PremiumOpinionOpinion byJustin FlitterNZ Herald·1 Jun, 2026 03:00 AM4 mins to readJustin Flitter is the founder of AI New Zealand (newzealand.ai) Build the context engine first, Justin Flitter writes: that's the domain knowledge, operational context, governance protocols and trust layer that let AI amplify capability instead of compounding risk. Then redesign the workflows. Then realise the efficiency. In that sequence, AI makes the public service more capable and more resilient, not just smaller, he says. Image / 123rfThe Government’s announcement of close to 9000 public service job cuts and artificial intelligence as the replacement is the most consequential AI decision New Zealand has made this year. It is also operationally backwards.
The sequence is wrong. Artificial intelligence (AI) does not add capability. It amplifies whatever capability is
