PlanTechNZ, a Special Interest Group of the NZPI, has released a report titled Attitudes Toward Artificial Intelligence Among Aotearoa New Zealand Planners. The purpose of this report is to provide initial analysis of the AI Utilisation in Planning Work Survey undertaken with members in November 2023. It provides a starting point for discussions around the use of AI in the planning profession.
PlanTechNZ comprises of planners who are passionate about the role of emerging technologies in the future of planning practice. PlanTechNZ has a group called AI-mpact looking at use of AI by planners. This survey was conducted to understand how planners use AI technology in their work. It will support further exploration of what this will mean for future training and support for planners as the nature of their work changes and evolves.
The report summarises the survey research findings from 152 respondents and identifies some interesting responses to these critical questions:
The report provides a detailed analysis of the AI tools being used by planners, which is cross referenced against a useful demographic snapshot of respondents. It includes some excellent examples provided by respondents on how AI tools are being used and managed in workplaces in New Zealand. The full survey results are appended to the report.
An interesting survey finding was that AI is still very new. Many users had only started to adopt new AI technologies in their work in the past 12 months. This is interesting given that 5% of the membership who responded to the survey are likely to be those particularly interested in use of new technology and be early adopters of AI. The report highlighted concerns about data security, loss of human touch and the potential for many junior planning tasks to be replaced. However, the survey found that most planners who responded to this survey were overall positive about the use of AI in planning and considered that the role of the planner includes making nuanced judgement calls that cannot be replaced by AI.
PlanTechNZ thanks all planners who responded to the survey for their valuable input to this research. PlanTechNZ also thanks its AI-mpact group, particularly Daniel Kinnoch for taking the lead in drafting the survey and analysing and reporting on the results. If you want to stay up to date with next steps arising from this survey, please join PlanTechNZ by updating the Special Interest Groups you subscribe to in your NZPI Dashboard. You will then receive any updates via the PlanTechNZ monthly newsletter.
