The AI Arms Race Is a Lie — And HR is Paying the Price

 

Aubrey Blanche is an ethical technology executive, director at the Ethics Centre, and founder of The MathPath — and she's not here to sell you on AI. She's here to tell you what no one in a sponsored webinar ever will.

In this episode, Aubrey unpacks why the pressure to adopt AI fast is largely a marketing play, how people and culture leaders are being put in the firing line without the training to protect themselves or their people, and why doing nothing isn't neutral — it's actively choosing to allow discrimination into your workplace.

We go deep on algorithmic bias in hiring (including the cautionary tale of Amazon's resume-sorting disaster), the legal risks of dropping candidate data into ChatGPT, and why the companies announcing "AI-driven" layoffs may actually just be covering for bad financial decisions with a flashy press release.

We also explore the colonial logics baked into AI systems, what "women lagging in AI adoption" actually tells us, and why Aubrey's graduate research on the eugenics-adjacent beliefs of the AI elite might just keep you up at night.

If you're a P&C leader trying to figure out where to start — and what traps to avoid — this is the episode you need.

RESOURCES & LINKS

Aubrey Blanche

  • Website & Consultancy (The MathPath): aubreyblanche.com
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/adblanche

The Ethics Centre

  • ethics.org.au
  • Aubrey is a Director here — they offer consulting, events, and free ethics courses

EthicAI (Australia)

  • Website: ethicai.au
  • TikTok: @ethicai_au — Aubrey's top recommendation for accessible, critical AI analysis

Book Mentioned

  • Data Grab: The New Colonialism of Big Tech and How to Fight Back by Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias — available via Amazon or your local bookshop

Australian Government AI Resources

  • Guidance for AI Adoption: industry.gov.au/publications/guidance-for-ai-adoption
  • Australia's AI Ethics Principles: industry.gov.au/publications/australias-ai-ethics-principles

If this conversation resonated with you, make sure you follow or subscribe to Culture Capital on your favourite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. Share this podcast with colleagues, leaders, and anyone passionate about building stronger workplace cultures.

Co-host Prabha Nandagopal is the founder of Elevate Consulting Partners, providing expert consulting on workplace culture, positive duty compliance, and human rights. Learn more at elevateconsultingpartners.com.au

Prabha also founded SafeSpace@Elevate, Australia's first trauma informed workplace reporting platform. Learn more at safespaceelevate.com.au

This episode of Culture Capital is brought to you by BlackCard, Australia's leading Aboriginal owned cultural capability training organisation. Learn more at theblackcard.com.au

Culture Capital is produced by the BlakCast Network