In a time of rapid technological change, the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) is reassuring the sector that humans are at the heart of our screen industry.
NZFC’s new Artificial Intelligence (AI) Guiding Principles, released this week, are grounded in a commitment to human creativity, cultural integrity, and ethical responsibility.
“We support the fair and transparent use of AI to drive productivity,” says Chris Payne, who leads NZFC’s AI Working Group. “As industries around the world embrace AI to create efficiencies, we have intentionally aligned our principles with international best practice.”
However, Chris cautions that this must be done in a way that protects the rights of creators. “It must safeguard those rights, honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and treat Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property with respect.”
He adds that the AI Principles will evolve as technology and understanding of how technology performs, evolve.
The rise of AI has created some uncertainty and confusion, so the NZFC is taking practical steps – like adding a survey to funding applications – to understand how tools like generative AI are being used. “It’s about supporting innovation without getting lost in the complexity, while also ensuring that the rights of screen practitioners are protected,” says Chris.
Coinciding with the release of NZFC’s AI Principles is the launch of the New Zealand Writers Guild’s AI Advice Handbook for Screenwriters, available now via nzwg.org.nz.
The NZWG Handbook offers practical guidance tailored to screenwriters navigating AI-related issues in their creative practice, including protections for scripts, treatments, and original voice.
NZWG will host two closed deep-dive zoom session for staff and executives across guilds, associations and organisations working in the screen sector who wish to understand the contents of the Handbook in more detail. Each session includes a 15-minute walkthrough of the resource, followed by a confidential Q&A – covering everything from consent and copyright to cultural protocols and practical questions about implementation.
Following on from this, Executive Director of NZWG, Alice Shearman and Frances Valintine from AcademyEX will appear on our NZFC podcast, Lights, Camera, Kōrero, to discuss AI and its impact on the screen industry.
The timing of these launches, resources and activities reflects a shared industry commitment to proactively and collectively shape how AI is used in Aotearoa’s screen sector.
Additional Zoom sessions will follow from 11 April, open to screen practitioners across the wider industry. Check the NZWG website for more.