Kiwis embrace AI but call for tighter rules & greater trust

A new global study has found that while many New Zealanders use artificial intelligence regularly, trust in the technology remains low and concerns regarding risk persist.

The report, titled Trust, attitudes and use of Artificial Intelligence: A global study 2025, was led by the University of Melbourne in collaboration with KPMG. It surveyed over 48,000 individuals from 47 countries to assess public trust, usage and views on the use of AI in daily life and within organisations.

According to findings, 69% of New Zealanders surveyed say they use AI on a regular basis. However, only 34% of respondents are willing to trust the technology and 44% believe that the risks of AI outweigh its benefits.

KPMG New Zealand's Chief Digital Officer, Cowan Pettigrew, commented on the results, noting there is significant opportunity to improve AI literacy in New Zealand. "Alongside other advanced economy countries, New Zealand is lagging in AI training and literacy. It's important for us a nation and as business owners that we invest in training to assist in removing the misunderstanding of AI, increase effective usage and allow the identification of opportunities for AI to play a role," said Pettigrew.

The study also explored the impact of AI within the workplace. Of those surveyed who used AI in their jobs, 43% reported improvements in efficiency, quality of work, and innovation. A further 31% noted that AI usage led to increased revenue-generating activities for their organisations. However, the report identified gaps in risk management, with 51% of workers saying they do not verify the accuracy of AI-generated output before using it, and only 25% reporting that their workplace has a generative AI use policy in place.

Regulation and assurance emerged as critical concerns for New Zealanders. The survey found that 81% of respondents believe that regulation is needed for AI, while 85% stated they would be more willing to trust AI systems if there is assurance about their trustworthy use, such as knowing who is accountable if issues arise.

Pettigrew stated, "What this tells us is that practical governance is key. New Zealanders are eager to get going with AI, but they want to do this in a regulated environment with assurance that the systems they are using can be trusted."

He also emphasised the need for upskilling and providing support for users throughout the AI ecosystem to foster effective and responsible adoption. "To support the effective adoption of AI in New Zealand we must provide clear guardrails and tools for people to upskill in a supported way, including learning how to critically assess if what they're getting from AI is accurate and reliable. This includes everyone at every point in the AI ecosystem."

Pettigrew explained KPMG's own approach to responsible AI use and training, stating, "At KPMG, we're leading by example and consider ourselves to be 'Client Zero'. We're taking our own advice - applying our frameworks and services to our own business when adopting AI and are committed to sharing the insights from our journey with clients, who we've already been supporting for over a decade on how they can use AI to drive service enhancements and increase productivity."

KPMG promotes the use of its Trusted AI framework, which serves as a strategic approach for responsible AI design, build, and operation. Pettigrew noted that the framework is integrated into every step of KPMG's AI lifecycle. He said, "KPMG's Trusted AI framework is our strategic approach for designing, building and using AI in a responsible and ethical manner. We embed it at every step of the AI lifecycle to help clients develop their own responsible AI programmes while also applying it to our own strategy. KPMG prioritises human impact as we deploy AI and recognise the needs of our clients and our people. We are embracing this technology to empower and augment human capabilities - to unleash creativity and improve productivity in a way that allows people to reimagine how they spend their days."

In terms of organisational training, Pettigrew described the company's ongoing efforts to build AI literacy across its own business. He said, "KPMG New Zealand is currently going through our own process to upskill everyone in the organisation to use AI. We are taking this very seriously as it is critical to empowering our people, and our clients and the wider community."

He added, "Having guardrails in place allows our people to give AI tools a go safe in the knowledge that our data is protected. Having the room to innovate and experiment with AI will significantly advance our people's understanding of what AI is capable of. We are committed to leading conversations and leveraging our global network to support New Zealand's AI literacy."