NZ urged to take heed of warning bells from global AI leaders

Calls from inside the world’s leading AI companies to slow development should be a wake-up call for New Zealand, says Good Ancestors New Zealand.

The comments come after Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon resigned last week, accusing leading AI companies of “gambling with our lives” as they race to develop increasingly capable systems that can potentially hack anything and acquire power and resources.

Just four days later, Anthropic Chief Executive Dario Amodei called on frontier AI companies to slow the pace of capability advances and use the time to make their models safer. Sam Altman and Elon Musk agreed with him within hours. Amodei warned that AI is now helping build the next generation of AI and could develop faster than our ability to control it.

Good Ancestors NZ Executive Director Dylan Chambers says it pays to sit up and listen when the people building the most powerful AI systems are warning that the technology is advancing faster than our ability to keep it safe.

“These warnings have captured the world’s attention, and the New Zealand government needs to act on them. This is no longer just a conversation about what AI might do in the future, as we are already seeing the consequences.

“New Zealand may not be building frontier AI, but we are absolutely exposed to its consequences – from scams and deepfakes to cyberattacks, manipulation and the erosion of trust in what we see and hear online.”

The warnings also follow a recent essay from Bill Gates, who described the transition to AI as potentially one of the most turbulent periods in human history. He highlighted the risk that even criminals with limited skills can target individuals, companies and governments.

Chambers says New Zealand needs to move beyond simply promoting AI adoption and put equal focus on understanding and managing its risks.

With the election seven weeks away, Good Ancestors NZ is calling on every political party to set out its plans for AI safety.

“The technology is moving quickly. The election gives political parties an opportunity to tell New Zealanders whether they are prepared to move with it.

“We are not calling for New Zealand to slow down the use of AI. We are calling for Government to make sure we understand the risks and have the capability to respond to them.”

Good Ancestors NZ has released six policy papers setting out practical measures an incoming Government could take, with two identified as immediate priorities:

Establish a New Zealand AI Safety Institute to monitor the risks and advise Ministers.
Develop a National AI Safety Strategy.

Chambers says an AI Safety Institute would give the government the capability to monitor these risks and advise Ministers, and connect New Zealand to an international network of AI safety institutes. An AI Safety Strategy would demonstrate the government understands the risks and has a plan to address them.

“New Zealand does not need to build the world’s most powerful AI to be affected by it. But we do need the capability to understand what is coming and protect New Zealanders from the risks.”

ENDS