Back to the Future or Knowledge Reborn

– AI Restoration, Traditional Knowledge Protection, and the Dilemma of Authenticity

Abstract

This article explores the interplay between traditional knowledge (TK), artificial intelligence (AI), and the law, with a focus on challenges and opportunities in protecting TK. TK, often intrinsic to the way of life of indigenous communities, faces threats of erosion, misappropriation, and neglect due to both modernisation and historical injustices. While digitisation and AI present promising tools for preserving and reconstructing lost TK, these technologies also raise concerns about authenticity and ownership.

AI can support TK preservation through techniques such as deep learning and data mining, which can reconstruct lost elements and provide tools for cultural revitalisation. To ensure cultural authenticity and alignment with communal values, AI-driven restoration necessitates collaboration with traditional communities. This raises complex questions about whether AI-restored TK qualifies as authentic and registrable under existing legal TK protection frameworks.

The article is divided into three sections, providing an overview and analysis of various legal aspects relating to the protection of TK in general and AI reconstructions of TK in particular. To this end, the article highlights the limitations of traditional intellectual property laws and rather focusses on national sui generis laws and the use of TK databases as a tool for protection. These sections are followed by a discussion, reflecting on the legal aspects in a wider cultural context, particularly proposing that authenticity should reflect the living community's values rather than rigid historical fidelity.