Why New Zealand
Why New Zealand specifically?
The decisions being made right now about AI; by governments, companies, and researchers, will shape life in New Zealand whether we're at the table or not. We think we should be at the table.
Our laws weren't designed for AI-enabled harms like deepfakes and synthetic abuse. Our small population is valuable as training data, yet we have almost no protections governing its use. The US, EU, and China are setting the rules, but New Zealand has little input into how those rules are shaped.
New Zealand has a history of leading on hard issues. from nuclear disarmament to women's suffrage. We've done it before.
What we do
What we do
We educate, campaign, and organise around AI safety issues for a New Zealand audience. That means making technical concepts accessible without dumbing them down, analysing global AI developments through a local lens, and advocating - publicly and directly - for governance frameworks that protect New Zealanders in practice, not just in principle.
We're independent, evidence-based, and growing. We are not funded by AI companies.
Principles
How we work
Make the technical accessible. Make the local specific. Show the evidence. Name the trade-offs.
Independent
No industry, no party.
Evidence-based
Everything we publish is cited and checkable.
Accessible
Technical without jargon.
Urgent
The decisions being made now are the ones that will stick.
The team
The people behind it
Allan Mbita
Founder
Allan started AI Safety Aotearoa out of a conviction that the risks of how AI is being developed and used weren't being communicated to enough New Zealanders. He keeps the work technically rigorous while making sure it stays relevant to life here, and runs the organisation's social media presence.
Thomas Powell
Outreach
Thomas works to bring AI Safety Aotearoa into local communities, translating the complexities of AI governance into something accessible and relevant for everyday New Zealanders. He has a particular interest in how AI intersects with mental health, and the human side of how these technologies affect people's lives.