Culture in the Digital Age: Preparing New Zealand for the Future

Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage has released its Long-term Insights Briefing (LTIB) 2025, Culture in the Digital Age, exploring how digital technologies will change the ways New Zealanders create, share and protect their stories in 2040 and beyond.

This work has been informed by cultural sector and industry feedback received during public consultation. The LTIB does not set policy but provides impartial, future-focused insights and policy options to guide long-term decision-making.

By 2040, our cultural landscape will be deeply intertwined with artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies. These changes offer unprecedented opportunities for our cultural system - but they also raise significant ethical, legal, cultural, and governance challenges.

Key insights include:

• By 2040, the concept of creativity will have changed. While creativity and technology have always been linked, recent developments in generative AI are calling into question what it means to be creative, and who has the power to create.
• By 2040, we won't be able to tell which stories are real. The increasing use of AI-generated synthetic content in mis- and disinformation, are making it harder for people to tell what is real and exacerbating existing socioeconomic inequalities.
• How New Zealanders' stories are protected will shape our future history. New tools are emerging for the preservation and revitalisation of knowledge, culture, heritage and language. However, the global community continues to grapple with how to best protect cultural heritage and intellectual property.
• Māori data governance principles and cultural values may help safeguard future stories in New Zealand's unique context. Emerging frameworks are guiding responsible data governance, empowering communities to control and protect their cultural knowledge.

Secretary for Culture and Heritage Leauanae Laulu Mac Leauanae says: "This briefing explores key trends, risks and opportunities, and presents policy options to ensure our cultural system remains vibrant, inclusive and resilient in the digital age. The insights can guide efforts to grow and harness the potential of digital technologies while safeguarding the values and traditions that define us."

Read the full briefing: Long-term Insights Briefing