AUT robots attend first symposium
Amongst the hundreds of delegates taking part in Ethnic Xchange 2025 were two non-human visitors from AUT who turned many a head as symposium discussions took place about the impact of AI, innovation and technology on business.
AUT’s Vice-Chancellor, Engagement, Amy Malcolm, says “AUT’s new generation Humanoid Robots – named AUTo and AUTaia – were a timely and relevant point of discussion and interest at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities’ annual business symposium.
“As an event sponsor and with technology, innovation and AI being key themes of the day, we were excited to be able to introduce our Humanoid Robots to ethnic business leaders, entrepreneurs and government officials.”
AUT is New Zealand’s only university of technology and has a particular interest in leading the way to explore and understand emerging technologies from a human-centred perspective.
“Ethnic Xchange was an ideal opportunity to give delegates a unique encounter with a transformative technology that could dramatically impact how we do business.
“We hope that by integrating our robots into such an engaging business-focused environment, people could take away those first-hand interactions and begin to imagine how emerging technologies might be assimilated into how they do business.
“As the country’s most diverse and inclusive university, the symposium was equally a place to show our support for Auckland’s growing ethnic business communities, to build on our existing connections with ethnic community leaders and to communicate that we warmly welcome prospective students from their communities.
“We are looking forward to continuing our collaborative and impactful partnership with the Ministry for Ethnic Communities,” she says.
Ministry for Ethnic Communities’ Chief Executive, Mervin Singham, says “AUT has strong connections with Auckland’s Ethnic Communities and a very diverse student population so we were extremely proud to have their support for Ethnic Xchange 2025.
“It was my first time shaking hands with robots! Giving our participants the chance to see the AUT robots up close was a highlight of the day and certainly provided everyone present with an insight into new technologies which most people had never seen or experienced before.”
Ethnic Communities are the fastest-growing populations in New Zealand, more than tripling in size since 1996*. Ethnic Communities are incredibly diverse and, based on the 2018 Census, speak more than 160 languages and are affiliated with 45 faiths. The composition of Ethnic Communities in New Zealand was 76% Asian people, 11% Continental Europeans, 7% Africans, 3% Latin Americans and 3% Middle Eastern people. Within these broad groups, there are many different ethnicities.
*2024 Ethnic Evidence Report - Our communities in the data | Ethnic Communities
Useful links
- About Ethnic Xchange 2025
- About the Ministry for Ethnic Communities