AI & Culture: How Can AI Preserve Heritage and Empower Communities?

Reimagining AI’s Purpose in Society

“AI for Community begins with a simple truth: artificial intelligence is now part of the evolution of human life. The question is not whether we use it, but how we shape it.” This powerful premise from authors Iran Davar Ardalan, Amir Banifatemi, Fernando Gonzalez, Myles Ingram, Reza Moradinezhad, and Lucretia Williams introduces a pioneering approach to AI development—one that places cultural preservation and community at the forefront.

First introduced at the AI for Good Summit in Geneva in 2019, the concept of “Cultural AI” represents a shift in how we conceptualize artificial intelligence. The book presents a framework where technology and ancestral wisdom converge to protect language, culture, and identity in ways that empower communities.

Expert Recognition: Praise From AI Leaders

The book has received exceptional praise from Jigyasa Grover, an award-winning AI leader. Known for her deep technical expertise in machine learning and large-scale systems, Grover says AI for Community fundamentally shifted how she thinks about the systems she builds.

“As someone who lives and breathes data-driven systems, I often find myself entangled in technical architectures, algorithmic efficiencies, and edge-case optimizations,” she notes. “This book compelled me to pause, reflect, and rethink the very purpose of the models I build. In AI for Community, the authors have created more than a textbook; they’ve architected a cultural framework for computational empathy.” – Jigyasa Grover

Grover points to the book’s concrete applications—from the Indigenous Knowledge Graph to transformer-based NLP pipelines for language revitalization—as examples of how AI can embed cultural intelligence at the design level. She also highlights its push for experimental frameworks, like community-sourced fine-tuning of language models, that invite more diverse hands into the creation process. “We cannot afford to engineer in echo chambers,” she adds. “Context is not optional; it’s foundational.”

This vision isn’t just resonating with seasoned technologists, it’s sparking momentum among the next generation of AI builders and cultural advocates.

Isabella Delbakhsh, an undergraduate at Stanford University, reflects on why her generation sees the book as essential:

“It challenges the notion that AI is only for academics or engineers and provides the reasoning as to how and why it needs to be built and understood by everyday people, especially those whose voices and cultures are often overlooked in the design of new technologies.” – Isabella Delbakhsh

Beyond Preservation: AI as a Cultural Bridge

What makes this book particularly significant is its exploration of how AI can do more than simply document endangered languages or digitize cultural artifacts. It presents a future where artificial intelligence becomes a tool for cultural revitalization and community empowerment.

The book discusses innovative approaches including:

A New Framework for Building

Perhaps the most pioneering aspect of AI for Community is its insistence that cultural intelligence must be embedded as deeply as algorithmic intelligence in AI systems. The book challenges the tech industry’s tendency to develop AI in isolation, arguing instead for community-driven design processes that center the voices of those most affected by these technologies.

As another reviewer, Shabnam Erfani, a prominent Product Management Executive, notes, the book offers “Through powerful examples—ranging from preserving languages, art, and cultural traditions to embodiment of scholars and examining the challenges of building trustworthy, inclusive AI—this book shines light on the critical questions communities must resolve as they embrace AI.”

For professionals in AI development, cultural heritage preservation, or community engagement, this book is a launchpad for action. Around the world, governments, research networks, and industry leaders are calling for AI pilots that move beyond concepts to working systems. AI for Community equips you with practical frameworks and global case studies to design, test, and scale projects that embed cultural knowledge into AI, turning bold ideas into tangible, operational technologies. 

Co-author Davar Ardalan will also be a featured author at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October and at the New York AI Summit in December.

The book is available now from Routledge and is a must-read for anyone interested in ensuring that as we advance technologically, we don’t leave our cultural heritage behind.