Catherine Beard: BusinessNZ Advocacy Director on the Government's first AI strategy

Hopes a move to boost New Zealand's use of AI will get small businesses on board.  

Science Minister Shane Reti's announced the Government's first strategy for using Artificial Intelligence to reduce barriers to adoption and promote responsible use.  

He says it could lift our GDP $76 billion by 2038.  

BusinessNZ Advocacy Director Catherine Beard told Andrew Dickens AI use for Kiwi small businesses is currently well behind Australia. 

She says to boost their productivity they need to embrace it, and there are plans to help support them. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The release of the government's first AI strategy outlines how
the technology can be used to boost productivity. Science, Innovation
and Technology Minister Doctor Shaneletti says private industries that adoption
of AI could boost New Zealand's GDP by seventy six
billion dollars. So Katherine Bird is Business New Zealand's advocacy

(00:20):
director and joins me right now, Good morning to you, Katherine,
Good morning. So what do you reckon the government's thinking
about AI.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Look, I think it's really great to have a strategy released.
You know, business wants to know how the government is
going to treat it in terms of legislation, and when
they get some clarity around that, that sort of gives
them more confidence to invest in the technology. Really. So yeah,
we think it's a good approach. It's a reasonably light

(00:48):
handed approach and it's you know, based on current legislation
that we already have things like the Privacy Act, Consumer
Rights and human Rights so they will all continue to
be in place and they are technology neutral, so they'll
be sort of the guidelines.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
So it's important to have our regulatory ducks in a
row before we plunge in. But some might be saying
a hands off approach might be the best way. Just
let private industry do it. I mean some of them
are already started.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
Yeah, look absolutely there's a lot of businesses using AI currently.
But I think business also wants to be doing it
responsibly because you know, to successfully use the technology, you
need to have consumer trust and we need to be
looking after people's data and their privacy. So business will
be completely up for that. But yeah, look, the productivity

(01:41):
potential is fantastic.

Speaker 1 (01:43):
So who are already using AI? I understand large businesses
have hoed in, but small businesses are a bit more reluctant.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
Yeah, that looks to be the case. So the material
that they've released shows that our small businesses have a
lot uptake than say Australian small business. So that is
a bit of a concern because we don't want to
get left behind and we are a country of small
businesses and so to boost their productivity, we do need
them to really embrace it. So I think in the

(02:15):
strategy there's some plans to you know, support small business
on that kind of digital journey, and we certainly welcome that.

Speaker 1 (02:24):
Is this seventy six billion dollar GDP hit, was it
an exaggeration or is that true?

Speaker 2 (02:30):
Look, I think people are being quite blown away about
the potential. And you know, one of the one of
the companies in the material as an example is Halter,
which is the that fantastic new company that's doing you know.

Speaker 1 (02:48):
Cows.

Speaker 2 (02:49):
Yeah, yes, absolutely, So that's that's a really great example.
You know, they use AI and that technology, they you know,
getting rid of electric fences and apparently that's a billion
dollar company already in its valuation, and it's I think
it's only really been around for about five years. So
you know, if New Zealand can like have the creativity
and the innovation and use the technology to do that

(03:12):
kind of business, then you know, a great a great future. True.

Speaker 1 (03:17):
Absolutely, Now we could get a GDP boost, but what
might it mean for employment numbers? Might we be making
loads of money but have very few jobs?

Speaker 2 (03:26):
Yeah, people are concerned about the job market. I think
if we look at history and the introduction of new technology,
there will be jobs destroyed, but there will also be
jobs created. And we you know, often the jobs that
are taken out of, you know, with this new technology
are that sort of repetitive, dull, boring and sometimes dangerous jobs.

(03:49):
So Yeah, we think people will be able to use it.
People should embrace the technology, know how to use it
and make it part of their You know why they're
a great employee because they know how to use it
and they can increase their productivity.

Speaker 1 (04:05):
Well, Catherine, here comes the future. Brace yourself. It's inevitable,
as Thanos said, and I thank you for your time today,
Katherine Beard, who's Business New Zealand's advocacy director.

Speaker 2 (04:15):
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