracey Savelio

Founder & director

Inati Labs was founded after watching artificial intelligence arrive in Pacific communities the way most technology does — already built, already decided, and explained afterwards. The response was not to argue about it, but to build the capability to shape it from inside.

The name is deliberate. An inati is the Tokelauan system for dividing a catch so that every household receives its portion. Not charity, and not a market — a structure that makes sure nothing is distributed by accident. It is the same standard the lab holds itself to, in how programmes are funded, who governs the data, and where capability is left behind.

Co-founder and Head of Public Relations at Sovata AI, Tracey specialises in responsible AI, public sector engagement, and community leadership. With 16 years at Kiwibank and extensive experience across Pacific communities, she helps organisations implement AI that is ethical, inclusive, and trusted.

What the role carries

  • Accountable for what the lab runs — and what it declines
  • Holds the relationships with communities, funders and partners
  • Signs off consent and data governance before any programme moves
  • Answers for what is published when a cohort falls short
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