Jason Edward Lewis

Jason Edward Lewis is an artist and scholar of digital media.^[1][2][3] Of Samoan and Hawaiian descent, Lewis explores how creative computation and artificial intelligence can sustain Indigenous cultures.^[4][5][6][7] He is Professor of Computation Arts at Concordia University, where he founded the Obx Laboratory for Experimental Media and co-directs the Indigenous Futures Research Centre, both of which focus on the intersection of Indigenous knowledge and digital media.^[8]

Lewis completed undergraduate degrees in Symbolic Systems (B.Sc.) and German Studies (B.A.) at Stanford University and earned a Master of Philosophy in Design from the Royal College of Art.^[9]

Career and research

Lewis develops scholarly and artistic projects that draw on digital media and Indigenous cultural principles. He is a lead researcher on the multi-year Abundant Intelligences program, which reframes artificial intelligence through Indigenous knowledge systems.^[10][11][12]

Earlier, Lewis co-organized the Indigenous Protocol and AI workshops and contributed to its widely cited position paper on ethical AI development.^[13] He also established Obx Labs and co-founded Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace (AbTeC), collaborative initiatives that combine art, storytelling, and software design to support Indigenous community-building in digital environments.^[14]

Lewis’s creative works have been showcased at venues including Ars Electronica, ISEA, Elektra, SIGGRAPH, and the Hawaiian International Film Festival.^[15][16]

Awards and honors

Lewis received the inaugural Robert Coover Award for Best Work of Electronic Literature,^[17] two Honorable Mentions from Prix Ars Electronica, and multiple awards from ImagineNative Film and Media Arts Festival.^[18] He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada^[19] and has held fellowships with the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, the Carnegie Foundation, and the MIT Open Documentary Lab.^[20]