About Good Ancestors New Zealand
Supporting New Zealand's leaders to be good ancestors to future generations
Our mission
Good Ancestors New Zealand supports New Zealand's leaders to be good ancestors to future generations. We conduct research and communicate facts and evidence to policymakers and the public, advancing policy solutions that protect current and future New Zealanders.
How we work
Policy Research
Original research including legal analysis, expert surveys, and policy white papers that underpin credible recommendations for policymakers.
Public Education
Workshops and community engagement that educate and support New Zealanders to have their own voice in policy processes.
Policy engagement
Engaging directly with decision-makers to ensure rigorous, evidence-based analysis informs the policies that shape our future.
We operate at the intersection of research, public education, and policy engagement, focusing on issues where the decisions governments make today could dramatically shape the future.
We believe New Zealand needs strong domestic policy to protect New Zealanders and navigate the changes ahead, and that New Zealand can have an important role to play in global efforts to ensure advanced AI is safe and well governed.
Our values
At Good Ancestors New Zealand we have chosen values that highlight what we believe in and the standards we want to hold ourselves to.
Evidence-based
We ground our policy recommendations in rigorous research, expert consultation, and transparent methodology. We quantify claims wherever possible and invite criticism.
Practical
We focus on actionable recommendations that can be implemented within existing political and institutional frameworks.
Forward-looking
We prioritise interventions that protect not just current generations but future generations who cannot yet speak for themselves.
Inclusive
The risks we work on cross borders and affect everyone. We make recommendations in the interests of all people.
Democratic
We believe in empowering everyone to engage meaningfully with the policy conversations that shape our collective future.
Collaborative
We work across political spectrums and professional boundaries. We seek common ground and build coalitions for impact.
Our team
Proven impact in Australia
We're proud to share the Good Ancestors name, mission, and values with Good Ancestors Australia, an independent organisation pursuing the same goals across the Tasman.
They have built a strong track record since 2022, and we collaborate closely with them, drawing on their experience as we shape our own programme of work here in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Good Ancestors Australia's work to date includes:
- Original research: including Australia's AI Policy White Paper 2025-2028 and the AI Legislation Stress Test, which engaged 64 experts to assess the adequacy of existing regulation.
- Informing national policy: providing evidence to the Senate Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence and submitting recommendations to major government consultations on AI safety, including promoting and inputting into the establishment of the Australian AI Safety Institute.
- Public engagement: coordinating open letters signed by leading AI researchers and developing AI Safety scorecards used by tens of thousands of Australians during the 2025 federal election.
- Government relationships: building relationships with parliamentarians across the political spectrum and connecting international expertise with Australian policymakers.