Technology & Security Podcast with Dr Miah Hammond-Errey

On this episode of Technology & Security, Dr Miah Hammond-Errey speaks with Professor Jon Whittle, founding CEO of Goldilocks AI and professor at the University of Melbourne's Institute for Digital Innovation and AI. With nearly 30 years in AI spanning a technical lead role at NASA, founding the National AI Centre, and five years leading CSIRO's Data61, Jon brings a long view and the practical experience of having worked on these questions from inside government, research, and industry. The conversation opens with what AI sovereignty actually means across the full stack, from data centres and foundation models through to inference, applications and responsible AI, and why focusing only on data storage creates a false sense of security.
The conversation moves to the economic and geopolitical case for Australia building its own foundation models, why the argument that we are too small and too far behind deserves more scrutiny, and how being cut off from models like Fable has made that conversation more urgent. Jon and Miah discuss the gap between personal productivity gains from AI and the organisational productivity gains that remain elusive, the dimensions that actually determine enterprise AI success (most of which have nothing to do with technology), and the leadership anti-patterns holding Australian companies back. This episode also covers the rise of Chinese models, the risk of ‘Uberization’ of the Australian economy, what meaningful AI oversight requires from directors and boards, and why the conversation Jon hopes we are not still having in five years is the one we are having right now. Professor Jon Whittle is founding CEO of Goldilocks AI, professor at the University of Melbourne, and author of AI for Business. He is a former director of CSIRO's Data61 and founder of the National AI Centre.

On this episode of Technology & Security, Dr Miah Hammond-Errey is joined by Nicolas Miailhe, expert at the intersections of AI Safety and governance. Velocity shock refers to the gap between how fast frontier AI is being deployed and how slowly the institutions designed to govern it are moving. This episode explores what meaningful sovereignty is and what it means across the AI stack, the reorganisation of alliances now two dominant AI powers have solidified, and what it means for middle powers including Australia, Canada and the EU.
The conversation covers why rigorous evaluation of frontier AI remains scientifically unsolved, why voluntary safety frameworks from labs are insufficient under competitive pressure and practical steps toward closing the technology use and governance gap. Nicolas Miailhe is co-founder of AI Safety Connect, CEO of Prism Eval, and former founding CEO of The Future Society. He is an AI expert for the OECD and UNESCO's AI ethics group.

Cybersecurity is often framed as a technology problem. Andrew Reeves argues it is fundamentally a human one. Dr Miah Hammond-Errey sits down with Dr Andrew Reeves, Deputy Director of UNSW's Institute for Cyber, registered organisational psychologist and cybersecurity leader, to examine what psychology reveals about attack, defence and victimhood in cybersecurity. From the power of cyber deception, to why security awareness training can backfire, to what cognitive load means for the people defending our networks, this is a conversation about the human factors that determine whether cybersecurity actually works.
Andrew and Miah discuss the collaborative research project between UNSW's Institute for Cyber and Strat Futures, mapping the cybersecurity implications of emerging technologies in Australia over the next two to five years. Andrew shares what the data is revealing about the convergence of AI, biotechnology and brain-computer interfaces, why the most critical developments will come from how technologies interact rather than any single breakthrough, and what the tension between sovereign capability and international collaboration means for Australian organisations. They also discuss cyber security lessons from the golden age of piracy, the psychology of leadership under fatigue, and what forest bathing has to do with making better decisions.

On this episode of Technology & Security, Dr Miah Hammond-Errey is joined by Aurélie Jacquet, Chair of Australia's ISO AI Standards Committee, OECD AI expert, and advisor to some of the world's most influential organisations. Deploying AI responsibly takes far more than a good policy and this episode examines what responsible implementation actually demands. This discussion draws on lessons from capital markets, privacy law, international standards work and fortune 500 companies. 
Aurélie brings rare breadth to questions that matter; how organisations can move from AI ethics commitments to genuine controls, why scaling without governance is scaling risk, and what the AI conversation Australia will regret not having had today. Aurélie Jacquet is the CEO of Ethical AI Consulting, Chair of Australia's ISO AI Standards Committee and an OECD AI expert.

In this episode of Technology & Security, Dr. Miah Hammond-Errey is joined by cyber security and governance leader Min Livanidis. They discuss what resilience really means in an AI-enabled environment and how to reframe the conversation: AI risk is often a governance question. From identity and access management to data controls and shared responsibility models, the fundamentals of cyber security remain vital. While new forms of AI introduce probabilistic and agentic risks that require different safety considerations, the scaffolding of resilience—clear governance, structured risk management and technical literacy—has not changed.
The conversation reinforces the need for fundamental security controls during technological acceleration. Most successful cyber incidents still exploit basic weaknesses, not advanced AI capabilities. At the same time, AI is amplifying both defensive tools and human vulnerabilities, particularly through scams, impersonation and disinformation. Great security is not expecting perfect human decision-making but designing systems that reduce cognitive load and embed security by design. Ultimately, resilience depends less on hype and more on discipline: clarity of purpose, investment in people, and the consistent application of fundamentals. Her start in intelligence gave Livanidis insight into elements of leadership including curiosity, diversity and how to create a tech capable workforce. 
Min Livanidis is a cyber security, risk, and governance expert, currently Chief Security Advisor for Public Sector at Microsoft, Chair of the UNSW Institute for Cyber External Advisory Board, Co-Chair of Home Affairs’ Resilience Expert Advisory Group, and a former intelligence officer with experience across government and industry.
Resources mentioned:
Journal Article: Big data, emerging technologies and the characteristics of ‘good intelligence’: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/figure/10.1080/02684527.2023.2287255 // https://miahhe.com/downloads 
Cognitive Edge podcast: https://share.transistor.fm/s/cfcd90d1