'The most significant industrial revolution of our time': Labour's Reuben Davidson on New Zealand's AI future

Reuben Davidson, Labour's Economic Development, Science and Technology spokesperson, told RNZ's Midday Report that AI could be the most significant industrial revolution of a generation. He says the pace of development and global uptake is unprecedented, and that New Zealand needs a clear plan to shape how AI evolves here rather than adopting a wait-and-see approach.

Davidson described several concrete reforms Labour would prioritise:

• Create an Office of AI elevated to Cabinet level with a single minister responsible. This office would coordinate policy across copyright, education impacts, data-centre rules and other cross-cutting issues.
• Establish an independent online safety regulator to oversee harms and risks in digital spaces where AI operates.
• Introduce clearer rules for data centres and copyright protections that respond to AI uses of content.
• Develop an action plan to actively engage New Zealanders and direct outcomes, rather than leaving decisions to large tech companies.

Davidson acknowledged AI will disrupt the workforce and change how roles are structured. He recommended the government map which roles are being affected and plan for transitions. He said new jobs will emerge, as with prior technologies, but the immediate task is to understand which roles are vulnerable now and how to retain and apply human skills alongside AI.

Davidson described his own use of AI as deliberate and cautious. He checks sources and edits outputs rather than relying on generated content as authoritative. He mentioned using a Christchurch-made product, Contented AI, to draft ideas, then refining them himself. That behavior illustrates his broader point: AI can assist productivity but must remain under human oversight.

Davidson's core concern is that weak government engagement will leave regulatory and normative power with big tech companies. If government does not set rules, he said, the decision-making balance will favour those companies rather than reflecting the interests and protections New Zealanders need.

• Whether Labour continues to detail the Office of AI model and how it would be resourced and empowered at Cabinet level.
• Proposals for an independent online safety regulator and what powers and enforcement mechanisms it would have.
• Specifics on copyright reform and data-centre regulation to support both innovation and protections.
• Any cross-party movement on mapping workforce disruption and funding retraining or transition programmes.