The Green Party pledges that artificial intelligence and automated decision making will not be used for payment decisions in the welfare system, such as cancelling, suspending, or reducing welfare payments, or imposing benefit sanctions when it is in Government.
“The Coalition’s push for automated decision making has already proven disastrous by treating tens of thousands of people like test subjects and leaving them financially vulnerable,” says Green Party Social Development Spokesperson, Ricardo Menendez March.
“The Ministry of Social Development's report yesterday shows exactly why AI should not make decisions about who receives support, and who doesn’t.”
“A Green Government would end the use of AI and automated decision making in the welfare system. We will make sure that those who need support can talk directly to a human and access the welfare they need with dignity and respect.”
“Last year an Australian Senate Inquiry found that over 300,000 payments were illegally cancelled through the use of automated systems, while in the Netherlands thousands of families were wrongfully accused of child welfare fraud, contributing to the Dutch Government stepping down in 2021.”
“Decisions on who receives financial support should not be left to algorithms. The risks are too high, and the consequences are too severe. Yet Louise Upston has used this technology to try to cut welfare spending at the expense of people who need support the most.”
“If any New Zealander finds themselves in a position where they need financial support, they should know that Aotearoa has their back, with a secure benefit system that they can rely on to pay their bills and live a decent, stable life” says Menendez March.
