New Zealanders increasingly worried about AI's impact on society - Survey

WELLINGTON - New Zealanders are increasingly worried about the societal risks of artificial intelligence (AI) as its use increases, a report revealed recently, according to Xinhua.

The 2025 Internet Insights report by InternetNZ found that four in five New Zealanders used AI tools in the past year, mainly for online searches, question answering, and writing assistance.

However, 52 per cent of people surveyed said they were "extremely or very concerned" about AI's impact on society, while two thirds feared its use in generating harmful or malicious content such as deepfakes, the report showed.

Up to 64 per cent of respondents expressed concern about insufficient regulation and legislation governing AI development, with many citing worries about potential privacy violations, the perpetuation of bias and discrimination, and the misuse of intellectual property, it said.

"AI right now is a bit like a train that's left the station before the tracks have been built," said InternetNZ chief executive Vivien Maidaborn.

"New technologies offer many exciting and useful opportunities, but we have not yet laid the groundwork to ensure that AI use does not exacerbate harmful uses of the internet,” Maidaborn was quoted as saying.

The survey of 1,003 adults, conducted in late 2025, covered internet use, social media, and related concerns. - BERNAMA-XINHUA