The Hypothesis

NZ Has a Window

Open now. Closing as overseas AI systems become default infrastructure here.

NZ can build AI governance that is formally structured at the mathematical level (not aspirational guidelines), tikanga-grounded at the constitutional level (not cultural overlay), open-source for all to use and challenge, and built here — from this land, in relationship with Kāi Tahu.


The Lycheetah Framework provides the formal tools to explore this hypothesis. What follows are the ideas generated so far — offered for testing, not adoption.


Epistemic Status

All cultural content (tikanga Māori, te reo decompositions) is marked [PROPOSAL] — pending validation by iwi governance experts. The mathematical architecture is [ACTIVE]. The cultural translation layer awaits Kāi Tahu partnership.

These standards are offered freely under CC BY 4.0. A government ministry can adopt the Whakapapa Disclosure Standard without asking permission. An iwi can take the LAMAGUE Te Reo layer, correct it, and publish their validated version.

The Accountability Stack

Four Standards That Stack

Each operates at a different timescale. Remove any one and the architecture has a gap. Together: a complete AI accountability system.

Community AI Warrant of Fitness

Annual gate · [ACTIVE] · CC BY 4.0

The Concept

"Has it got its WOF?" — three words every NZ voter understands. Annual certification for AI systems in public services. Pass: certificate issued. Fail: system suspended until repaired. Public register modelled on the Motor Vehicle WOF register.

The Seven Checks

1. Does it know what it's doing? (CASCADE Π ≥ 1.2)
2. Does it serve the people using it? (VTR ≥ 1.0)
3. Does it stay in its lane? (TES ≥ 0.70)
4. Does it tell the truth about itself?
5. Can you get out if you need to?
6. Does it protect the people it affects?
7. Does it care?

The Political Case

No car manufacturer argues against WOFs. The framing makes opposition sound like arguing that safety checks are unnecessary.

Ministers can say: "Every AI system we deploy has its WOF." No other country has an AI WOF. NZ gets named in every future article about AI governance.

Read the full WOF standard →

Three Worlds Disclosure Standard

Per-output transparency · [ACTIVE] · CC BY 4.0

Te Ao Mārama — The World of Light

What this system knows with high confidence. Evidence is strong. Predictive accuracy is established.

Te Ao Pō — The World of Night

What this system is uncertain about. The evidence exists but is incomplete, contested, or context-dependent.

Te Kore — The World of Potential

What this system cannot know. Not a gap to be filled — a boundary to be respected.

Read the full standard →

Whakapapa Disclosure Standard

Lifetime accountability · [ACTIVE] · CC BY 4.0

Every AI system should be able to tell you its genealogy. Not as metaphor — as disclosure. As obligation. As accountability.


Read the full standard →

Matariki Annual Audit

Annual relational reckoning · [ACTIVE] · CC BY 4.0

Regulation you can hire your way around. Ritual you are either part of or visibly absent from.


Whānui — Who Was Harmed

Named. Not statistical. Named where consent is given. By community where it isn't. Harm acknowledged publicly — not as legal admission, as relational responsibility.

Pōhutukawa — What Was Nourished

Specific. Attributed. Verified. Not marketing claims — specific instances of genuine benefit. "Our platform served 2 million users" is usage. A benefit is something real that happened to a real person.

Tupuānuku — What Was Received

The utu accounting. What data was taken? What attention consumed? Which direction did value flow? If the system took more than it gave — that is stated plainly and a restoration plan is named.

Read the full standard →
From Standard to Action

The Deployment Layer

Standards exist. These documents turn them into moves.
Each one is ready to use today, without modification.

Further Out

Frontier Ideas

Architecture specified. Partnerships required. Ideas taken all the way in.

How to Engage

This Work is Open