Aotearoa New Zealand’s AI ecosystem is moving fast and the pace is accelerating. We’ve launched the AI Blueprint for Aotearoa (May 2026): a refreshed national programme of work led by our AI Blueprint Working Group, designed to help us build the capability, confidence and conditions needed for AI to deliver real benefit for people, organisations, and our economy.
The AI Blueprint is a practical roadmap for how Aotearoa can become a global leader in innovative, responsible and inclusive AI. It sets a clear direction to 2030, grounded in what’s already underway across industry, government, and academia — and what we need to do next to accelerate progress without losing trust.
Our refreshed vision is:
“In 2030, Aotearoa New Zealand is a global leader for innovative, responsible and inclusive AI, and is globally recognised for harnessing the power of AI for the benefit of us all.”
This year’s Blueprint introduces two new focus areas:
- Social Licence
We can’t build a thriving AI future without public trust. The Blueprint sets a vision where, by 2030, our society trusts and feels empowered by AI augmentation — underpinned by transparency, governance, and education. The work includes building a baseline for trust, strengthening public AI literacy, and advancing practical approaches to authenticity and data sovereignty. - Sustainable AI
Sustainability isn’t just an emissions question — it’s system-level: energy use, economic resilience, sovereignty, social licence, and long-term capability. This workstream will convene national conversations from April to June 2026, and connect the discussion through to the Aotearoa AI Summit in September.
