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Has Artificial Intelligence been used as part of the Biometric Capability Upgrade; if so, has the use of Artificial Intelligence directly lead to any delays, if there have been any, to the Biometric Capability Upgrade?

Answered Question 25927 (2026)
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Asked by

Phil Twyford

Member for Te Atatū · Labour Party

Question

  • Has Artificial Intelligence been used as part of the Biometric Capability Upgrade; if so, has the use of Artificial Intelligence directly lead to any delays, if there have been any, to the Biometric Capability Upgrade?

Answered by

Hon Erica Stanford

Member for East Coast Bays · National Party · Minister of Immigration

Answer

INZ has used Artificial Intelligence in the form of biometric matching algorithms since 2016. One of the goals of the Biometric Capability Update (BCU) was to update the biometric algorithms responsible for facial and fingerprint matching. The BCU did not use any other form of (analytical, predictive, generative, or agentic) Artificial Intelligence. I am advised that artificial Intelligence did not specifically cause any delays to the project, which was discontinued in December 2025.