Kia ora! Welcome to New Zealand’s weekly roundup of AI news, events, jobs and education.
Two moments last week pushed AI deeper into the mainstream.
OpenAI teamed up with Mattel to bring ChatGPT-powered experiences to toys - think Barbie and Hot Wheels. This is the first major partnership between a frontier AI company and a global toy giant.
👉 But are parents ready to give their kids’ plastic companions a digital brain?
The marketing world flipped when Kalshi’s AI-generated commercial aired during the NBA Finals (created in 2 days for $2,000 using Google’s Veo 3). It featured beer-chugging aliens, inflatable egg pools, and enough chaos to break the internet.
👉 We just entered the era of high-dopamine, low-cost, AI-generated advertising.
The world’s gone mad
— #Kalshi (#@Kalshi)
8:04 PM • Jun 11, 2025
Happy reading ✌️
This week’s highlights:
🌺 Tikanga woven into Māori AI
🏗️ AI reshapes council planning
⚠️ AI could trap Kiwis in poverty
💰 AWS invests AU$20B in Oz AI
⚓ AI defends oceans and sea life
⚠️ Deepfakes rock Nelson elections
🎓 Uni hackathon sparks smart tools
🩺 NZ AI diagnoses skin via DermNet
🎙️ Susana Tomaz: driving AI in Education
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UNIVERSITY INNOVATION
🎓 Auckland Uni hackathon delivers practical AI solutions
Source: University of Auckland. Hackathon participants Hao Yan (standing), Xincheng Li (left sitting) and Gavin Gao).
📣 Word On The Street: Master of AI students unveiled prototype tools designed to automate tedious university admin work.
🔍 Zooming In:
21 teams built AI agents over five weeks using IBM watsonx platform technology.
Tools tackle research proposal feedback, funding reviews, ethics screening, and export permits.
Partnership between University of Auckland, IBM, and ElementX provided support.
🏘️ Our Take: These student-built tools could transform how research gets done across New Zealand institutions. When admin tasks get automated, researchers spend more time on actual discoveries that benefit everybody. The university's plans to implement these solutions shows how academic programmes can deliver immediate value. But the real test comes next. Will these AI tools actually work when they hit the messy reality of university bureaucracy?
Universities face a double challenge right now. They're adapting to a rapidly changing education landscape while trying to teach students critical skills. At the same time, they're hunting for ways to make their own back-end processes far more efficient. These student prototypes could be part of the solution. Or their innovations could join the graveyard of promising and well-intentioned academic projects that never quite make it to production. The difference will be in execution and change management.
HEALTH x AI
🩺 DermNet NZ builds AI skin diagnosis tool
DermNet NZ presentation. Source: toolify.ai.
📣 Word On The Street: Kiwi dermatology platform builds AI tool to tackle 50% misdiagnosis rates in general practice.
🔍 Zooming In:
AI tool analyses images using DermNet's database of dermatologist-verified photos.
Machine learning algorithms extract key features from uploaded skin lesion images. The tool integrates with electronic health records and mobile devices for easy access.
NZ has just 1 dermatologist per 274,146 people in the public health system.
🏘️ Our Take: This AI tool could reduce the frustrating cycle of multiple doctor visits when skin problems won't go away. For a country with severe dermatologist shortages and a problem that affects two-thirds of us, AI assistance helps bridge the gap in specialist care. Better skin disease diagnosis means fewer wrong treatments and unnecessary specialist visits for all of us. When your GP can accurately identify that rash or mole using AI support, it saves time, money, and stress. This could be particularly valuable for rural communities where dermatologists are scarce.
AI ECOSYSTEM
⚠️ Auckland economists warn of AI poverty traps
Dr Asha Sundaram is involved in an AI-driven project in Ethiopia that uses mobile money data to help small businesses access credit and join the formal economy. Source: University of Auckland.
📣 Word On The Street: University study shows AI might deepen poverty gaps rather than drive growth in vulnerable nations.
🔍 Zooming In:
Dr Sundaram works on an Ethiopian project using mobile data for small business credit.
Tech giants like Google and OpenAI control most AI, risking foreign dependence.
Developing nations lack digital infrastructure and skilled workforce for AI adoption, and require strategic investment and inclusive policies needed to prevent digital divide.
🏘️ Our Take: This study shows why international cooperation on AI matters beyond just tech policy. AI affects everything from migration patterns to trade relationships, highlighting how global AI development affects us all. When developing nations get locked out of AI benefits, it creates instability that impacts trade, migration, and international cooperation. Kiwi economists work on preventing AI poverty traps prove how our research expertise contributes to solving worldwide inequality through creating inclusive tech policy to shape fairer global AI frameworks.
🎙️ Latest from The AI Corner podcast
Our next guest is Susana Tomaz, Futures Education and AI Lead at Westlake Girls High School.
Susana Tomaz is driving one of New Zealand’s most forward-thinking school strategies at Westlake Girls. Susana shares why AI literacy is essential for every student and what it takes to lead bold change before the system catches up.
