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‍Creating a Regret Reduction Playbook for First NationsInfrastructure Decision Making

6TH ANNUAL WATER SYMPOSIUM & TRADE SHOW; Dates: February 7 - 9, 2023

Calgary TELUS Convention Centre; Calgary, AB

Significant downsides can occur in major infrastructure decisions including longer purchase and implementation timelines, increased cost, and dissatisfaction with stakeholders involved. First Nations want to select, build, own, and operate solutions that inspire confidence and pride, and deliver long-lasting benefit to community members.  

Conventional decision-making processes can fail to address the unique challenges of rural environments, leading to regret and further community concern. Opportunities exist to exploit hybrid human and technological approaches to decision making that achieve desirable outcomes forFirst Nations and rural ecosystems infrastructure projects. However, FirstNations may be skeptical about the use of technology in community decision making. On the other hand, avoiding the use of emerging technologies such asArtificial Intelligence can create a Digital Colonization whereFirst Nations are marginalized in a new digital divide.

In this session, together with the participants, we will explore the use of an Indigenous Designed Experiential Intelligence platform for community water infrastructure decision-making that involves the community at every step. This innovative method involves four key stages: problem identification, solution exploration, requirements building and supplier selection. The process embraces knowledge sharing, scientific inquiry, and community values, to achieve optimal infrastructure solutions and reduced regret.

Brian Ritchie, is the Founder and CEO of Kama.ai and member of Chapleau Cree First Nation located in Northern Ontario. Brian is active in his community participating on several economic development corporation boards on behalf of his band. He is also on the advisory board for the Ted Rogers School of Management MBA Program and on the board of directors for Kerry’s Place,Canada’s largest Autism agency. At kama, Brian and his team are passionate about developing the world’s most advanced virtual agents and deploying them in the service of humanity.

Keyvan Maleki, is the executive director of the RESEAU Centre for Mobilizing Innovation, dedicated to developing water-health solutions in Indigenous and rural communities. He is an information technologist with subsequent studies and expertise in customer-focused innovation and business administration. He has led technology transformation projects in diverse sectors, including finance & banking, automotive, robotics, railway transportation, consulting engineering, education, water sanitation & health, in the UK, Italy, the USA, and Canada. He held faculty positions at electronic, electrical, and computer science schools in The UK and California. In addition, he coached tennis in academies in Tuscany, California, and Pacific Northwest.

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