Governance, transparency, human oversight and accountability are among the key themes
As AI use continues to proliferate worldwide, countries continue to grapple with how this technology must be regulated. Varying approaches have been taken by different jurisdictions; for instance, Australia’s government set up an Office of AI in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) to facilitate the development and implementation of an AI standard in what DLA Piper New Zealand partner Nick Valentine described as “a relatively visible and structured approach to AI policy”.
New Zealand, however, has opted for a different strategy.
“Rather than creating a standalone AI regime, most initiatives focus on how existing, technology-neutral laws and regulatory frameworks apply in an AI context”, Valentine told NZ Lawyer. “Examples include the privacy commissioner’s guidance on AI and the Information Privacy Principles, MBIE’s AI Strategy and Responsible AI Guidance for Businesses, the Public Service AI Framework, and the ministry for regulation’s AI guidance for regulators”.
Cybersecurity is a key focus, with the New Zealand government holding consultations on possible ways to bolster the security of critical infrastructure via the DPMC’s discussion document Enhancing the cyber security of New Zealand’s critical infrastructure system.
“While not AI-specific, that workstream is relevant to the wider AI resilience discussion because increasingly important digital services depend on secure and resilient infrastructure”, Valentine told NZ Lawyer.
He also highlighted how the Human Rights Commission views AI as more than an issue of innovation.
“[The commission] places greater emphasis on AI governance as a rights and accountability issue, not just an innovation issue, and advocates for a more coherent national approach to AI and digital governance grounded in human rights and Te Tiriti o Waitangi”, Valentine told NZ Lawyer. “Taken together, these developments suggest the New Zealand conversation is moving beyond ‘can we use AI?’ to ‘can we use it in a way that is accountable, resilient, rights-respecting and worthy of public trust?’”
The next step, he said, is “moving from principles to evidence of execution”.
“Across the main New Zealand guidance, the recurring themes are now relatively clear: governance, privacy, transparency, human oversight, security, procurement, and accountability. The harder question is whether an organisation can prove those things are happening”, Valentine told NZ Lawyer.
Last Friday 21 August, justice minister Paul Goldsmith and Labour Party member Willie Jackson were faced with the issue of whether the scraping of New Zealand media content to train AI violated copyright law while on Ryan Bridge TODAY’s political panel. A Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill had been introduced to parliament in 2023 and was expected to be signed into law at the end of 2024 according to the NZ Herald; however, the government put the legislation on ice in December 2024 while it monitored Australia's approach.
