AI Governance

I went to Global Azure ANZ 2026 expecting cloud talks and AI demos. The talks were good. But the most interesting part of the event happened in conversations between sessions. I had the opportunity to speak at the Wellington chapter of Global Azure ANZ 2026, hosted alongside the Wellington Data Management and Analytics Meetup. Like many community events in Wellington, the atmosphere was relaxed, practical, and refreshingly free of corporate theatre. What stood out most though was not a specific demo or benchmark. It was the feeling that the industry has quietly crossed another threshold. ...

When I was in Year 6, my history homework was supposed to be full of long, serious answers. There were fifty kids in the class, and I remember wondering — does the teacher actually read every word? So, halfway through one answer, I slipped in a few lines from a song. My heart sank when I handed it in, expecting trouble. But when I got the copy back, there it was — a big red tick on that very page. I had, in some sense, hijacked the teacher’s chain of thought. ...

🪷 Dharma and Leadership: Lessons from Krishna and Rama When we think of dharma in Indian philosophy, two figures stand tall: Lord Rama, the symbol of moral integrity, and Lord Krishna, the strategist of divine pragmatism. Both upheld dharma—but in completely different ways. 1️⃣ The Dilemma: Krishna and Bhima vs. Duryodhana At the end of the Mahabharata war, Bhima fought Duryodhana in a mace duel. The rule forbade striking below the waist. Yet Krishna signaled Bhima to hit Duryodhana on the thigh—breaking the rule and ending the war. ...

On 26 August 2025 I found myself in a Wellington room buzzing with energy, ideas and a fair bit of scepticism. The AI Forum New Zealand had gathered four panel members to unpack both the promise and the puzzles of AI in Aotearoa. It made for a cracking afternoon. AI Forum NZ has long played the role of convener in New Zealand’s AI landscape. It pulls together industry, academia and government to accelerate AI adoption while keeping things responsible. Their latest Productivity Report set the backdrop for the discussion. The report is clear: AI can deliver significant productivity gains for New Zealand, but the challenges of governance, trust and skills still loom large. ...