AI governance tips, resources and media commentary about all matters that relate to AI governance topics for all New Zealand organisations.
Yesterday the New Zealand Government released its AI Strategy and advise to small businesses. The Strategy aligns with OECD AI Principles and the Government says it will continue to work with international partners on global rules to support the responsible use and development of AI. The strategy is primarily focused on productivity and not human … Read more
According to their media release, the Writer’s Toolbox is a New Zealand and Australian education company. They provide an educational writing programme, powered by patented AI, designed to help students master writing. It is having a serious impact on Māori students’ literacy achievements. After using Writer’s Toolbox [using a locally-built AI], Thornton School [Decile 5, … Read more
One.nz released their AI Trust Report today. It covers New Zealanders’ attitudes towards AI in 2025. Interestingly, it aligns to the research done by the AI Forum, PSA, InternetNZ, and DataCom. Additionally, many other New Zealand initiated research on AI show similar findings. While One.nz report didn’t mention Māori or Pacifika, it did report on … Read more
The latest research by the Privacy Commission “Research on Privacy Concerns and Use of Personal Information March 2025” has a significant focus on Māori Data Sovereignty views which is welcomed. There is a concentration on Facial Recognition Technologies (FRT) reinforcing well established facts. The limited AI questions could have been more extensive, and should have … Read more
The global study titled “Trust, attitudes and use of Artificial Intelligence: A global study 2025” reveals that while a significant portion of New Zealanders regularly use AI, their trust in the technology is notably low. Concerns about risks associated with AI are prevalent. This indicates a need for improved regulation and assurance. I have taken … Read more
It’s a cultural norm for Māori to mihi or greet people with a ‘Kia ora’ or other salutation. This is done in person, written communications, and over the recent years in online video. In the early 2000’s, when email was relatively new, many Māori would include several sentences to a paragraph of mihimihi in each … Read more
I had the privilege to contribute a chapter about benefits to Māori in the book ” Ten perspectives on Artificial Intelligence: in a rapidly evolving technology landscape, we need a strategic and ethical approach to AI in Aotearoa. Published April 2025 by the Public Service Association (PSA). I explore how Māori have the unique opportunity to … Read more
The AI action figure trend, where users generate personalised or stylised figures using AI tools (like custom avatars, toy-like images, or even physical 3D printed models based on AI renderings) carries several risks, particularly around privacy, ethics, cultural appropriation, and deepfake potential. From a Māori perspective, the AI action figure trend presents serious risks associated … Read more
The Artificial Intelligence Forum of New Zealand (AI Forum) Te Kāhui Atamai Iahiko o Aotearoa, a purpose-driven, not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation (NGO) funded by members, released their second edition of it’s biannual “AI in Action report Exploring the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on New Zealand’s Productivity.” This edition also for the first time introduced a Te Ao … Read more
AI principles guide the ethical development and deployment of AI systems by companies and other organisations, while AI disclaimers are statements that acknowledge AI-generated content or outcomes – see my previous post for more details. There is an international best practice benchmark set by the OECD which is widely accepted and adapted by many countries. … Read more
In 2014, I wrote how Google Translate brought te reo Māori into the new digital world with Spam and Phishing, etc. Now Artificial Intelligence (AI) is using te reo Māori in many new ways, including by the Russian backed Pravda group to provide news/disinformation to New Zealanders. Artificial Intelligence is deploying te reo Māori in … Read more
I am now offering free webinars from a Te Ao Māori perspective to assist Māori communities and those who interact with Māori communities and AI to better understand the risks and benefits of AI, and to attempt to myth bust some of the many incorrect rumours and fears in the communities, particularly in te ao … Read more
If your business or web site uses AI, whether for content creation (emails, newsletters, web site) or customer service chatbots, you may want to consider publishing an AI disclaimer to alleviate the fears for your New Zealand customers. In addition, if you use Mātauranga Māori/Māori Data, you should also include this in your disclaimers either … Read more
The New Zealand Government this week this week (January 29, 2025) released its first non binding AI Framework for the public sector with ethics, human and Indigenous Peoples considerations. View the Public Service AI Framework or downloadable pdf here). The Aotearoa New Zealand government Cabinet has agreed to a light-touch, proportionate and risk-based approach to … Read more
According to this article the uncertainty with the foreign exchange and the $NZ loosing to the $USA, cloud computing has increased by 14% since September 2024. In addition to the international uncertainly with global events and the need to maintain security and budgets are all creating risks for New Zealand businesses that use cloud computing. … Read more
Leaking of sensitive corporate and government data via Generative AI such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity is an ongoing risk with many New Zealand companies and the New Zealand government who lack Artificial Intelligence (AI) skills such as AI governance and AI Security. All data that is inputted into an AI models will … Read more
It is a well documented fact in New Zealand and all over the world, that Artificial Intelligence and in particular Large Language Learning Models (LLMs) have been used for student plagiarism in schools, training institutes and universities. Not so well documented are the false notifications that result in innocent students being accused of cheating and … Read more
The New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), commissioned an independent Facial Recognition Trial of their Identity Check system using DIA passport face images to test against. Overall, Māori data sovereignty principles were vacant. Buried in the report was high probability of bias against Māori. DIA now say they will further test after asked by … Read more