How Do We Unlock AI’s Potential—Responsibly?
We’re taking a brief detour from our regular commerce media track to tackle the topic du jour: AI.
In this episode, we’re joined by John Blackburn AO – one of the leading voices in national security. As a strategic advisor to the AI CoLab Alliance in Canberra, John brings sharp insight into one of the most pressing and widely debated technologies of our time: AI.
He explores the evolving relationship between humans and AI, a technology that’s rapidly transforming how we interact, communicate, and work. Rather than shying away from its complexity, he encourages us to look under the hood and better understand how AI operates. While he cautions against blind acceptance of its outputs, he reinforces that AI is most powerful when it enhances – rather than replaces – human intelligence.
Hear from one of the most informed voices in the space as we unpack how AI is opening up new possibilities – and why approaching it with curiosity, responsibility, and a human touch will shape its most meaningful impact.
What you'll learn in this episode:
Understanding bias within AI: John discusses how AI’s data inputs often reflect Western and male-centric perspectives, and why recognising these biases is essential to using AI effectively across different contexts and cultures.
The current limitations of AI: while the technology is advancing quickly, AI still faces challenges like interpreting the temporal context of source material, necessitating the need for human oversight.
The importance of human input: AI can be a powerful assistant, but it’s most effective when paired with critical thinking and human decision-making.
How businesses can best use AI: from building trust to protecting user data, businesses have a key role in ensuring AI is used in ways that are both innovative and safe.
Soundbites to listen out for:
AI's multifaceted structure
The people designing the machine learning tools are looking through a technical lens, which is great, but the thing you have to think about with any AI, is you can’t just look through the technical lens. You have to look through the social lens, the sociology. And so in the advanced AI areas, it’s not just technical.
Cognitive complacency
There is a concern in some of the trials I’ve done that when you’re using an AI tool, your cognitive activity decreases. We’ve got to be very careful about that because human ingenuity and intelligence is something you have to work on…you have to exercise it.
Reframing the prompt
A lot of people will go asking questions about symptoms rather than what the problem is. So you need to lift yourself about the symptoms. What is the issue we’re looking at? What’s the context? And then once you’ve got that in your mind and you’ve done some research, now, let's get AI to help us.
The golden rule of using AI
The most important thing is to be honest with your customers. This is where we’re at, this is what we’re doing to make it as safe as possible. Give them a caution. Be transparent.
How businesses can use AI
Use AI as a support tool in your business. Use it to check or question yourselves. Don’t rely on the answer. It’s how you amplify what you can look at.
About our guest
John Blackburn AO is a consultant in the defence and national security fields, drawing upon over four decades’ experience serving in the Royal Australian Air Force and various advisory roles. His repertoire of knowledge spans across topics including strategy, policy, planning, operational command, capability development and material acquisition.
In addition to his own consultancy work, John also holds board, executive, and advisory roles across numerous institutes and foundations, including being former chairman of the advisory board at Vudoo. John Blackburn AO is not related to Vudoo Chief Strategy Officer Paul Blackburn.
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