Wellington

Yesterday I headed into the city for Microsoft Build //localhost:Wellington, hosted at Level 13, 10 Brandon Street. It was part of Microsoft Reactor’s global //localhost series, local echoes of the main Build 2026 event that ran in San Francisco on 2-3 June. The Wellington room had a good mix: developers, cloud engineers, a few architect types, and apparently at least one sales person who had clearly been told they needed to code now. ...

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. ...