AI in China: Firsthand Insights from the NZ Delegation
What does AI adoption look like when it is being deployed at scale?
Join AI Forum NZ for firsthand insights from its recent delegation to China, where members visited leading AI and robotics companies and saw how the technology is being used across construction and the built environment.
This session goes beyond the headlines to examine what is actually happening on the ground: automated design, robotics on site, and the ways Chinese firms are integrating AI into everyday engineering and delivery workflows.
We’ll explore the pace and scale of adoption, the cultural and structural conditions enabling it, and the lessons most relevant to how we work in Aotearoa. Most importantly, the discussion will draw out what this means for New Zealand’s architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector: where we are keeping up, where we risk falling behind, and the practical gaps and opportunities ahead for local practice.
About the presenters
Blake Harkness is the founder of Harkness AI, a Christchurch-based consultancy that has helped more than 30 New Zealand businesses adopt AI and automation. A mechatronics engineer by training, Blake is the webinar lead for the AI Forum NZ AEC Working Group, a contributor to the Living Whitepaper on AI in AEC, and founder of Young Kiwis in AI. He was part of the recent AI Forum NZ delegation to China.
Ming Cheuk is the co-founder and CTO of ElementX, an Auckland-based enterprise AI engineering firm. He holds a PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Auckland and has spent more than a decade building and deploying AI systems across insurance, retail, manufacturing and education. Ming is a member of the AI Forum NZ Executive Council and was part of the recent delegation to China.
Event Details:
- Date: Wednesday 16 September 2026
- Time: 12:00 – 1:00pm
- Location: Zoom webinar
- Event Type: Webinar
- Cost: Free for members & non-Members
