Bulls**t jobs, agritech, and our advantage as AI proliferates
New Zealand’s workforce is bracing for the rise of artificial intelligence, but University of Auckland economist and organisational behaviour expert Dr Kenny Ching argues it’s not the jobs apocalypse many fear. AI will reshape roles rather than eliminate them, and thanks to a resilient agriculture-based economy, the country is better positioned than most to adapt and even lead in agricultural innovation. “AI is definitely coming for jobs,” said Ching on this week’s episode of The Business of Tech. “But it’s going to hit the services industry particularly hard and earlier than other industries.” He believes smarter investment in agritech and a renewed focus on uniquely human skills, like judgment and connection, will be key to future success. Ching recently outlined his thinking on AI and the future of work in Aotearoa in a piece published on The Conversation. Listen to episode 113 of The Business of Tech in full, powered by 2degrees Business, streaming on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Quantum tech's next era – A Kiwi quantum physicist on its potential
As the global race to develop quantum computers heats up, New Zealand is working on specialist areas of technology that could add crucial elements to the quantum supply chain. That’s according to the University of Oxford’s Professor Andrew Daley, a principal investigator in the UK’s national quantum programme tasked with developing more accurate and functional quantum computers. In the latest episode of The Business of Tech, Daley sat down with me during a visit to Wellington to break down the key issues facing the field, from dealing with error correction in the quantum world, to the challenges quantum computers pose to the encryption systems that keep our data private and secure. New Zealand’s contribution to the quantum puzzle is not in building the highly complex and expensive computers themselves, but in supplying vital technologies, know-how, and a global network of talent, said Daley. The challenge now is to coordinate expertise, support industry engagement, and stake a place in quantum’s unfolding future. As Daley put it, “All of these pieces of the quantum technologies puzzle are going to come together in a very useful way.” Listen to episode 112 of The Business of Tech in full, powered by 2degrees Business, streaming on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Sovereign or sidelined?: Making the case for Kiwi-controlled AI
As US tech companies double down on artificial intelligence, pouring billions into new data centres and offering eye-watering compensation packages to secure the best talent, a different path is emerging for New Zealand. Catalyst Cloud co-founder Don Christie returned to The Business of Tech podcast this week to lay out his vision for sovereign AI, one where open source models and local infrastructure pave the way for the country’s digital future. While Christie welcomes the recent government effort to devise a national artificial intelligence strategy, he was clear-eyed about its limitations. “My take is that the government is making a start... I thought it was quite generic in its application,” he says, noting that while the strategy offers guidance for small businesses dipping their toes in AI, it stops short of investing in the infrastructure or innovation needed for real autonomy. Christie is adamant that New Zealand can, and must, chart its own course by leveraging open source AI. Catalyst Cloud runs on the OpenStack cloud platform and has worked with the likes of Te Hiku Media to apply large language models in the cloud to New Zealand-specific applications. “The technologies are there. You don’t have to build it from scratch. We’ve done this with Linux. We’ve done this with OpenStack in the cloud space. And as open source models begin to mature... the opportunities to build self-determination within New Zealand will explode,” he said. Listen to episode 111 of The Business of Tech in full, powered by 2degrees Business, streaming on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Datacom at 60: Leading NZ’s tech giant into the AI era
This week's episode of The Business of Tech marks a historic moment: the 60th anniversary of Datacom, New Zealand’s largest homegrown IT company. I was joined by Datacom’s Group CEO Greg Davidson, who has overseen nearly two decades of remarkable change, steering the Christchurch-founded company through tidal waves of technological innovation. “It is older than me, I'm going to hang on to that for as long as I can,” Davidson quipped at the start of a wide-ranging conversation about the company that employs over 5,000 staff across New Zealand and Australia and generated $1.48 billion in revenue last year. Datacom started in 1965, the era of the computing bureau when it was too expensive for all but the largest companies to own a computer outright, so businesses shared access to a machine. The Computer Bureau Ltd., which became Datacom, was in demand for processing payroll transactions, a line of business it is a major player in to this day. “We pay about half a million Kiwis every fortnight using those platforms,” said Davidson. Listen to episode 110 of The Business of Tech to find out how Datacom is embracing the latest technological sea change, artificial intelligence, and how it stays competitive in the face of stiff competition from multinationals.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Concrete for a low-carbon world, with Neocrete’s Zarina Bazoeva
Concrete might be the backbone of modern society, but it comes at a steep carbon cost. As global climate pressures intensify, the business of “greening” this essential material is heating up, and few are more determined to crack the code than Zarina Bazoeva, co-founder of Neocrete. In the latest episode of The Business of Tech, Zarina sits down for an in-depth interview about how her New Zealand startup is tackling one of the world’s most stubborn climate problems: cement, the glue in concrete, is responsible for around 8% of global CO2 emissions. “To produce cement, we use a lot of fossil fuels, and so partly that's the reason why it's so carbon intensive, and the other part is because the chemistry of cement contains CO2 in it, so it is released during the manufacturing process,” Zarina told me. Neocrete is using volcanic ash and its own additive to replace conventional cement ingredients, with promising results. With Neocrete shipping product to its first customer in Southeast Asia and embarking on a Series A capital raise, join us to hear Zarina outline her vision for cities build from low carbon concrete. Streaming on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Business of Tech, hosted by leading tech journalist Peter Griffin. Every week they take a deep dive into emerging technology and news from the sector to help guide the important decisions all Business leaders make.
Issues such as cybersecurity, retaining trust after a cyberattack, business IT needs, purchasing SaaS tools and more.
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