"Our ability to distinguish what is real from what is fake online is rapidly going to be eroded by the industrial use of synthetic technology," says Ben Reid, a daily user of AI and author of tech newsletter Memia.

He believes the New Zealand election will be a test for the latest advances in AI technology, ahead of next year's US election.

And people shouldn't wait for their governments to bring in tighter rules to control the use of AI - they should educate themselves on it, before it's too late, Reid says.

"This technology is not going to go away. It's at its very earliest stages of absorption into society."

Read the full article on RNZ here