Technology news

NZ Herald Headlines | Wednesday April 15, 2026

Afternoon Headlines | Trump's naval blockade carries into second day and recruitment drive to bring Kiwi cops back to NZ | Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Richard Prebble: What China and Japan taught me about trust, tech and freedom

OPINION: Japan offers queues and trusted goods, but feels strangely stuck in time.

Mark Zuckerberg creates AI version of himself to speak with Meta staff

Mark Zuckerberg is also working on a CEO AI agent to manage his workload.

He warned about the dangers of AI. If only his father had listened

New York Times: What happens when patients start trusting chatbots over doctors?

Westpac says AI can outperform humans for some contact centre tasks, but will boost not replace staff

After an in-house trial, Westpac NZ takes a Microsoft system to the public.

Can we be 10x richer like Anthropic, with help from Claude?

Herald NOW Business Host Garth Bray talks AI and tech with Anthropic director Chris Liddell, Danu Abeysuriya from Rush Digital and Jonathan Good from Scentian Bio.

Mythos AI alarm bells: Fair warning or marketing hype?

Experts warn Mythos could let hackers cripple banks and hospitals within hours.

AI casualty: NZ-founded Soul Machines found to owe at least $19.6m

Start-up raised more than $225m but now KPMG is looking for a buyer.

Load of bull? Start-up founder raises questions after R&D grant application rebuffed

PLUS: Analyst swings from Xero foe to friend; what EECA blew on Mevo.

Datacom buys Auckland data centre once owned by IBM, plans AI-fuelled expansion

CEO says NZ needs more coordination, bipartisan cooperation around energy planning.

Dream over for Allbirds: Footwear company once worth $7b, sells for peanuts

Shares in the firm, co-founded by ex-All White Tim Brown, were down 99.5% from 2021 peak.

'A monumental victory': Why Instagram's court loss is NZ parents' gain

OPINION: Last week's jury verdict was like David v Goliath, says filmmaker Nadia Maxwell.