🥝 Other Kiwi Bites
⚠️ Deepfake warfare hits Nelson council elections. First-term councillor Campbell Rollo becomes victim of AI-generated video showing him with military weapons, created using freely available PixVerse.ai platform. The fake content spread through local Facebook groups before removal, sparking warnings about electoral manipulation as voting approaches.
2-min read.
🏗️ Kiwi councils get AI planning revolution from Waikato researchers. Dr Xinyu Fu's Nature Cities study shows ChatGPT can analyse thousands of public submissions in hours instead of weeks, freeing Hamilton planners for community strategy work. New Zealand risks falling behind as overseas governments already trial AI planning tools while we move slowly.
3-min read.
🌺 Māori technologists embed tikanga into AI development. Te Hiku Media's 92% accurate te reo AI tool demonstrates how indigenous communities can lead tech innovation while protecting cultural knowledge. Their kaitiakitanga licence prevents surveillance uses, creating a global model for ethical AI that respects collective ownership rather than individual data rights.
3-min read.
🎯 Kiwi employers weighing up AI elimination wave. New Zealand mirrors global trend as 10% of jobs face AI replacement within five years, with fresh graduates bearing the brunt. Local businesses quietly evaluating which roles need humans before posting vacancies, fundamentally reshaping our employment landscape.
3-min read.
⚡ Stuff's AI innovation wins international media recognition. Democracy AI claims Best Use of AI globally from 286 competing media organisations by automatically scanning thousands of council documents. Tool creator Joanna Norris demonstrates how freely available AI can revolutionise local government transparency and community reporting.
2-min read.
🦘 From Across the Ditch
📊 Aussie tracker reveals SMEs embrace AI big-time. Minister Tim Ayres reveals 41% of small-medium businesses now use AI, up 5% this quarter, with 22% reporting faster decision-making across services and retail sectors.
2-min read.
💰 Amazon drops $20B on Aussie data centres. Largest tech investment in Australian history expands data centres through 2029, targeting AU$600B annual GDP contribution by 2030 with three new solar farms powering the infrastructure.
4-min read.
🐳 Student builds whale-tracking AI breakthrough. 22-year-old Oscar Mower creates machine-learning tool detecting minke whale songs through underwater microphones, helping ships avoid collisions and protect endangered species in real-time.
4-min read.
📈 Aussies outline 16-point AI strategy. Business Council demands government leadership on data centres and skills compact after Australia contributes 1.6% of global AI research despite 0.3% population share.
10-min read.
📱 Aussie telco packages AI subscriptions. Optus becomes first local provider offering Perplexity Pro free for 12 months, targeting low Australian AI adoption rates of just 54% compared to 67% across Asia-Pacific.
2-min read.
🌍 The News from Global
⚠️ Apple exposes AI accuracy crisis. Apple researchers found advanced reasoning models reduce effort as problems get harder, contradicting claims about AI transforming business operations.
7-min read.
🚀 Musk’s AI Dojo process screaming ahead of the competition. Tesla's Dojo processes 160 billion video frames daily while Big Tech builds models in labs, launching autonomous robotaxis June 1st with zero human controls.
2-min read.
📱 Reddit fights back against AI data theft. Platform sues Anthropic for $6.4B claiming ClaudeBot scraped 100 million users' posts without permission, including sports fan discussions.
3-min read.
⚓ Maritime AI protects marine life. Sea.AI collaborates with Irish and Spanish researchers on whale protection initiative, using automated detection to reduce fatal ship encounters.
1-min watch.
🧠 Zuckerberg's secret AI army launches. Meta assembles 50 top researchers in stealth "superintelligence group" with nine-figure salaries, plus $10B Scale AI investment to chase beyond-human intelligence.
3-min read.
🎬 Disney launches copyright war. Entertainment giants sue Midjourney claiming their AI trained on copyrighted characters, seeking $150,000 per infringed work across 150+ violations totalling $20M+.
3-min read.
🌏 Tech Updates You Should Know
OpenAI:
Pulled all references to its $6.5B acquisition of “io” due to a trademark dispute with hearing device startup iyO. Despite speculation, the deal is still on.
The device, led by Jony Ive and Sam Altman, is delayed until 2026 and reportedly won’t be a wearable.
OpenAI is building productivity tools to rival Microsoft Office and Google Workspace — including real-time document collaboration and multiuser chat.
Business subscriptions hit $600M in 2024; projected to hit $15B by 2030.
Altman publicly criticized The New York Times' lawsuit and confirmed tensions with Microsoft.
Leaked emails reveal Altman rejected a $10M investment ask from iyO, leading to the current legal fight.
Meta:
In a hiring spree, Meta recruited four OpenAI researchers including a key contributor to the o1 reasoning model.
Zuck’s team includes Alexandr Wang (ex-Scale AI CEO) and possibly Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross.
Launched Oakley Meta HSTN smart glasses — $399 with AI assistant, 3K video, better battery, and sports positioning.
Reportedly tried to buy Perplexity, SSI, Thinking Machines, and Runway.
Denied offering $100M signing bonuses, but internal docs suggest aggressive comp offers.
Won a copyright lawsuit — judge ruled training on copyrighted books was “fair use.”
