Australia's move to set up AI office 'kick up the bum' for New Zealand leaders - expert

An AI expert says Australia's move to set up an office of artificial intelligence at the top of government is a "kick up the bum" for New Zealand's leaders.

The Australians are calling their move a "world first" to take a joined-up approach to AI across government to address risks and spread benefits.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is promising legislation early next year to set clear rules for large data centres about the power and water they use.

Dr Andrew Lensen of Victoria University said the move showed up the lack of leadership this side of the Tasman from all political parties.

"It's frustrating," he said.

"We definitely are being slow.

"I would hope that we can look at Australia ... and the way they're taking it and use that sort of as a bit of a kick up the bum."

Putting the AI office right under Albanese who had a wider mandate than this or that minister was a really good sign they understood just how wide an impact AI could have, Lensen told Midday Report on Thursday.

"Then hopefully they can have a better sort of handle over how it might be deployed."

The government here has adopted a lighthanded approach to AI while also aiming to rapidly spread its use in public agencies and businesses.

But Lensen said lawmakers elsewhere were now waking up to the risks in AI making cost of living, jobs and other issues worse.

These had to be addressed to realise the inarguable benefits of AI to say, healthcare or business, and to spread them to regular people and not just tech companies.

He questioned the lack of "dedicated" AI policy and hoped voters would make it an election issue for politicians.

"It's really hard to understand why they're not taking it more seriously.

"We really need to just make them uncomfortable and make them sort of come up with some policy and ways to deal with it."

The government in May said public agencies would be using AI more as it moved to cut the number of departments as well as almost 9000 additional public sector jobs.

RNZ asked Willis for any advice she received about the costs or benefits of the move.

Willis transferred that request 15 working days later to Public Service and Digitising Minister Paul Goldsmith.

Goldsmith's office then waited 19 working days to say he was delaying the response for over another month, to 24 August.

Official Information Act requests are meant to get a response in 20 working days.