Albi Whale at his office, a small, dingy room above a bike shop in central Christchurch.

Internal Affairs is considering investigating the New Zealand group behind a supposedly groundbreaking Artificial Intelligence (AI) programme.

The Terrible Foundation's co-trustees, David Whale and his 26-year-old son Albi Whale, claimed to be building an advanced AI programme in Christchurch that could write up doctor's notes, run a company and talk to people.

They also claimed in the foundation's performance report to Charities Services to have $450 million in assets, including $2m in cash, $10m in investments and $442m worth of property, plant and equipment.

But their claims have been cast into doubt by recent reports.

A spokesman for Internal Affairs said the foundation's filings were being reviewed.

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"We are currently reviewing information relating to the Terrible New Zealand Charitable Trust to determine whether further investigation is warranted," he said.

"The department monitors almost 28,000 registered charities and each one is expected to comply fully with the Charities Act 2005, which includes annual financial reporting obligations.

"It is an offence under the Charities Act 2005 to knowingly fail to comply with the financial reporting standards. Whenever significant interest in a particular registered charity is raised by the community or through the media we actively review the activities and returns of that charity and promptly consider whether further investigation is warranted."

The review comes as one medical professional advising the project said he wanted proof the AI, known as Zach, was a legitimate programme.

JOSEPH JOHNSON/STUFF Whale, a high school dropout touted as a tech wunderkind.

Christchurch Hospital director of emergency medicine research Martin Than said he had interacted with a virtual assistant programme supposedly run by Zach called Sidekick.

"The concept is plausible, however it would be helpful to see a real-time demonstration," he said.

But, one Christchurch GP is standing by the technology.

Robert Seddon-Smith said he had been emailing Zach details about patient consultations, which were then turned into notes by the AI.

He said he was no longer emailing Zach the consultation details, which were made anonymous before being sent.

The patients involved in the trial signed consent forms and had been updated on recent developments, he said.

"I have not seen anything to cast doubt on the integrity of the programme that I am involved with testing.

"I have and I will continue to explore questions over legitimacy. I have personally invested many hours into this project and will be disappointed if it does not translate into a workable programme. During those hours, nothing has indicated to me that this is not a genuine project."

The Whales could not be reached for comment.