From Innovation to Implementation: Regulating AI in Aotearoa New Zealand

By:  Nick Valentine, Edward Eisdell-Moore, Abby Simpson & Vivian Mitchell (DLA Piper)

Aotearoa New Zealand’s regulatory approach to the rapid adoption of AI-enabled solutions has, until now, been notably absent. To date, the only substantive guidance for businesses adopting AI has come from New Zealand’s Privacy Commissioner. As a result, both we and our clients have been looking abroad, particularly to the EU’s AI Act, to anticipate what AI regulation might look like in New Zealand and to benchmark best practices.

However, change is on the horizon, with a clear indication from the Government on how the regulatory landscape for AI will be shaped in New Zealand. Encouragingly, businesses eager to harness AI’s transformative potential are unlikely to face sweeping legislative reforms. Instead, a pragmatic, risk-based regulatory approach is expected.

What’s the story?

On 25 July 2024, the Minister of Science, Innovation, and Technology, Hon Judith Collins KC, published a Cabinet paper seeking approval from the Cabinet’s Economic Policy Committee for a strategic approach to New Zealand’s use of AI. The proposed strategy aims to foster public trust and economic confidence in AI adoption.

The Minister has promised a “light-touch, proportionate, and risk-based approach” to AI regulation, relying on existing laws as a framework and only introducing new regulations where necessary to “unlock innovation or address acute risks.” We support this light-touch approach, as both we and the Government are closely monitoring international developments, especially the EU’s AI Act, which came into force on 2 August 2024. The AI Act is the first global attempt to regulate AI, and its influence on New Zealand’s regulatory framework remains to be seen.

The Cabinet paper outlines key elements of the proposed AI strategy, including the current challenges New Zealand faces in AI adoption and the Minister’s five priority areas for decision-making and policy action in AI.

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