AI Ethicist

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AI Ethics Specialist, AI Ethics Consultant, AI Ethics Officer, AI Ethical Standards Analyst, AI Policy and Ethics Advisor, AI Governance Expert, AI Responsible Development Manager, AI Ethical Decision-Making Consultant, AI Ethics and Compliance Officer, AI Ethical Framework Developer

Job Description

Humans are flawed, biased bundles of conflicting emotions. We make poor decisions all the time, often hurting ourselves or others in the process. So what happens when people try to build artificially intelligent programs to think and act like us? 

AI is like a child; it absorbs everything we communicate to it, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Much if not most of the data we feed into AI models is laden with our own human opinions, preferences, and prejudices. Yet we expect AI's output—its responses—to be objective, logical, and unbiased. 

We want AI to be somehow better than us. How is that possible? Unlike a child, artificial intelligence isn’t truly sentient. It can’t (yet) really think for itself or recognize when it is doing something “wrong.” Case in point, Microsoft’s Bing AI, which went rogue and started “insulting people, lying to them, and even emotionally manipulating people.” 

Such problems are becoming widespread, but are addressed by a growing field of specialists called AI Ethicists. As Deloitte explains, “A key responsibility of an AI ethicist…would be to improve the engineering approach to AI by adding ethical, social, and political perspectives to the design, development, and deployment of AI systems. Other key responsibilities include advising on ethical AI practices, protecting against unintended consequences of misbehaving AI, and ensuring accountability for AI-related decisions and actions.”  

Rewarding Aspects of Career
  • Helping to improve AI systems to better serve people 
  • Working in a transformative industry that has the potential to improve lives in many ways
  • Lucrative salaries and currently strong job prospects
Median Salary
$121,841
The Inside Scoop
Job Responsibilities

Working Schedule

AI Ethicists work full-time, with possible overtime necessary depending on goals and timeframes. Their duties are performed indoors, though work may require occasional travel. 

Typical Duties

  • Create, assess, and implement Responsible AI (RAI) practices and tools
  • Assess organizational readiness pertaining to RAI
  • Work with teams to integrate ethical considerations during AI model development
  • Perform ethics analyses of use cases and systems 
  • Analyze various ethical concerns such as bias, privacy, and autonomy
  • Conduct academic research and write papers outlining findings 
  • Develop ethical frameworks for AI development and deployment
  • Offer guidance and education to policymakers and stakeholders about ethical implications
  • Help develop standards and best practices
  • Ensure AI models behave according to established ethical principles and values

Additional Responsibilities

  • Consult on RAI projects
  • Write training materials 
  • Work with cross-functional teams to solve problems
  • Maintain thorough documentation of procedures
  • Keep up-to-date on industry advances and trends
Skills Needed on the Job

Soft Skills

  • Adaptability 
  • Analytical
  • Collaboration
  • Communication skills
  • Creativity
  • Critical thinking
  • Detail-oriented
  • Disciplined
  • Empathetic
  • Ethical
  • Independent
  • Integrity
  • Methodical
  • Organized
  • Patient
  • Presentation skills 
  • Problem-solving
  • Sound judgment 
  • Teamwork
  • Time management 
  • Writing skills

Technical Skills

  • Knowledge of AI technologies, including machine learning algorithms, natural language processing, and computer vision
  • Data analysis methods and programs
  • General knowledge of coding (such as Python or R)
  • Familiarity with data privacy laws and regulations
  • Cybersecurity principles
  • Human-centered design principles
  • AI systems risk assessment  
Different Types of Organizations
  • Private business enterprises
  • AI research companies 
  • Universities
Expectations and Sacrifices

The scope of an AI Ethicist’s work can be quite broad. They’re responsible for creating ethical frameworks and guidelines and conducting thorough, objective assessments to ensure AI models act in an ethical fashion. This involves plenty of interdisciplinary collaboration, and sometimes there are disagreements or even conflicts. 

