The role of the AI Ethicist in AI adoption

The AI Ethicist is becoming an increasing important role as organisations develop and use AI systems. Ethical concerns such as the violation of human rights can be inherent within AI systems and hence, the overarching role of the AI Ethicist is to ensure that AI systems are fair, transparent and does not cause harm.¹

The Ethical Guidelines for Trustworthy AI ² lists four ethical principles that are deep-rooted in fundamental human rights:

1. Respect for human autonomy: AI systems should support humans, create meaningful work and should augment and complement how humans behave and interact in social and cultural settings.  They should not manipulate or make humans subordinate in any way.

2. Prevention of harm: AI systems should not cause harm to the physical or mental wellbeing of persons and the environment.  Vulnerable persons should be protected and power distance and dynamics should not be adversely affected.

3. Fairness: AI systems must be fair for different individuals and groups, free from bias, deceit, discrimination and provide equal opportunity.

4. Explainability: AI systems must be transparent and how decisions are made should be explainable.

Against this backdrop, some of the responsibilities of the AI Ethicist include:

1. Assisting with determining ethical principles that the organisation will adhere to

   This exercise done in conjunction with the Leaders, who then communicate the principles to employees. Ethical principles are general viewed favourably and can enhance trust and adoption of AI solutions.

   
   

2. Creating ethical guidelines and standards that AI solutions must adhere to³ Guidelines that include fairness and support for humans in the workplace, when applied to AI systems tend to receive approval from employees and better adoption statistics.

   
   

3. Implementing an ethics strategy for AI systems and advising teams on ethical AI practices so its embedded in the organisation’s ways of working ³

   This tactic creates ongoing awareness and 'buzz' about the importance of ethics in the AI systems used by the organisation, which over the long term makes employees less fearful and open to adopting AI systems.

   
   

4. Conducting ethics reviews at all stages of product development and especially before AI product launch flagging any issues that need to be rectified ³

   This activity ensures that AI systems are launched without known ethical issues hence increasing confidence and adoption.

   
   

5. Recording unplanned ethical issues with misbehaving AI systems already launched and implement strategies swiftly to rectify the issue ¹

   This tactic shows that the organisation is serious about adherence to AI ethics principles, which builds trust and makes employees more open to adoption when issues are resolved.

   
   

6. AI literacy and Continuous learning

   This includes keeping up to date on AI solutions in general and applicable to the industry, AI regulation and the evolving ethical landscape. This allows the AI Ethicist toolkit to be relevant so appropriate tactics can be implemented that will lead to successful adoption for AI systems.

   
   

This list of responsibilities that leads to adoption of AI systems is by no means complete.  As AI systems evolve and the landscape changes, this role will evolve and possibly receive more attention, as we strive to implement AI systems in an ethical way and have them adopted across the organisation.

References

[1] Deloitte. (2021) Does your company need a Chief AI Ethics Officer, an AI Ethicist, AI Ethics Council, or all three? Positioning your organization for success on AI Ethics Available at: https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/services/consulting/articles/ai-ethicist-and-ai-bias.html (Accessed: 5 July 2026).

[2] European Commission. (2019) Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI, p. 14. Available at: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/ethics-guidelines-trustworthy-ai .(Accessed: 5 July 2026).

[3] University of San Diego. (2023) The Importance of AI Ethicists & How to Become One Available at: https://onlinedegrees.sandiego.edu/ai-ethicist-career/ (Accessed: 5 July 2026).