Judith Collins, the New Zealand Minister for Digitising Government has suggested that “the government must create its own bespoke artificial intelligence.” She says: “The answer is, that I am aware of, we need to have internal LLM.” (LLM= large language model). That said, the development of AI is of strategic importance to New Zealand – but also an expensive undertaking.
Business entities will need to invest billions into AI investments – besides the high costs of power requirements that would strain the existing power grids. According to Drew B., Netsafe's virtual chief AI and data officer: “The NZ government must first determine the strategy around AI as the first step – and not on building an LLM.”
While no final decision has been arrived at, Collins says “the use of AI-based large language models (LLMs) in the public sector is her priority.” She explains, “We’ve been thinking about it, obviously we’ve been doing everything else too; to see how can we do this better? It’s got to be something that’s very ring-fenced, either within government or [procured externally].”
In recent years, the New Zealand government has also faced an increase in cyberattacks. According to Statista, there were 1,181 incidents of data phishing and credential harvesting in New Zealand in 2023 (Quarter 3). Additionally, there were 64 reported incidents of scams and fraud – along with 184 cases of unauthorized access.
Judith Collins says this recent wave of cyberattacks has complicated the integration of AI into public policy making. There’s an ongoing concern that hackers may misuse AI technology to devise new forms of attacks. Referring to various sensitives, Collins talks about the “misuse of AI'' and the need to “draft a new AI framework,” which she plans to present to the N.Z. cabinet shortly. This can go a long way in ensuring the “better use of AI in government agencies.”
How the NZ Government can adopt AI technology
Despite the various challenges, Collins is bullish about the adoption of AI in government agencies in the future. Here are some business areas where she believes AI can make a difference:
In New Zealand’s healthcare industry, Judith Collins is keen to use AI for modern health systems – including the processing of mammogram results. With the growing volume of healthcare data being collected, Collins believes that an “AI solution could instantly tell women whether or not they have something that they need to be concerned about and whether or not they need to go to the next stage of seeing a specialist - instantly, not in a few weeks, not when someone's available.”
Collins also proposes a user-friendly mobile app, where citizens can access various government services. For instance, developed by the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), a mobile app can provide citizens access to transport-related information – and also serve in issuing driver’s licenses. Collins adds the app will also facilitate “common interactions that people have with NZTA for paying their vehicle registration fees and road usage charges.”
According to Collins, AI technology can also benefit the education sector in New Zealand. For instance, AI tools can automatically mark the student’s work. She adds: “In some cases, if it's maths, for instance, yes. It's just helping those teachers get past that so they can spend more time on teaching.” She also cites the successful deployment of AI-powered tutors for students in South Korea.
With all the talk about digital inclusion, Collins also ensures that citizens that don’t want to use mobile apps can still access physical mediums. She also points out that, “this is not for the Government’s benefit, this is actually for the benefit of the people in New Zealand.”
Among the challenges, the lack of information sharing between NZ Government agencies are a source of customer frustration. This is all because government departments are often siloed – and do not share information with other departments. Collins’s plan is to set up a ministerial oversight group to break down these silos and facilitate information sharing.
In the drive towards digital inclusion, Collins believes that AI technology can play a crucial role in improving government services in New Zealand. The NZ government requires a strategic and coordinated approach towards AI investments.