The project ΑΠΟαποικιοΠΟΙΗΣΗ is concerned with the compilation of a community-created, ethically sourced dataset of Cypriot Greek text, and the subsequent publication of a poetry collection written in Cypriot Greek, through the collaboration of 10 poets/prose writers with a custom-trained NaturalLanguage Processing (NLP) model, namely, the GPT-2 Artificial Intelligence model. The poetry collection will focus on the question “What defines a human being?”. Specifically, the aims of the project are:

• To create an inclusive Cypriot Greek dataset that reflects the diversity of Cypriot Greek speakers
• To adhere to ethical data sourcing standards by respecting intellectual property and GDPR
• To contribute to the spreading of a more systematic homogeneous way of spelling Cypriot Greek
• To contribute to the decolonisation of Cyprus
• To provide an open access dataset of Cypriot Greek text upon the completion of our project

Through the presentation of the final outcome of the current project, we aim to open a dialogue about the role and the influence of artificial intelligence in our lives.

Participating authors:
Maria A. Ioannou, Rania Iakovou, Marios Agathokleous, Marios Kostantinou, Artemis Evagorou, Konstantina Ioannou, Nayia T. Karakosta, Michalis Vrionidis, Antonis Georgiou, Sonia Christofi.

Voluntary participant:
Konstantina Achilleos. The project is supported by the Cultural Services of the Deputy Ministry of Culture, Cyprus

The NGO “Ipogeia Skini”, began its activity in 2011 with nomadic type of cultural activities until 2014, when it found shelter in a rural space in the centre of Limassol. This space is called Synergeio and it serves as a basis for creating as well as producing the cultural projects of the NGO. Since its establishment, Synergeio has hosted all the theatre productions of the NGO Ipogeia Skini and its Performing Arts Festival “Sinaxis” for the past four years. Beyond its ownProductions, Synergeio provides shelter to local and international artists/art groups who have a vision to create beyond the given structures, to research and experiment with new ideas and artistic trends. In addition, Synergeio is today a meeting point in the city centre. A space which is open to citizens’ initiatives for cultural and social action that promotes a form of art that evolves from solidarity as well as through the reflection of everyday life.

Spyros Armostis is a Lecturer in Linguistics at the Department of English Studies, University of Cyprus. He holds an MPhil and PhD in Linguistics(Phonetics) from the University of Cambridge and a BA in Classics from the University of Cyprus. His publications lie mainly in the fields of phonetics, phonology, variational sociolinguistics, and clinical linguistics. His research activities have also expanded to other areas, such as grapholinguistics, language documentation and revitalisation and second language acquisition. Focal points of his work have been the study of Cypriot Greek and Cypriot Arabic as well as of other varieties, such as Standard Modern Greek, Pontic Greek, English, and French. Finally, he is the Coordinator of the Cy[Φ] Lab (Cyprus PhoneticsLaboratory), Department of English Studies, University of Cyprus.

Alexia Achilleos is an artist, interested in investigating data and utilising machine learning processes, to re-examine topics that impact narrative, biases found within history and society, but also within AI technology itself, particularly challenging the idea of technology as universal and objective. Alexia is a a PhD Fellow at CYENS Centre of Excellence, where she is undertaking artistic research on decolonising Cypriot artificial intelligence.