The Governance Gap: Why most boards aren't ready for AI and what to do about It

Lee Hickin has spent 30 years at the frontier of technology, from IBM and AWS to serving as CTO of Microsoft Australia. Now, as Executive Director of the National AI Centre, he's asking a confronting question of every boardroom in Australia: when the risk and the opportunity depends on AI, who in the room is actually the expert? In this episode, Lee breaks down why AI governance is failing in most organisations, what boards and executives must do differently right now, and why he believes Australia's greatest risk isn't moving too fast, it's not moving with enough confidence. Lee's view is that many Australian boards are fundamentally unprepared for the AI decisions landing on their desks, that technology literacy must become a first-class citizen in board composition, and that the greatest failure isn't having an AI incident, it's not knowing how to respond when you do. We also discussed that we might be underestimating Australia's sovereign AI, with Australia's AI-start up community showing true innovation and not just building more AI product bolt-ons. This is a conversation about courage, governance, and what it means to lead in an age defined by a technology that changes everything.