Te Waha Nui announces new AI policy

Te Waha Nui has released its first ever AI policy, outlining stiff restrictions around the use of AI in its work.

Addressing issues of trust in news and media transparency, the policy aims to enhance the work at Te Waha Nui while also keeping readers informed, says TWN's AI lead, Kyla Blennerhassett.

The policy states all AI content must be checked by a human, and each article must include a disclaimer about how AI was used, if at all.

While no new content will be created by AI, artificial intelligence can be used to research topics, and to translate and transcribe text.

Associate professor at AUT and AI researcher Dr Merja Myllylahti says it is important for student journalists to have experience using AI ethically in the newsroom.

“I think it is a tool, but I personally think that there always has to be a human in the loop. A human has to be in control, not AI," she says.

This was one of the leading reasons for including heavy restrictions in the policy.

“AI is one that you have to verify what it tells you. You can't just take it at face value," says Dr Myllylahti.

Blennerhassett says transparency towards the audience was a key motivator for this decision.

“If we don't tell people when we're using AI or not, they're not going to trust any news that we put out."

As Te Waha Nui is a student-led news organisation, it was a joint decision for the entire 2026 team to decide how AI would be used.

Blennerhassett says feedback from Te Waha Nui journalists raised concerns about academic integrity and transparency with readers.

“Everyone was quite apprehensive and wanted to focus more on learning skills of writing their own journalism and researching and interviewing by themselves."

She is confident every journalist at Te Waha Nui will be able to follow the new guidelines.

“At the end of the day, it’s the responsibility of all of us to uphold this policy."

But while it has only just been released, Blennerhassett expects the policy to evolve in the coming years.

“As the technology continues to change and develop, we'll probably have to develop our AI policy to match it."

The policy can be viewed here, and any concerns about the use of AI in Te Waha Nui can be directed to tewahanui.editor@gmail.com

* Our journalists sometimes use AI tools which are checked by humans for accuracy.

AI was used for this story to transcribe audio from interviews.