How often is that the commentary when a crisis unfolds? Looking at the National Party this evening, as MPs head to Wellington for their caucus fracas over the leadership, they too could have been better prepared for something that will certainly affect their election chances.
Despite being in government, National doesn’t appear to take AI, situational intelligence or crisis preparation particularly seriously. Nor does it seem adept at reading the signals that indicate urgent action is required. Or that we need them to do more than bicker and whinge.
For three years I’ve tracked the shambolic situation - triggered by this government - that surrounds part of our critical national infrastructure: the Cook Strait ferries. Here we are, in winter, crossing one of the world’s most challenging stretches of water, yet adequate mitigations to protect lives and ensure safe passage have not been communicated to the country – and may, for all we know, be lacking altogether.
Despite the coalition government bleating it's the government of business, its ability to protect the flow of people, goods and economic activity between our islands remains questionable at best and reckless at the extreme.
A couple of years ago I built my own reputation monitor using Gemini. It draws together signals on reputational standing, social capital and assesses capacity to lead in times of crisis.
This evening’s coalition analysis is shocking. The indicators are at critical level as you can see in the video (no sound).
New Zealand doesn’t get to choose when the next earthquake arrives or what our winter weather will do. But we should choose decision makers capable of basic risk mitigation who act for societal good.
So this Friday’s live session, Alert AI: Crisis Intelligence for Decision Makers, is timely - and I hope you'll join me. It's a framework for pulling together the intelligence people need to make the decisions that keep others from harm before situations become critical.
We can’t force people to act, especially when they’re so absorbed in their own power struggles. But we can use AI and other technologies to bank the minutes that matter when disaster strikes – and, as we do so, alert any real leaders in the vicinity so they can fill the governance vacuum currently sucking on the dry bones of backstabbers.
We can use AI-supported scanning, monitoring and analysis to identify weak signals and emerging narratives, model consequences and find opportunities to mitigate harm long before the pressure builds.
Crisis intelligence is about seeing more, understanding sooner and being better prepared to act as our polycrisis continues.
Who knows where National’s deliberations will take them overnight. For the sake of the rest of us, I hope they pull themselves together sufficiently to act on our collective behalf rather sink into more self-interest.
Right now, the intelligence at hand suggests that may be a false hope.