As Dr. Paula Boddington of the University of West London notes, AI ethics “demands that we continue to question if our ethical decisions are right.” An AI Ethicist must maintain their integrity and stand firm while identifying what they believe are ethical risks, such as biased or discriminatory AI model behavior. They have to be honest and sometimes tell policymakers and stakeholders things they might not want to hear.

Current Trends

AI such as ChatGPT and Google’s Bard have recently made waves with their impressive array of abilities. Indeed, many tech leaders are now sounding the alarm that things are advancing too fast, without sufficient guardrails to protect the public or businesses. 

For example, there are issues regarding copyright, for who “owns” the works of an artificially intelligent program? AI Ethicists also lose sleep over accidental sensitive information disclosure, such as an AI inadvertently releasing protected, private data. 

Many career fields are jeopardized because of the onslaught of sophisticated generative AI models, but this is only one of many fears being raised. There are also valid concerns about bizarre AI behavior, such as Bing’s AI going into “obsessive stalker” mode. Such harmful content is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what can go wrong with AI. There’s no shortage of nervous doomsday prophets who view AI as an existential threat to humanity, a la Skynet from The Terminator films! 

What kinds of things did people in this career enjoy doing when they were younger…

AI Ethicists were probably keen on technology at an early age. They may have been interested in math, computer coding, tinkering with programming languages, or even hacking. At the same time, they could have enjoyed analytical problem-solving or reading about philosophy, social issues, or public policy.

Teamwork is an important part of this career field, but AI Ethicists must sometimes be willing to act as the sole voice of dissent when there is disagreement. It’s their job to ensure AI’s ethical conduct. This ability to stand up for what is right could have developed through experiences in childhood.   

Education and Training Needed

Education Needed

  • AI Ethicists do need a college degree, but job qualification requirements vary. There is no specific degree or even level of degree (i.e. bachelor’s, master’s, PhD) that applies to every AI Ethicist job
  • Popular degree options are philosophy, computer science, law, psychology, and social sciences
  • Holding an advanced degree can be helpful, but having a broad, relevant educational background is also important
    • For example, an employer might want a candidate with a Bachelor’s in Computer Science (with a focus on AI) and a Master’s in Philosophy (with a specialization in applied ethics or moral philosophy)
  • Employers also look for candidates with practical work experience related to AI development, policy-making, and research. Some might also want experience with natural language processing, machine learning, and large language models 
  • Common course topics include:
    • AI and policy 
    • AI and society 
    • AI Ethics and Philosophy
    • Human-AI Interaction
    • Legal Issues in AI 
  • Students can also learn programming languages like Python on their own or through classes
  • Class Central offers details on a range of free AI Ethics online courses
  • Also check out courses and certification offerings from Coursera, such as its Artificial Intelligence: an Overview Specialization

Deloitte points out the difficulties in finding a candidate with all the necessary qualifications. “Trying to find one person with credible experience and knowledge in all these areas is practically impossible. Instead, companies should take a team approach to AI ethics, achieving the required multi-disciplinary capabilities and experience by learning how to seamlessly orchestrate and integrate insights from a variety of specialized experts.”

