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Andrew Chen

@andrewtychen.bsky.social
940 followers 304 following 252 posts

Digital technology and AI ethics, early-stage science and deep tech start-ups, cats. Always learning, opinions own.

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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
They're the dark blue/purple at the bottom on the right. Trendline obscures some of the more recent higher poll results.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
TOP is there, just maybe not exactly the right colour as it was used by another party earlier.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
He's canonically "orange guy" according to the Electoral Commission, I guess "guy" can have whatever pronouns though.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Wikipedia has the polls now, they used to not and I was updating them when the polls were released but now I can copy paste from Wikipedia. Their vis is probably just as good/better but static.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
"why would anyone ever need more?"
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
I mean in 2015, things that were built in 2004 looked ancient and awful. Much less change in standards and expectations in the subsequent decade.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
suspicious
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
I definitely didn't think about the UX of this visualisation still being alive 11 years after I first developed it... would probably make some different choices if I was building it today but it's also held up remarkably well given that time?
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
A long(?) term view of the polls for the parties that are currently mooted to have a chance to win at least one seat in the 2026 election: www.andrewchen.nz/polls
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Yeah having worked on similar algorithms once upon a time, categorising into broader ranges (e.g. 25-35) is more accurate, picking a specific age number is wildly inaccurate.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Potentially - general harms to anonymity and free speech. But in theory they could use other methods to verify age (e.g. account has been active for more than 16 years). Or a quiz about 80s music perhaps.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
That could be an interpretation, but I would argue that once you have demonstrated someone is over 16, they can't become under 16, and so there is no reason to retain the underlying docs.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
These are hypothetical options put up by the govt, it will be up to the platforms to decide how they implement it in NZ. Evidence from overseas is not super encouraging though, and yes there have been notable failures with even static images of people bypassing the assurance systems.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
I think the framing is that it's an option. I'm not too sure what other methods there would be beyond account age (e.g. accounts that have actively existed for longer than 16 years would automatically be >16).
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Reposted by Andrew Chen
Dr. Cassandra Mudgway @legallyfeminist.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
I read 54 pages of draft legislation so you don't have to. Important notes: this is not "systemic change" as there's no obligation to make platforms (or AI companions) safe. There's no ref to gender based violence, children's rights, or te Tiriti. It's an age ban and a duty to assess risk. #nzpol
Meme where the govt slaps "age ban" on a leaky water cooler labeled social media harm.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
oh no, unless they accept her age in cat years she might be in trouble...
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
I regret to inform:
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
This is a little bit different to the "regardless of what they claim" bit because it would be actively illegal under this bill to retain ID photos for example once they have checked the person's age.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
I don't know what the legislation says in other jurisdictions, but to be fair to this particular Bill, platforms are not allowed to keep personal information for any longer than required. I understand that this means once your age is verified, the underlying documents are deleted.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
I note most credit cards require a stable income >$15,000 per year as well, so age validation through credit card ownership is discriminatory in a different way.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
There's no mention of this mechanism in the Bill, but I am imagining that they are imagining that the social media companies would be able to query the telcos about an individual's identity, who could then come back with >16 or <16. Somewhat theoretical at this stage of course.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Okay lastly, will include my quip from the radio here: If the most popular girl in school said that a particular hairstyle was cool, you'd probably find more than 30% of the kids following suit. The AU social media ban has had less success than this.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Presumably the name on the card would have to match the name on the account. So hope your mum named you with the same first initial I suppose?
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Unlikely. If having a credit card is a proxy for over 18, then debit cards or other stored value cards wouldn't meet that criteria.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
There's also this set of graphics, which are perhaps more standard. I note that they said somewhere that if you've had the account active since 2010, then the provider is allowed to assume you're over 16.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/2... I think I saw it linked on RNZ.
img.scoop.co.nz
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Helpful diagram from their fact sheet:
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
(credit to various colleagues for chatting these ideas through rapidly this afternoon before I went on RNZ The Panel)
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