In talks to acquire voice cloning startup Play AI.
Apple:
Reportedly held internal talks to acquire or partner with Perplexity to build a native AI search engine.
Execs including M&A chief Adrian Perica and Eddy Cue involved; no formal offer yet.
The move would help Apple reduce reliance on its $18B Google search deal and boost Siri’s capabilities.
Anthropic:
Won a key copyright case: judge ruled AI training on purchased physical books qualifies as “fair use.”
Still faces trial over use of 7M pirated books — possible $150K fine per title.
Launched Claude's no-code app creation features — lets users build and share live, interactive AI apps called “artifacts.”
Revealed most Claude usage is for productivity, not companionship — just 2.9% of interactions are for emotional support.
Google:
Launched Gemini CLI, an open-source AI terminal tool with 1M-token context and high usage limits.
Dropped Gemma 3n, an efficient, open-source model for edge devices (2–4GB RAM).
Released Imagen 4 (better text rendering) and Colab AI Agent for workflows in notebooks.
Introduced Doppl, an AI try-on app that animates users in new outfits using a single photo.
Updated Gemini AI to give users control of phone features without needing to opt into data sharing.
Google DeepMind released Gemini Robotics On-Device for local robot task control.
Launched Offerwall, a monetization feature for publishers that boosted revenue by 9% on average in tests.
xAI:
Leaked code shows it’s developing a Grok-based file editor with spreadsheet support and real-time AI.
Positions xAI to compete with Google Workspace and Microsoft productivity tools.
Push aligns with Musk’s plan to turn X into an “everything app.”
ElevenLabs:
Released 11ai, an experimental voice assistant connected to tools like Notion, Slack, Perplexity via Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol.
Features 5,000+ voices, cloning, and workflow execution by voice.
Aims to be a serious Siri alternative with real task-handling capabilities.
Microsoft:
Unveiled Mu, a 330M-parameter on-device language model for Copilot+ PCs that delivers >100 tokens/sec locally.
Optimized for Windows Settings commands, with fast, low-power inference on NPUs.
Conflict with OpenAI continues — Altman says AGI is near; Microsoft calls it “nonsensical benchmark hacking.”
Salesforce:
Launched Agentforce 3, giving enterprises visibility and control over AI agents.
Includes a Command Center, open standards integration, and early results from PepsiCo and Globo show retention and efficiency gains.
Amazon:
Announced a $54B investment in the UK over three years to expand AI infrastructure and logistics.
Signals strong intent to cement leadership in European AI and e-commerce innovation.
NVIDIA:
Stock jumped after Loop Capital raised its price target to $250.
Forecast suggests AI data center spend could hit $2T by 2028, possibly doubling NVIDIA’s market cap to $6T.
SoftBank:
CEO Masayoshi Son revealed he was asked for $10B by Sam Altman pre-2019 but missed the deal.
Now going “all in” on OpenAI-related investments worth $33.2B to reclaim SoftBank’s tech clout.
YouTube:
Rolled out AI-powered search carousel and conversational tools for U.S. users.
Helps users find and engage with content more intuitively, particularly in travel and shopping.
U.S. Government:
Senate advanced a Republican bill that would block state AI laws by tying them to broadband funding.
Bipartisan push to block Chinese AI in federal systems is also underway.
Trump administration fast-tracking energy permits to fuel AI data center growth.
Germany (Data Authority):
Called for DeepSeek (Chinese AI app) to be banned from Apple and Google stores over privacy law violations.
📚 Levelling Up With AI
🔁 Triple take from John-Daniel Trask this week:
1️⃣ NZ’s productivity crisis. NZ ranks 48th in AI adoption. JD calls AI our “productivity superweapon” and says we must stop betting on physical exports.
🎧 75-second clip.
2️⃣ The return of small business. Is AI ending the era of big corporates? JD thinks so. The power shift is already happening.
🎧 49-second clip.
3️⃣ Software builders in denial. Even software devs are underestimating the AI shift. JD shares his own “holy moly” ChatGPT moment.
🎧 59-second clip.
📚 AI Courses - Coming Soon 📚
Your go-to guide for AI learning.
We’ve had a bunch of community members ask:“Where do I start with AI courses?”
We want to answer the call.
🎓 Running a course? Reply to let us know.
📅 AI Events in New Zealand
Short week = short events list. Go figure! Just 12 AI events across NZ — but don’t sleep on it.
This week’s featured event:
Revved AI Agent Hackathon, Auckland - Wednesday: Skip the AI hype and prototype actual business solutions alongside ambitious professionals.
💼 AI Roles Around Aotearoa
Picklist of 🌶️ HOT 🌶️ roles in AI.
Machine Learning Engineer, Pasture, Halter - Auckland
Growth Marketing Professional, AgriSmart - Hamilton
🤦♂️ AI Fail Of The Week
We all love AI, but it’s certainly far from perfect…
Not even water can save us from sugar.
That’s all for this week!
Got news, events, or jobs? Hit reply - we love spotlighting what's happening across Aotearoa!
Until next week,
👋 Mike & Erin