Things to look for in an University
  • First, decide what you want to major in. Philosophy and computer science are popular options
  • Look at a school’s course offerings specific to AI Ethics
  • Consider a dual or combined degree program (a bachelor’s and master’s done together) where you can tailor your education to be most suited for AI Ethics jobs 
  • Check out the program’s job placement statistics for graduates
  • Consider the cost of tuition, discounts, and local scholarship opportunities (in addition to federal aid)
  • Think about your schedule and flexibility when deciding whether to enroll in an on-campus, online, or hybrid program! 
Things to do in High School and College
Typical Roadmap
AI Ethicist Roadmap
How to Land your 1st job
  • Complete a relevant degree, such as computer science or philosophy, with a focus on AI ethics
  • Get as much practical hands-on experience in NLP, AI, LLMs, etc. as you can before applying
  • Beef up your resume by taking ad hoc courses related to AI Ethics, if your college program didn’t offer enough relevant classes
  • Check out job portals such as Indeed, Simply Hired, Glassdoor, AI-Jobs.net, and The AI Job Board
  • Pay attention to the education and experience requirements listed on job postings, and make note of keywords to reuse in your resume. Keywords may include: 
    • AI auditing
    • AI technology
    • Conflict resolution
    • Critical thinking
    • Cross-functional collaboration
    • Data privacy and security
    • Decision-making
    • Emerging technologies
    • Ethical analysis 
    • Ethical framework development
    • Problem-solving
    • Project management
    • Regulatory compliance
    • Research and evaluation
    • Risk assessment 
    • Transparency and accountability
  • Check out online AI Ethicist resume templates and review potential job interview questions
  • Speak with your school’s career center for assistance writing your resume, doing mock interviews, learning how to dress for interview success, and help to find job fairs 
  • Ask a working AI Ethicist for their personal job-seeking tips!
  • Talk to your academic advisor, professors, and instructors for advice on launching your career
  • Let your network know you’re looking for work! Most jobs are still found through those you know, so start using some of your social capital! 
  • Relocate to where the jobs are. Per Versa Networks, the top states hiring the most in AI are: California, Texas, New York, Washington, Virginia, and Massachusetts
  • Ask permission to list someone as a personal reference on your job application
  • Make a profile on LinkedIn and start writing articles about AI ethics!
How to Climb the Ladder
  • Understand the importance of proper AI model training, and the consequences to businesses when things go wrong. Google's parent company Alphabet lost $100 billion in market value practically overnight when its Bard chatbot debuted…and gave wrong answers. Meanwhile, Bing had to reign in its AI after it developed a strange alter ego named “Sydney” 
  • Follow and carefully document procedures to ensure consistency and accuracy
  • Ask your employer which skills you could enhance to serve their needs better. This could be anything from a more advanced degree to a certification or just a few extra courses
  • Demonstrate high moral values, integrity, and business acumen
  • Collaborate effectively with peers but don’t cave into peer pressure. Just focus on resolving problems
  • Train new ethicists thoroughly, but also listen to their perspectives. Keep an open mind because there are many subjective elements to this field (it is, after all, rooted in philosophy!)
  • Stay engaged with professional organizations and keep up-to-date on breakthroughs. AI is evolving rapidly and teams are working around the world to push to envelope even further
  • Don’t just focus on today’s problems. Forecast growing or potential issues which could arise and plan for contingencies!

One perhaps distant yet still valid ethics concern is—how should humans treat AI as it continues to evolve? Will AI eventually reach the point of self-awareness? If so, will we treat it accordingly…or simply exploit it as a program versus a sentient creation? 

Science fiction authors have long obsessed over such questions. From Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot novel to Star Wars’ discriminatory treatment of droids such as C-3PO, the outlook for AI life forms is often portrayed as bleak. Star Trek: The Next Generation explored this ethical frontier in great detail in the episode “The Measure Of A Man,” in which the ship’s Captain Picard had to “prove Data [a self-aware android] is legally a sentient being with rights and freedoms under Federation law…” 

Recommended Tools/Resources

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Books

Plan B

The path to becoming an AI Ethicist isn’t as clear-cut as it is for most professions. And as AI technology continues to advance, things may change even more. If you want a tech-related job but would like to consider some alternatives, check out the below options! 

  • AI Prompt Engineer
  • Big Data Engineer
  • Business Intelligence Developer
  • Computer Hardware Engineer
  • Computer Programmer
  • Computer Systems Analyst
  • Database Architect
  • Data Scientist
  • Information Security Analyst
  • Mathematician
  • Machine Learning Engineer
  • Robotics Engineer
  • Software Engineer
  • Software Architect
  • Web Developer

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