38668 (2026). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister of Conservation

38668 (2026). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister of Conservation: How much, if any, was spent in the 2025/26 financial year in the Minister's departments, agencies, crown entities and any other bodies that the Minister is responsible for, if any, on artificial intelligence, including costs on training staff, deploying systems, maintaining subscriptions and any other associated costs?

Hon Tama Potaka: I am advised that the Department of Conservation calculates that it spent $1,177,000 on projects that include artificial intelligence (AI), licensing, system development and training components for the 2025/2026 financial year. The Department note that this figure reflects the total project costs, including AI components and non-AI components, as some suppliers do not provide specific breakdowns of these costs by AI and non-AI.