Ali supported the Senior Director of Heritage Lab, a nonprofit developing language
technology to support the revitalisation and preservation of Indigenous languages in
Northern Quebec.
The organisation began in 2024 when Ali was working with Inuit communities in Nunavik,
northern Quebec. He found that AI translation tools were inaccurately translating
Inuktitut, leading to the misrepresentation of the language in online educational
resources. This inspired him to join Heritage Lab, which works with language
professionals in northern Quebec communities to help preserve and revitalise Indigenous
languages for future generations.
To date, the organisation has served 14 communities in Nunavik and Inuit populations
living in Montréal, reaching more than 13,000 Inuktitut speakers through educational
materials. Its tools also serve the broader Inuit Nunangat region, which includes more
than 65,000 Inuktitut speakers across Canada. Heritage Lab has reached over 2,500
users and developed a dictionary and terminology database containing more than 7,000
words. The project has expanded to Indigenous communities in cities such as Ottawa
and Montréal, as well as communities in the United States and Peru, and is now used in
25 schools and 18 hospitals. The platform also serves as a learning resource for
non-Indigenous individuals interested in Indigenous languages and culture.
After attending the 2024 Summit in Montréal, he strengthened the development of
Heritage Lab and formed strategic partnerships with organisations including the Mila
Institute for AI Research and UNESCO. He later presented the Heritage Lab at UNESCO in
Paris to an audience of more than 14,000 people, and the project was recognised at the
United Nations General Assembly as an initiative of global impact.
“Two months after the Summit, I presented Heritage Lab at UNESCO in Paris in front of 1,400 people. Before that, I never would have I imagined myself speaking to such a large audience. The summit gave us confidence, removed fear and doubt, and confirmed that there was a real need for the work we were building.”
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