Pinhanez's work tackles two central questions: "How can AI help strengthen the use of endangered Indigenous languages?" and "How can AI support the documentation of critically endangered languages?", highlighting the global issue of disappearing languages and the urgency underscored by UNESCO’s International Decade of Indigenous Languages.

The projects he shared focus on revitalizing languages, particularly in the Amazon, where language loss is deeply intertwined with the preservation of the forest and Indigenous cultural identity. Pinhanez emphasizes the need to shift from traditional revitalization methods toward approaches that incorporate technology—especially AI—for documentation and strengthening indigenous language use among those communities in the 21st century.

He outlines the ethical complexities of this work, given the long history of colonial violence and the exploitation of Indigenous knowledge. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples serves as a foundational ethical framework, emphasizing community participation in decision-making and the protection of intellectual property rights.

Pinhanez addresses the practical challenges of working with languages that have minimal digital presence, proposing a "community usage"-centered model: tools are first developed with available data, then refined through co-creation with the communities themselves. He shares field experiences from working with two Indigenous communities in Brazil, highlighting lessons in transcultural co-design.

These include respecting cultural rhythms and values—such as the importance of silence in meetings—and adopting approaches that genuinely reflect Indigenous ways of interacting and expressing, rather than merely imitating them. The design team adapted their methodologies accordingly, for example, by modeling conversational structures after community meetings and incorporating familiar digital platforms like online gaming into the language tools, rooting the technology in daily life and lived experience.