Tindall’s concerns about links with blacklisted iFlytek
Another high profile New Zealand businessman wants answers over Icehouse Ventures’ relationship with blacklisted Chinese artificial intelligence giant iFlytek.
The Stuff Circuit investigation Deleted exposed the links between New Zealand businesses backed by government funding and the Chinese company whose technology is used in human rights abuses of Uyghurs in China.
Icehouse Ventures (IHV), the investment arm of business incubator The Icehouse, signed a partnership with iFlytek in 2019, but after questions from Stuff Circuit its board requested an investigation.
Sir Stephen Tindall, who has a small stake in Icehouse Ventures through investment company K One W One, said he was concerned about the continuing partnership.
Tindall is a director and majority shareholder of K One W One.
He told Stuff Circuit: ‘‘We did know that IHV had a relationship with iFlytek, but we did not know of any concerns about the conduct or business practices of iFlytek. ‘‘We are seeking better clarification of the relationship.’’ Tindall joins the managing director of KiwiSaver provider Simplicity, Sam Stubbs, an Icehouse Ventures shareholder, in wanting answers.
Last week Stubbs told Stuff Circuit: ‘‘This is a company which has been blacklisted in the US. This is a serious issue involving human rights.’’
The connection is potentially compromising for Simplicity, which has been outspoken about ethical investing, and last year said it would not invest in companies violating UN protocols on human rights.
‘‘While a minority shareholder, we are still a part owner of Icehouse Ventures, and have a responsibility to them, our members, and the New Zealand public, to learn from this and improve where necessary,’’ Stubbs said.
Concerns have been raised publicly since 2017 about iFlytek’s voice recognition technology being used to record the voices of Uyghurs. The ‘voiceprints’ are held in a database and can be used for identification.
Deleted also identified concerns about iFlytek’s robots being used to teach Mandarin to Uyghur children in kindergartens, and its AI being used in ‘‘smart courts’’’ and ‘‘smart prosecutions’’.
Icehouse Ventures gets $700,000 a year from the government’s innovation agency, Callaghan.
Deleted also elicited an admission from the government-owned Aspire NZ Seed Fund that it knew iFlytek had been blacklisted for human rights violations when it went ahead with investments in those companies.
Deleted was made with the support of NZ On Air.