The AI-generated bushman "Jarren" has caused consternation because he presents as an indigenous Australian but his creator is not.
Aboriginal avatar Jarren, who hosts online videos about Australian wildlife under the name Bush Legend, is overstepping indigenous boundaries, according to Māori AI innovator Peter Lucas-Jones.
That’s because while he looks and sounds like a real person, Jarren was created not by an indigenous Australian, but by Hawke’s Bay-based content creator Keagan Mason.
“Authenticity is everything when it comes to language and culture. When people are pretending ... even if it is smattered with facts, the truth is it is not authentic,” Lucas-Jones, CEO of Māori media company Te Hiku Media told the Herald.
Videos featuring Jarren started to appear online in December last year.
More than 200,000 people follow him on the Bush Legends social pages – 92,000 on Facebook, 89,000 on Instagram and 25,000 on TikTok – with most appearing to believe Jarren is real.
But his accounts have been criticised in international media as “AI blackface” and “digital fiction”.
Mason, who created the apparently-indigenous host using AI, is standing by his series, telling the Herald in a statement his characters are not intended to represent any specific individual, culture or community.
“To clarify, I am a New Zealander and have lived here for over 30 years,” Mason said, when asked if he is South African as has been reported in overseas media.
“Bush Legend is a wildlife storytelling project that I create and produce.
“I use digital creative tools to tell wildlife stories and express my passion for animals and conservation in an accessible way. My content has always been clearly labelled to indicate its digitally created nature. As with any evolving creative project, elements of the presentation have changed over time.
“The focus of the work is wildlife and conservation, and it is not positioned as indigenous storytelling or as speaking on behalf of any cultural group.
Bush legend wasn’t created to speak for a culture
“I respect that conversations around representation are important and evolving, and I remain open to respectful dialogue and collaboration within the wildlife and conservation space,” Mason told the Herald.
He also posted a video in January, defending his work, which he charges subscribers $3.49 per month for.
In response to the growing criticism, Mason has also created videos where Jarren addresses those comments directly.
“I’m not here to represent any culture or group and this channel is simply about animal stories,” Jarren said in a recent video.
“If this isn’t your thing – no worries – scroll and move on.”
Lucas-Jones, who in 2024 was named one of Time Magazine’s most influential people in AI for his work with indigenous AI, disagrees with the approach.
“Indigenous content is expected to be developed by indigenous people,” he told the Herald.
“It’s important we understand who is generating the content.”
With curly dark hair and brown eyes, Jarren stands in the Outback, red dirt at his feet, a snake in front, introducing Australian wildlife to thousands of online fans.
His videos play with didgeridoo sounds in the background and his vocab is peppered with “mate” and “crikey” – he sounds similar to Aussie Crocodile Hunter, the late Steve Irwin.
Jarren speaks about wildlife, from venomous snakes and crocodiles to redback spiders and the elusive night parrots once thought extinct, as well as plant life.
“Because parts are AI-generated, there will always be doubt that what they are saying is true,” Lucas-Jones said.
“Whenever a non-indigenous person is developing indigenous-based content [they] must engage with indigenous people.
“You can’t just take the information and the data and reshape it to suit yourself. Most of it isn’t culturally sensitive to issues indigenous people are challenged with.”
The apparently indigenous avatar has raised similar ethical concerns in Australia.
Tamika Worrell is a senior lecturer in critical indigenous studies at Macquarie University. “The faux creation of Jarren the Bush Legend is culturally offensive,” she told the Herald.
“It represents a type of AI generated blackface that purposefully attempts to profit, in the form of both monetisation, and online clout, on social media.
“Not only is this character not real, it attempts to create cultural authority with its persona, paired with background Yidaki music [didgeridoo],” Worrell said.
“Non-indigenous people should not be creating indigenous art, or characters in this way as it is completely devoid of cultural or community accountability.
“Bush Legends creator, Keagan Mason... dismisses indigenous peoples’ valid critique and concern as simply being ‘noise online’.
“He goes on to say he is ‘not interested in debating identity or culture online’, stating that ‘it wasn’t created to represent a culture’.
“This is representative of the ways that non-indigenous peoples attempt to maintain control about indigenous peoples and knowledges in online spaces.”
Lucas-Jones also has a message for Mason and his Aboriginal avatar.
“While the intentions may be good, bad or otherwise, it’s not their story to tell.
“The accuracy and experience of thousands of years that each indigenous whānau, hapū and iwi have, whether it’s to do with culture, flora and fauna or whatever, comes down to understanding cultural context and can’t be eliminated because someone has good intentions,” he said.
Joseph Los’e joined NZME in 2022 as Kaupapa Māori Editor. Los’e was a chief reporter, news director at the Sunday News newspaper covering crime, justice and sport. He was also editor of the NZ Truth and worked for urban Māori organisation Whānau Waipareira.