In this episode of Mindful AI, we speak with Mary Adewunmi, a rising force in medical AI whose work is transforming cancer diagnostics and chronic disease treatment.

Mary is a PhD candidate at the Menzies School of Health Research, founder of CARES AI, and a recipient of multiple prestigious awards for her deep learning research. But behind her technical achievements is a deeply personal story: a tragic misdiagnosis in her own family sparked her journey into healthcare AI.

We explore the promise—and the pitfalls—of AI in medicine: from democratizing diagnosis to the urgent need for ethical oversight, bias mitigation, and human-centered design. Mary shares how empathy, co-design with communities, and data accountability must guide the future of AI in healthcare.

If you’re passionate about AI for good, this conversation will leave you inspired—and better informed.

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💬 What role should AI play in healthcare? Let us know in the comments!

🎙 Links from the episode:
🔗 CARES AI: https://caresai.org/
🔗 Menzies School of Health Research: https://www.menzies.edu.au/

📌 Chapters

00:00:00 Introducing Mary Adewunmi

00:00:45 A personal tragedy sparks a mission

00:03:00 From computer science to cancer care

00:07:00 Why cancer research became her focus

00:10:00 What CARES AI is doing differently

00:12:00 AI outperforming doctors: promise and pitfalls

00:15:00 Empathy and accuracy in AI models

00:17:00 Democratizing healthcare with AI

00:20:00 The role of AI in treatment and clinical support

00:24:00 Ethical concerns: bias, black boxes, data privacy

00:28:00 Policy gaps and real-world consequences

00:33:00 Human-in-the-loop and co-design with patients

00:38:00 Can AI be truly creative?

00:45:00 Final thoughts and what needs to change

00:46:30 Subscribe & stay tuned for Part 2

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