The upcoming general election will likely be the first where a significant number of Kiwi voters lean on AI tools to decide who to vote for, a pollster says, warning the technology is set to become a "fundamental disrupter" in politics.
Freshwater Strategy director Mike Turner told Q+A that the tools were a "digital guardian" for many people, which they would turn to when it came to casting a ballot.
Top pollster predicts how New Zealand election could play out — watch on TVNZ+
"AI is going to be a fundamental disrupter to our politics — not only in terms of policy, but also in terms of how people choose who they should vote for," he said.
"This is probably the first election where a significant chunk of Kiwis use AI to tell them how they should vote."
He said the shift was already visible in campaigning, with AI calling now more popular.
Turner also said voters were tuning out of political campaigning with social media algorithms and also making decisions later than they had previously.
He suggested that would then leave parties with less control over their message than in previous decades.
"There's going to be a sense of loss of control with these campaigns. Previously, 20 years ago, you'd have a lot of control of your messaging strategy," he said.
"The problem that we're having is — when do people make their decision? Now, with the information overload, people are going to be making a decision a lot later and later.
"They're going to be engaging in the campaign less. I think you're going to find the campaigns really struggle to cut through, because algorithm decides your life, and most people's interest is not going to be on the weeds on particular policy.
"A lot of their fate is going to be left to that last-minute stroll up to the polling booth where people decide, 'Actually, you know what? I'll just quickly do a bit of research about, which party I should vote for,' in the end, and it's out of their hands."
He said the change was reshaping younger voters in particular, with more international and overseas content being exposed to users on the internet.
Turner said the youngest cohort, Gen Alpha, was heavily shaped by American politics.
"They're actually consuming a lot of American politics. They consume very little domestic politics, and most of their feed is what's going on in the States," he said.
"So they'd probably be more likely to tell you about what's going on politically in America than they would be able to in New Zealand."
Watch the full interview in the video above
Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air
TVNZ has extensive coverage of the election campaign. (Source: TVNZ)
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