Richard MacManus

Digital payments continue to grow in popularity every year, thanks to technologies like tap-and-go cards and smartphone apps like Square. Add to that the wild west promise of cryptocurrencies, which could yet disrupt the financial landscape, and the future for bank notes and coins seems grim. Even the Reserve Bank is thinking about issuing a … Read more

As artificial intelligence becomes prevalent in society, computers are increasingly making autonomous decisions that affect us all. Not surprisingly, it turns out that computer software can be just as biased in decision-making as its human programmers. In a recent New York Times opinion piece, MIT researcher Joy Buolamwini wrote that artificial intelligence can “reinforce bias … Read more

The big farming news of the year so far has been an outbreak of the mycoplasma bovis disease in cows, which forced the government to come up with an $886 million eradication plan last month. But as this month’s Fieldays event showed, it’s not all bad news in our farming sector. When it comes to farm … Read more

In her recent annual report for the Internet industry, Mary Meeker noted that “China is catching up as a hub to the world’s biggest internet companies.” Nine of the top twenty Internet companies in the world, by market valuation, are Chinese. That puts China nearly on a par with the United States, where the other … Read more

Interactive gaming is one of New Zealand’s hottest startup segments and is attracting significant interest from technology companies overseas. Auckland’s Grinding Gear Games recently sold 80% of its company to Chinese Internet bohemeth Tencent, for north of $100 million. Tencent also holds a 25% stake in Dunedin’s RocketWerkz. Meanwhile, Wellington’s PikPok is still 100% locally … Read more

The government has announced an audit of algorithms operating in agencies like the Department of Health and the NZ Transport Agency. In particular, the audit will look closely at Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms. The project aims to “ensure transparency and fairness in decisions that affect citizens.” The announcement came just a few weeks after Minister … Read more

Last Thursday the second annual Creative Realities conference was held in Wellington, as part of Techweek 2018. Previously called Future Realities, this year’s conference was about the impact of technology on the creative industries. It was a timely switch in focus, because New Zealand has developed a reputation for tech-savvy companies in the creative sector: … Read more

Google may be harvesting huge amounts of data from Android phones in Australia, according to a report last week from The Australian. This isn’t a new claim; indeed we’ve known for a while now that Google and Apple receive a lot of personal data from Android and iOS phones respectively. What’s more interesting at this … Read more

Next week the European Union’s new privacy regulation, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), comes into effect after a two-year transition period. It couldn’t be more timely, after the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica controversy which forced Mark Zuckerberg to front US Congress last month. The EU isn’t the only territory addressing ever-increasing privacy concerns; New Zealand has … Read more

Streaming tv services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Lightbox and Neon are becoming more and more popular. But how to measure the popularity of content on these services? In New Zealand and overseas, television networks have long relied on Nielsen’s PeopleMeter panel to calculate ratings for tv shows. Nielsen’s local contract was recently extended to … Read more

Government Digital Services Minister Clare Curran recently announced a review of New Zealand’s Cyber Security Strategy and Action Plan. In a cabinet paper this month, Curran wrote that a “comprehensive refresh” of the plan is needed due to the “upwards trajectory of cyber security threats.” The current plan was only put in place in November … Read more

Last week World Rugby sold local broadcast rights to the 2019 Rugby World Cup to Spark, which will partner with TVNZ to cover the tournament. Spark plans to live stream much of the event, via a new streaming app it has promised to build. It will be a huge test for the company, especially given New … Read more

The Inland Revenue Department has finally released its guidance about cryptocurrencies, months after its Australian counterpart did the same. No surprise, the upshot is that cryptocurrencies will be treated like property for tax purposes. “Just like with property – when you acquire cryptocurrency for the purpose of selling or exchanging it, the proceeds you make … Read more