Moving in parallel: Data, AI and Governance

Data and artificial intelligence are rapidly expanding what governments can see, decide and do. But as these capabilities grow, governance and public assurance need to keep pace.

A new Koi Tū commentary by Georgia Lala, Dr Christopher Erwin and Sir Peter Gluckman, examines how the increasing use of data and AI by government is changing the relationship between citizens and the state, and what this means for public trust.

Advances in data integration, computing power and machine learning are giving public agencies new opportunities to identify emerging risks, target interventions more precisely, reduce administrative burden and allocate resources more effectively.

At the same time, these technologies are making some government decision-making harder for citizens to see, understand or challenge.

This matters at a time when public trust in democratic institutions is declining in New Zealand and internationally. As government capability expands, citizens will increasingly expect assurance that these tools are being used responsibly and in the public interest.

New Zealand already has important foundations for trustworthy data and AI use, including the Algorithm Charter for Aotearoa New Zealand, the Algorithm Impact Assessment toolkit and the Public Service AI Framework.

However, the commentary argues that these mechanisms do not yet offer a coherent system of public assurance. Responsibility for interpreting, implementing and assessing many of these safeguards remains largely within individual government agencies.

Read Moving in parallel: Matching data and AI capability with trustworthy governance here.

You can also read Koi Tū’s submission to the Justice Committee for the Data and Statistics (Census) Amendment Bill here.