Jason Paris: One NZ chief executive on the new report revealing many Kiwis don't trust AI

The use of AI has become more widespread, with 77 percent of New Zealanders using it over the past year.

Despite this, the new One NZ AI Trust Report found that nearly half don’t trust large companies to use AI ethically.

Furthermore, 62 percent say they would stop using a company if they had concerns about its AI use, with top concerns being the misuse of personal data, job losses, and unfair decision-making.

One NZ CEO, Jason Paris, says there's 'massive' opportunities that come with AI - across all facets of business and life.

"But it needs to be done transparently, and sometimes corporates aren't as transparent as they need to be - and therefore, there's a question on trust."

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from news Talk ZEDB. Follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio
to AI.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Most of us use AI, and we know that we're
using it. Four and five of us almost have used
it in the past here knowingly, but that doesn't mean
we trust it. And you report by One new Zealand
out today found we do not trust large companies to
use it. We're most concerned with our personal data being misused,
with job losses associated with AI, and with AI making
unfair decisions. Jason Parris is the chief executive of one

(00:39):
end z Hi Jason cad I hear that, Jason, given
that most of us use it, you'd think that would
be okay with it. But why are we so worried
about it?

Speaker 3 (00:47):
Yeah, I think there's a bit of nervousness about it
because people don't know they're probably using it most days anyway.
So I think the survey sed seventy odd percent of
us know we are, but I think it's more like
one hundred percent of people are using Spotify or maps
or social or social media. But I think it's the
lack of transparency on what is going on behind the

(01:11):
scenes of those AI tools that they don't know about
makes you naturally suspicious.

Speaker 4 (01:17):
How are you using my data? How you are you?
Are you tracking me?

Speaker 3 (01:21):
What is this going to mean for jobs and for
employment when you make a recommendation to me? Is it
in my best interests? Or is it in the best
interests of the company. So all pretty interesting themes that
I kind of you know, it makes sense that customers
should be concerned about it.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
Is it maybe an underlying lack of trust in big corporates,
Like it's okay for me to use AI because I
know what I'm doing and I can trust myself, but
I don't trust those guys.

Speaker 4 (01:46):
There's probably an undertone there.

Speaker 3 (01:47):
It's just been around, you know, for years, globally and
a New Zealand. But that's I think with the opportunity
is you've got this massive opportunity, a productivity gain for
New Zealand by using AI across different businesses and all
facets of life. But it needs to be done transparently,
and sometimes corporates are transparent as they need to be,

(02:10):
and therefore.

Speaker 4 (02:11):
There's a question on trust.

Speaker 3 (02:13):
I don't think any corporate gets up every morning and
goes how can I rip a customer off, and I
don't think they're going to go. How can I use
AI to do anything bad? We just need to be
about transparent about how we use this amazing technology.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
Yeah, do you think that the job fears are I mean,
you mentioned it yourself. People are really worried that they
will lose their jobs or all these humans will be
displaced by robots. But it seems increasingly that actually it's
more a tool for the humans to use. You still
need the humans.

Speaker 4 (02:39):
At the moment. AI is coming to your job, not
for your job. We've deployed AI.

Speaker 3 (02:44):
Across most parts of our business, and I would say
the max I've seen of anyone's job of tasks that
someone would be performing as about thirty percent. So what
it's doing at the moment is just letting us get
to that to do list that's longer than my arm
that you never get to. By removing all the noise
and the stuff that you don't like doing because it's
repetitive and boring and brain dumbing.

Speaker 4 (03:08):
You can work on the call sexy stuff.

Speaker 3 (03:10):
In five years, though, I think the technology is evolving
fast enough to go. Actually, some roles won't be there
because the roles we've got in organizations are to kind
of hide process gaps or an efficiency or old technology
that shouldn't be in the business, and so you should
be able to speed it up using AI. The key

(03:30):
is then to make sure that you train and upscill
those people so they can be deployed in more value
creating roles within your organization and it doesn't come as
a surprise. So again, corporates have a responsibility to talk
early and transparently, not just with customers, but their teams
as well.

Speaker 2 (03:48):
Out of ten, how much of a cheerleader do you
think you are.

Speaker 4 (03:53):
Well compared to the warriors?

Speaker 2 (03:54):
Or like that sounded so much more disparaging that I
meant it to sound. I don't mean it in a
disparaging way at all, but I mean you are like
a super enthusiast for this, aren't you.

Speaker 4 (04:07):
Well.

Speaker 3 (04:07):
I just love Newland, I think, and you as you know.
I think it's the greatest country on the planet to
live and work. Yes, we have our challenges, but.

Speaker 4 (04:14):
I just think it's it's a privilege to live here.

Speaker 3 (04:16):
And I can see that AI could be the new
productivity gain or create new areas of growth and innovation for.

Speaker 2 (04:26):
For us especially for New Zealand.

Speaker 3 (04:29):
We go fast because we move fast, and our lack
of scale is a massive advantage.

Speaker 4 (04:34):
Because we can move, we can move fast.

Speaker 3 (04:37):
The digitization of the world means that you know, actually
innovation is decentralized. You don't need to go to Silicon Valley.
You can do it from Auckland or Nelson or you know, Timaru.

Speaker 4 (04:46):
Jason, do you reckon?

Speaker 2 (04:47):
People have realized though, Have the big corporate leaders, have
the workers of New Zealand realized how much we could
actually use this and harnessed it.

Speaker 3 (04:53):
I think they have, And that is the danger because
we're going to go after it fast, which we should,
but we need to go after it transparently and make
sure that we do it in a way that brings
our customers with.

Speaker 4 (05:06):
Us and they trust us for it.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
So I've downloaded the chat GPT YEP, I've already had
it's already it's already solved a lot of my problems today. Jason,
next minute, I'm two.

Speaker 3 (05:19):
You should be not just at work but also at
home as well. I found it can get you out
of a lot of trouble at home too.

Speaker 2 (05:25):
Oh you do you want to expand on that for us?

Speaker 3 (05:28):
Just you know, what are the excuses for me being
you know, forty five minutes late yet again for my
wife that I haven't already used a number of times before.

Speaker 2 (05:38):
Jason, thank you very much, look after yourself. Jason Parris,
Chief executive of One New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (05:43):
For more from News Talk st B, listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio.