As an initiative supported by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), TAIAO is committed to promoting and facilitating the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and data science in New Zealand's environmental sector.
In this newsletter, you’ll find:
New podcast episode - do quantum models really work?
A new TAIAO Talks episode - exploring weka.ai
Research & Publications page
What’s coming up
New QLM podcast episode - do quantum models really work?
Our first episode of the new series is now live on Spotify. In this conversation, Léa Cassé talks with Sabari Ponnambalam from the internationally recognised DelphiQ team to unpack a big question: do quantum models genuinely help us use past observations to predict the future?
The episode offers honest, practical insights into what quantum models can do, how to evaluate them properly, and how to recognise when they’re simply not worth using.
A new episode will be released every month throughout the series, giving you fresh perspectives and new ideas to explore.
Listen to the episode now: https://www.taiao.net/case-studies/
TAIAO Talks episode on weka.ai
TAIAO Talks is coming back with another episode exploring one of the educational tools the team has produced to help shape Aotearoa’s AI future.
We sit down with doctoral researcher Nilesh Verma to unpack one of TAIAO’s latest educational resources: weka.ai. Nilesh walks us through what the platform is, how it came to life, and how it supports learners of all backgrounds, including those new to machine learning.
Watch our last episode here: https://www.taiao.net/case-studies/
You can also take a look at another one of our TAIAO Talks episode where we explored the flood prediction tool with Dr Nick Lim, looking at how it was designed to help researchers forecast the impacts of future flood events with greater accuracy across Aotearoa.
Research & Publications Page
If you haven’t explored it yet, our new Research & Publications page brings together the growing body of work produced by TAIAO members including access to journal and conference publications and ongoing updates as new research is released.
Check out the Research & Publications page now.
What's coming up
TAIAO Talks episode – Agentic AI
Led by Prof Albert Bifet, this course offers an in depth introduction to agentic AI systems - what powers them, how they generate answers, and how they sense, plan, and act. We’ll examine the opportunities these systems create, the risks and ethical challenges they raise, and real world examples showing how agents are already reshaping work and industry.
Take the course here: https://www.aieducation.nz/products/courses/agentic-ai
Hackathon
The countdown to our 2026 Hackathon is officially underway! Last year’s event brought together four teams who delivered a range of innovative AI solutions, strengthening collaboration across industry, researchers, and the wider community.
We’re expecting another strong event this year, with more details on dates, location, and how you can get involved coming next month.
To look back on the highlights from Hackathon 2025, you can read more here.
