The Government is gearing up to develop regulations for artificial intelligence (AI) for New Zealand. 

It isn’t mentioned in the coalition’s 100-day plan, but New Zealand not being one of the 29 signatories on last November’s Bletchley Declaration – the global agreement to mitigate AI’s potential risks – has made the need for it more pressing. 

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Judith Collins told Newstalk ZB it’s not on the plan because it was already in the works anyway. 

Collins said after being in a transition government when the Bletchley Declaration was signed, New Zealand will be very much engaged in AI regulation, including considering signing onto it as they look ahead to the next AI Safety Summits in South Korea and France later this year. 

“We’re pulling in together – certainly Internal Affairs are pulling in together – all of the results of the work that has been done so that that is informing our framework.” 

Collins has also confirmed the Government will restart a parliamentary caucus on the issue this week, including revising a draft AI framework from the Department of Internal Affairs. 

She said they’ll wait on the final framework before revisiting anything on the Privacy Act that may concern AI. 

“The other thing is too that we’re doing is to make sure the framework is something that will be able to be amended as more information comes in or other challenges or opportunities arise.” 

Psychologist and AI strategist Dr Paul Duignan said while New Zealand should follow its global allies with regulation, it’s important to have some rules here too. 

He said the Government should look to encourage Kiwis to use it and embrace it, and even use it themselves – but there also needs to be some what-if planning for it. 

“[For example,] in regard to jobs, it shouldn’t be saying jobs are going to be massively affected, it should be saying if they were massively affected, what would we do? Should we be thinking about a universal basic income or something?” 

Collins said her biggest concern is where AI can be used for the wrong reasons, like falsifying documents and images. 

“But also where it’s not being used with the correct privacy protocols – that’s very important, particularly for Government. And that’s why I believe we need to make sure we need to get that right and then be afresh and alive to any changes that might need to be made.” 

Duignan also pointed to a psychological effect of AI the Government should also address. 

He said we knew where we stood in relation with computers, in the sense that computers were just simple processors, but AI is a whole new entity making people defensive about its potential, with one area of particular interest to him. 

“With this talk of what’s called artificial general intelligence, there’s the possibility that we’re going to find something here that can kind of compete with us in the intellectual role, which is the new development for humans.”