"Ultimately, humans are always going to be accountable - you can't put that on AI." - Mythili Baker

Every few weeks, the AI conversation resets again - a new model, a new headline, a new reason to wonder whether the skills you've built still count. For people working inside large, regulated organisations, the question isn't abstract: it's showing up in budgets, headcount, and what "good work" even looks like now.

Mythili Baker has spent the last year answering that question for real. As Head of Data & AI at Aware Super - Australia's third-largest super fund - she's responsible for how one of the country's biggest pools of retirement savings uses AI safely, while leading the human side of that change. Before this, she spent 18 years at data and AI consultancy Altus, helping it grow from 17 people to 150.

In this episode, Luella and Mythili talk through what AI might change at work (and what it doesn't), the skill that matters more than ever right now, and the career instinct - saying yes, even when it's uncomfortable - that took her from a default degree choice to leading AI strategy for millions of members' retirement savings.

Timestamps

00:07:38 - AI Won't Fix Bad Judgement: The biggest AI challenge isn't the tool - it's adoption, change, and learning to sense-check what it gives you.

00:09:31 - When AI Gets It Wrong (Confidently): Why AI can be confidently incorrect, and what it takes to catch it - including knowing when your own expertise should override it.

00:14:01 - Building a Team for an AI World: What Mythili looks for in her team now, and why curiosity and attitude matter more than technical skill alone.

00:15:23 - From wanting to travel the world as a kid to a "default" commerce degree that solved the problem. 

00:19:35 - 18 Years at One Company: Growing alongside data and AI consultancy Altus from 17 people to 150, and the real opportunities that came with staying.

00:20:53 - Saying Yes to the Uncomfortable Move: Why comfort became the warning sign, and what finally pushed her into her current role at Aware Super.

New episodes on a Wednesday, with interviews with leaders or experts every week and a monthly discussion episode at the end of the month.

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