Research
Explainable, interdisciplinary AI for Aotearoa
My research is centred on two kaupapa: creating AI systems that people can understand, and applying AI to solve problems that matter to Aotearoa New Zealand. The technical thread uses explainable AI, mostly through evolutionary computation and genetic programming, to evolve models as symbolic expressions a person can read rather than as millions of opaque weights. The applied thread is interdisciplinary. I work with ecologists, legal scholars, policy researchers, cognitive scientists, health researchers, and software engineers on questions like: Which kākā is this? How will this forest change? Can this law prevent deepfakes? Is this software malware?
Projects
Emerging collaborations
Several newer collaborations do not yet have a page of their own and will get one as they produce outputs.
- Health. With Prof. Peter Bosman (Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica) and Prof. Tanja Alderliesten (Leiden University) in the Netherlands, the Explainable AI for Health Equity fellowship (Catalyst: Leaders, Royal Society Te Apārangi) brings Aotearoa into an international validation study of BRIGHT, an AI method for planning brachytherapy that improves the balance of harm and benefit for cancer patients. Alongside it, we are working with New Zealand hospitals to use explainable AI to explain how treatment choices relate to patient outcomes.
- Psychology and human behaviour. With Prof. Bart Ellenbroek (Psychology), we are studying how stress shapes the way people interact with large language models and whether that feeds polarisation, and Marie Katsanos's MSc examined the impact of generative AI on creativity.
- Software security. I am an associate investigator on Tūwhana, the MBIE research programme led by Assoc. Prof. Jens Dietrich on finding, observing, and reducing threats in domestic and global software supply chains, where Alix Schultze's PhD applies machine learning to binary equivalence.
- Sensing and signal processing. Mayuravaani Mathuranathan's PhD, with Prof. Bastiaan Kleijn, develops voice analysis for hearing aids, and Sofie Claridge's PhD, with the Robinson Research Institute, uses machine learning to sharpen temperature sensing in optical fibres.
Selected grants and awards
| Years | Grant | Funder | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–2029 | Tūwhana: Finding, observing, and reducing threats in domestic and global software supply chains ($7.8M) | MBIE Research Programme | Associate investigator, with Assoc. Prof. Jens Dietrich |
| 2024–2028 | Recognising Taonga with AI: Facial Recognition for Kākā Conservation Management ($1M) | MBIE Smart Ideas | Co-PI, with Dr Rachael Shaw |
| 2025–2028 | Explainable AI for Health Equity: Transforming Cancer Care and Beyond in Aotearoa ($150k) | Catalyst: Leaders, Royal Society Te Apārangi | PI, with Prof. Peter Bosman and Prof. Tanja Alderliesten |
| 2026–2027 | Looking into the Heart of AI-Mediated Polarization: How Stress Shapes Human Interactions with Large Language Models ($43k) | University Strategic Cross-Disciplinary Fund, Victoria University of Wellington | Associate investigator, with Prof. Bart Ellenbroek |
| 2024–2025 | Industry grant ($33k) | AI Forum New Zealand | PI |
| 2021 | Two R&D Fellowship Grants ($41k) | Callaghan Innovation | PI |
- 2026 Critic and Conscience of Society Award, Universities New Zealand — Te Pōkai Tara, sponsored by the Gama Foundation
- 2026 Ki te Pae Early Career Research Excellence Award, Victoria University of Wellington
- 2025 Rising AI Star, Aotearoa AI Awards, AI Forum New Zealand