Benjamin Liu on navigating the legal frontiers of AI in New Zealand

“I grew up in China and came to New Zealand in 1997 to study Law. I was curious about Physics and Computer Science at school, and even learned basic programming in middle school. But it became clear that to be a good physicist, you really need to be exceptionally talented, so I chose to study Law instead.

“My major in China was Maritime Law, which is all about English Law. All the textbooks we used were in English with English cases. So, I was interested in learning more about English Law – getting an English Law degree was one of my goals in coming to New Zealand.

“After I graduated from University of Auckland, I worked at Russell McVeigh for several years, and then worked at international law firms in Hong Kong. However, as a lawyer in Hong Kong you have to be very hard working and available 24/7, so I thought that being an academic might be a better job for me in the long run. I returned to New Zealand in 2012 to do a PhD in Financial Law and started teaching Commercial Law at the Business School around the same time.

“Along with teaching Commercial Law in the Business School, I have been teaching the Law of AI at postgraduate level in the Law School. That's the other reason why I started this job rather than being a lawyer. Teaching, you talk with your students, then alongside that you do the research - it's intellectually challenging and rewarding.

“Sometimes I receive emails from students saying that, because of taking this course they became interested in finance and found a job in a regulator or in an investment bank, etc. In this way, I feel like I'm making small but positive contributions to student's career developments.

“If I can make some impact like helping my students – to me, that is meaningful.

“I find the topic of Artificial Intelligence fascinating. I mostly look at it from a legal and policy perspective. If a company uses AI, they could have potential liability issues or intellectual property issues – that would be normal. From a government perspective those issues are more serious – like privacy for example. How the government can use AI to control private lives or take away our civil rights – there are many aspects.

“That is the debate legal academics are having – exactly how we address this problem. And it's about everything we do online. This new online world, the new situation we are in... I don't think we have really thought it through. The legal regime is not prepared for this new kind of online environment.

“Personally, my biggest concern with AI is that the balance of power between citizens and the government has now changed. Because the government will be able to use AI to do almost anything in the near future, compared to the past they now have much more power. And our current constitutional law and other laws are not made with this new situation in mind.

“Generally, the public doesn't really know what AI is or understand the implications. Government and regulators are not experts either. The true AI experts work for Meta and Google to make big money and therefore it's really challenging to come up with the proper legal regime to regulate AI.

"The legal and policy issues surrounding AI in New Zealand are numerous and complex, requiring careful consideration and a tailored approach to address the unique issues. As a small nation with a relatively small economy, New Zealand faces challenges in developing and implementing comprehensive AI regulations. Continued efforts and cooperation with other countries and international organisations are necessary to ensure that AI is used ethically and responsibly, while respecting New Zealand's distinct cultural and legal landscape."

Dr Benjamin Liu and academics from Times Higher Education Campus+ partner institutions discuss the impact that generative AI such as ChatGPT is having, and will have, on academic integrity.