And if I'm reading the bill correctly, if an online service provider does not comply with this law, then the court could order them to stop operating in New Zealand. This isn't likely to happen straight away (as regulators will want to "educate" first) but it is a pretty strong stick!
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
I will say that I think adding a regulator is a good thing, akin to the eSafety Commissioner in Australia, and hopefully a new regulator would be able to do some solid research on harms in New Zealand and take meaningful action against the platform companies.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
What we could be doing is regulating online media in the same way that we seek to regulate content on other media technologies, as was envisioned by the Safer Online Services and Media Platforms (SOSMP) review, which has effectively been ignored since it was completed.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
On the other hand, 30% of kids might be kept safe from some of the online harms of social media platforms by banning them from holding accounts, and the harmful content and harmful experiences for the remaining users stays around. Is that worth it?
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
On the one hand, we are infringing on the free speech and privacy rights of young people to prevent them from participating in these online spaces, and we will make it harder for children to talk about their negative experiences online.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
The fact sheet effectively says that these social media platforms are harmful. So why is the solution to ban children under 16 from accessing the platforms, rather than calling for the platforms to actually make these spaces safe for everyone?
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
...The Bill assists in setting new social norms and reducing children’s exposure to online harm." which means that it will still be on parents, teachers, and other adults to "set" those new social norms.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
DIA: "As with other age-based regulatory regimes aimed at minimising exposure to known harms, such as restrictions on the sale of alcohol, New Zealand should anticipate that a proportion of individuals may circumvent the rules...
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
The Fact Sheet says that in Aus around 3 in 10 children no longer have accounts. Are the potential negatives of this proposal worth 30% effectiveness? There many ways around a ban like this, from websites that don't require users to have accounts, to methods to fool the age verification systems.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Some notes on the proposed social media ban for under 16s: It's a serious problem but is this the right solution? It is a pretty popular proposal, between 65-75% of the public support a ban based on various polls, but should we accept a solution that has been shown to be pretty poor overseas?
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
David Ward: "Can I please have the minute that I saved from earlier?" Stephen Judd: "Uh, no."
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
We actually would quite like to copy some of the ideas already deployed in Canada! An AI Register is starting: open.canada.ca/data/en/data... And there is an Algorithm Impact Assessment tool: www.canada.ca/en/governmen...
open.canada.ca
Government of Canada AI Register (Minimum Viable Product) - Open Government Portal
The Government of Canada (GC) Artificial Intelligence (AI) Register collects information about the Government of Canada's AI systems. Its publication fulfils a commitment made in the AI Strategy...
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Yeah lots of procurement questions that the new GDDA (Government Digital Delivery Agency) will have to grapple with. Somehow we aren't asking for much in this petition yet it feels like a big leap as well.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
You'd probably have to start a separate petition. It's a difficult fight and we're in the "if we going to have it, at least make it safe" camp which I appreciate is not strong enough a position for everyone.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Well timed! Will add to the list of resources.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
On the website we point out that it's ADM as well. Parliamentary petitions are limited to 300 characters...
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
it seems I am regularly wrong about what the public thinks about most things
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
We're limited to 300 characters for the petition itself. So built a website to include more words - "deliberation process" in the petition points to citizens assemblies and other similar processes, it's discussed further on this page: www.trustworthyai.nz/public-delib...
trustworthyai.nz
Trust Worthy AI - Public Deliberation
3. Involvement of the public in a deliberation process to define acceptable risk and use of AI in government systems
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
At least being transparent about it. Mostly to help with editing words to make it more accessible to a wide audience.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
To be clear, many of these are hypothetical examples (but all ideas that have been discussed one way or another). What we okay with as a country? If AI is going to be *the* defining technology of our time, then all of us should have a say in how it will be used.
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
For example, which of these would be okay or not? - StatsNZ uses AI to fill in the gaps in census data - MPI uses AI to review biosecurity documentation - Police uses live FRT at large events - DOC uses AI to detect and kill pests - Defence deploys lethal autonomous weapon systems
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Andrew Chen @andrewtychen.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
For example, which of these would be okay or not? - ACC uses rule-based learning to approve claims - IRD uses AI to issue refunds - MSD uses a probabilistic system to determine eligibility - Immigration uses AI to approve and decline visa applications - MBIE uses AI to triage grant applicantions
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