I'm Max Lin.

I build things for the web in Wellington: maps people use to decide where to eat, plain-English reports on charities and councils, and the systems that research, write and check them. By day I work in financial markets law and policy.

Builds: Tools that are live and in use: an election forecast, an atlas of New Zealand's statute book, maps, reports, an earthquake simulator, a coffee price index, a funding calendar, an RSVP site and a browser game. A selection is below.
Research: Small studies of how language models handle questions that turn on judgement, and of what the statute book shows when you read all of it. Under way: misleading ads, and who makes New Zealand's law.
Lab: Quick prototypes, mostly agentic, each testing one idea. Some become builds; most just teach me something.
Governance: A short card for each public build: what data it uses, what could go wrong, and where a person checks the work.
CV: The day job, study and the rest. My drawing and painting live at maxlin.art.

Selected work

Threshold

Forecast · 2026 · thresholdnz.org

An independent, neutral forecast of the 7 November New Zealand election: the vote run 20,000 times from every published poll under MMP, with seats, all 71 electorates and who can reach a majority. Methods, a track record and sources are published.

What Is Version Nine

Game · 2026 · Beta

A short browser game set in a time loop. Spot the AI slop in a document that keeps coming back rewritten, prove you're human, and find out what Version 9 really is. Invite only for now.

Statute Atlas

Data · 2026 · statuteatlas.org

Every New Zealand Act, Bill and regulation since 1841, read and measured: how much law Parliament makes, how long it lasts, how it's written and who gets to change it. Updated daily.

CityPlate

Map · 2026 · cityplate.fun

Where to eat and drink in Wellington, Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne, with specials, happy hours, what's on and how to get there by bus or train.

When It Shakes

Simulator · 2026 · whenitshakes.org

How would your city hold up in a big quake? Every building in ten NZ cities, shaken: the damage, who is at risk, and how to be ready.

Second Look

Tool · 2026 · secondlook.org.nz

Any NZ charity's finances in plain English, from what it files on the public Charities Register, plus a funding calendar of 270 funds for community and arts groups.

Verso

Research product · 2026 · verso.report

Researched reports on drawings and paintings coming up at overseas auctions, and the Sunday List, a weekly email of the lots worth a look.

Misleading Ads Eval

Research · 2026 · In progress

Can a language model tell when an ad is misleading the way New Zealand's Advertising Standards Authority would? A small, open evaluation built on published Complaints Board decisions.