New Zealand launches its first national AI strategy
The government of New Zealand has published a national artificial intelligence strategy in a bid to drive AI adoption across the economy.
Shane Reti, the government’s minister of science, innovation and technology, said the strategy – which was written with the assistance of AI – seeks to build public trust, or “social licence”, and to attract local investment as well as international capital and expertise.
Aligned with the government’s broader flagship economic plan, ‘Going for Growth’, Reti said the strategy recognises “the transformative potential of AI” and cements the government’s commitment to creating the conditions for New Zealand enterprises to adopt AI “with confidence”.
New Zealand is the last of the OECD member countries to publish a national AI strategy. “The time has come for New Zealand to get moving on AI,” Reti wrote in the foreword of the strategy paper.
He stressed that the government offered “unwavering support” for private sector investment in AI. Citing industry research led by Microsoft, he said: “Adopting generative AI alone could add NZ$76bn (US$45bn) to the New Zealand economy by 2038, or over 15% of our GDP.”
Through implementation of the strategy, the government hopes to promote use of AI in the private sector. Findings of a 2024 Datacom survey showed that 67% of larger New Zealand businesses “now utilise some form of AI”, a big jump from 48% in 2023.
However, among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), adoption has been slower. According to Spark New Zealand, a telecommunications and digital services company, “the depth of AI integration remains limited”, and 68% of SMEs say they have “no plans to evaluate or invest in AI technology”.
The aim of the strategy is to “raise awareness of how AI can give New Zealand businesses a competitive edge and drive adoption across the private sector”.
Read more: New Zealand government forges path to responsible AI with new framework
Barriers to uptake
According to the strategy document, research and stakeholder consultations identified “several interconnected barriers for which the government is delivering a coordinated response”.
These include regulatory uncertainties; perceived complexity around technicality, ethics and risks; poor understanding of AI and its perceived value; and a lack of AI-related skills.
To counter these, the paper outlines four key actions.
To tackle regulatory uncertainty, the paper said the government would take “a light-touch and principles-based approach to AI policy”, and that it would update existing principles-based frameworks “when needed” to enable innovation and address risks.
To deal with the perceived complexity of AI, both technical and ethical, the government has produced a companion document to the strategy, entitled ‘Responsible AI Guidance for Businesses’. It offers guidance for businesses looking to incorporate AI in their processes and functions.
As for poor understanding of AI and its perceived value, the strategy noted that many businesses are unsure of the return on investment on AI tools and systems. The strategy said such inhibitions were worsened by frequent media coverage that portrayed “dystopian scenarios, AI misuse, or [that] focuses on displacement rather than augmentation of human capabilities”.
It also cited a survey which found that of the 97% of workers who had heard of AI, “only 34% could clearly explain what it is”.
The government said the strategy is an attempt to remedy the issue: “This strategy aims to raise awareness and understanding of AI, to spur interest and experimentation, and ultimately lift AI capabilities across the economy,” it said.
Read more: AI strategies across the Five Eyes nations
Building a ‘future-ready workforce’
The government said that New Zealand’s relatively small population of 5.2 million “intensifies competition for AI talent with global markets”.
To address this, the government said New Zealand’s universities would help build “a future-ready workforce”, rolling out various software engineering degree programmes and “specialised training in machine learning and AI applications”.
Both businesses and government agencies are expected to invest in AI literacy. Initiatives across the public sector are to be led by Paul James, New Zealand’s government chief digital officer, and will include “AI masterclasses for leaders and foundational courses for public servants”.
In February, the New Zealand government launched an artificial intelligence framework for the public sector, which set out a roadmap to safe deployment of AI across government departments.
Paul James said at the time that harnessing AI in the public sector could “significantly improve customer experience and boost efficiency and productivity”.
More broadly, and consistent with OECD principles, the government of New Zealand said it would take “a multistakeholder approach to international AI efforts”, promoting “innovative and trustworthy AI, reaffirming international law, human rights, and democratic values”.
Read more: Trusting the process, trusting the product: how governments can win over the public on AI
About Jack Aldane
Jack is a British journalist, cartoonist and podcaster. He graduated from Heythrop College London in 2009 with a BA in philosophy, before living and working in China for three years as a freelance reporter. After training in financial journalism at City University from 2013 to 2014, Jack worked at Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters before moving into editing magazines on global trade and development finance. Shortly after editing opinion writing for UnHerd, he joined the independent think tank ResPublica, where he led a media campaign to change the health and safety requirements around asbestos in UK public buildings. As host and producer of The Booking Club podcast – a conversation series featuring prominent authors and commentators at their favourite restaurants – Jack continues to engage today’s most distinguished thinkers on the biggest problems pertaining to ideology and power in the 21st century. He joined Global Government Forum as its Senior Staff Writer and Community Co-ordinator in 2021.
Related Posts
