New Zealand has released its first artificial intelligence strategy after becoming the last OECD country to develop such a framework. However, the government's business-focused approach is already drawing criticism for prioritizing economic gains over ethical and social risks.

The 19-page strategy, titled "Investing with Confidence," was unveiled by Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Shane Reti, who promises AI could add $NZ76 billion to New Zealand's economy by 2038 – equivalent to 15% of current GDP.

"The time has come for New Zealand to get moving on AI," Reti said. "My message to our business community is: invest with confidence in AI. The Government wants greater use of AI in business and stands ready to support your AI journey."

The strategy adopts a deliberately "light-touch" regulatory approach, emphasizing AI adoption over foundational development. It aims to remove barriers for businesses while relying primarily on existing laws rather than introducing new AI-specific regulations.

Adoption Challenges Revealed

Current adoption rates highlight the challenge ahead. While 67% of larger New Zealand businesses now use some form of AI, a stark 68% of small and medium enterprises have no plans to evaluate or invest in the technology – significantly higher than Australia's 38%.

The government plans to address this through guidance documents, skills training, and international partnerships, including a $12 million joint research program with Singapore focused on AI for healthy aging.

However, academics are raising concerns about what the strategy doesn't address. Andrew Lensen, Senior Lecturer in Artificial Intelligence, Victoria University of Wellington, writing in The Conversation, argues the strategy is "long on economic opportunity but short on managing ethical and social risk."

“New Zealand doesn’t have the capacity to build new generative AI systems, however. That takes tens of thousands of NVIDIA’s chips, costing many millions of dollars that only big tech companies or large nation states can afford.

“What New Zealand can do is build new systems and services around these models, either by fine-tuning them, or using them as part of a bigger software system or service,” writes Lensen

His criticism points to New Zealand's position "among the most relaxed nations when it comes to AI regulation, along with Japan and Singapore," while the European Union has enacted comprehensive AI legislation with risk-based categories.

Particularly concerning to critics is the strategy's silence on issues like deepfakes, algorithmic bias, and potential impacts on democratic processes.

"The strategy is essentially silent on all of these issues. It also doesn't mention Te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi," the commentary notes.

The relaxed approach contrasts sharply with public sentiment. New Zealand ranks "third-to-last out of 47 countries in a recent survey of trust in AI," while "66% of New Zealanders reported being nervous about the impacts of AI" in another survey.

These concerns aren't unfounded, with experts pointing to risks including "AI systems learn from data. If that data is biased, then those systems will learn to be biased, too" and the potential for AI to "mislead voters and discredit the democratic process."

Despite the criticism, New Zealand already hosts successful AI innovations. The strategy highlights companies like Halter, now valued at USD$1 billion for its livestock management technology, and Te Hiku Media, which developed AI capable of transcribing Māori with 92% accuracy.

The government emphasizes its role as an enabler rather than regulator, with Minister Reti noting the strategy document itself was written with AI assistance to demonstrate the government's commitment to "walk the talk."