Kia ora koutou ITP members and supporters, welcome the first 2023 digital pānui in Haratua or Mei (May). 

These 5 day weeks and full on aren’t they. Earlier in the week the Standards Approvals board had an interesting conversation on the role of standards in the digital technology space. It’s easy to glance at the ISO list and think there are plenty of standards already but when you really dig into this you find they all cover very specific scopes eg: ISO27018 in the Cloud Computing space doesn’t cover data portability, privacy and security. Why should we care about this? Our industry is increasingly ingrained in every facet of life, from self driving cars to medical devices where loss of life could be a consequence of the code we write. The use of standards are required to ensure safety, reliability, trustworthiness etc etc. 

I started a few new projects this week, one is recording ITP’s new podcast. We are calling it "Bridging the Gap" and it’s focused on shining a light on the wonderful diversity in our industry - diversity of people and diversity of roles - because put simply you can’t be what you can’t see. I love meeting new people, love hearing their stories so could do this for hours but we are keeping each episode to 20 minutes and will release them with audio only, video and written transcripts. Hope you all enjoying listening once we get the first season released later this month. 

Fireside chats are back for winter

Speaking of me loving to talk. I am thrilled to be bringing our Fireside Chat series back for winter 2023, we have some really fascinating interviews coming up which will be delivered as a webinar, held on Wednesdays from 4:30-5:15pm, attendees can ask questions via the Q&A function. So hunker down for the winter months and enjoy this interview series. 

The first one is next week when I will be interviewing JD Trask, Founder and CEO of Raygun a real New Zealand Software as a service (SAAS) success story. JD and I will discuss all things jobs - the skills and talent crisis, the recession and importantly what the impacts of AI will mean for our industry and future jobs - we will discuss our theories on our future AI overlords too I expect. You can register to hear JD and my kōrero here - Wednesday 10th at 4:30pm. 

The following week I’m tackling an equally contentious topic - Internet Governance - talking to Jordan Carter, now Internet Governance and Policy Director for The Australian Domain Administration, former CEO of InternetNZ. Jordan and I will discuss all of the complex topics - online censorship vs freedom of speech, fake news and mis/dis/mal information, the Christchurch Call’s future and contrast what Australia is doing about the Social Media / Tech Giants vs here in Aoteaora NZ. You can register to hear Jordan and my kōrero here - Wednesday 17th at 4:30pm (NZ time). 

Other events

It’s New Zealand Sign language week next week from the 8th. The NZSL website has links to resources to learn to sign. 

Our friends at ACE - the Engineering Consultants organisation - have a Financial wellness series starting next week that we are all welcome to join. The webinar on Wednesday 10th is on inflation and interest rates. 

The TUANZ rural connectivity symposium will be held on Tuesday 16th in Ōtautahi Christchurch. Two leading voices in the Digital Equity space will be there - Kris Dempster-Rivett and Elle Archer - with a panel “Our Communities need to be heard” where they will talk about the very real impacts of connectivity black holes around the country, the need for affordable connectivity solutions for many New Zealanders and how our digital divide is as large today as it has always been. 

TechWeek is kicking off with the Tomorrow Expo on the 10-12th of May in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Check out the TechWeek website for many many other events in your area. 

ITP members we have Tech chat Tuesday next week - you can register here. The topic for next week will be on the workforce, impact of redundancies and what reskilling opportunities should exist - courses we should be finding or developing to help people stay current. 

Ōtepoti Dunedin branch has a drinks and meal get together on the 9th of May. 

Blogs this week 

Peter’s editorial this week reminds us of instances when the technology has gone very wrong and the risks of AI doing the same, I hadn’t caught the example he gives upfront where workers were prosecuted for theft, fraud and false accounting when it was actually a flaw in the Fujitsu accounting software - they had done nothing wrong. And that was before AI. 

Earlier in the week Peter also wrote about the astronomical jump in demand for generative AI training and skill development. This week alone the Digital Technology Teachers message board has been filled with requests for resources for teachers here in Aotearoa to upskill in how to understand / use / teach tools like ChatGPT. 

Still on the same theme we also have a really interesting article on “If ChatGPT wrote it, who owns the copyright?” Another area of law that will struggle to keep up with the pace of technology. Mind blown reading this. 

Brendan’s cartoon this week was inspired by Scott Base getting an internet connection boost with a starlink connection. 

After my interview with CIO Magazine last week I’ve been a bit fixated on succession planning so wrote a blog arguing this is everyone’s job. I will write a couple of followups to this - on using the 50 coffee’s system to help with your own career planning and good interview questions for hiring managers. 

Te Reo Māori digital technology terms

Thinking about the fundamentals today. 

Rorohiko is the Te Reo Māori term for computer. 

Many other Te Reo Māori terms include the rorohiko that we can use everyday -  mata rorohiko means computer screen, ngārara rorohiko means computer virus, rorohiko pōnaho means laptop computer, pūmanawa rorohiko means computer software and kawerongo rorohiko means electronic newsletter. 

Kia pai tō rā whakatā (have a great weekend), Vic