Artificial Intelligence has become more prevalent than ever into daily lives. From personalized recommendations on Netflix to AI-driven diagnostics in hospitals, its influence can be seen everywhere. But by now we all know that with great power comes great responsibility. So, what happens if an algorithm denies someone a loan unfairly? Or if facial recognition misidentifies a person due to bias in the training data? These aren’t hypothetical questions but real challenges that we face today and AI developers have to answer to.
The concept of privacy, fairness, transparency and AI ethics has come into the picture with the evolution of AI. An AI ethicist is a person who understands the technology and the ethical involvement within it. They work to design systems that are responsible and which can deal with ethical problems associated with AI. For engineers, AI ethics specialist is a growing and in-demand role that they can explore as a career option in 2025.
Why Ethics Matters in AI?
AI systems learn from data, and data reflects society. However, data also has its imperfections. For example, if past hiring in a company favored men for leadership roles, an AI recruitment tool may continue that bias and not consider female applicants. Similarly, if the provided healthcare data is under-representative of certain ethnic groups, diagnostic models may make dangerous errors in diagnosing.
AI without ethics risks creating tools that amplify inequality rather than reduce it. Ethical AI ensures technology is fair, transparent, safe, and trustworthy. It helps AI engineers balance innovation with responsibility, making sure technology improves lives instead of causing harm. AI ethics is a practical concept. In 2025, ethical design choices are being deployed for self-driving cars and chatbot handling user data.
The Rise of AI Ethics as a Career
Recognizing the risks associated with AI, organizations worldwide are investing in AI ethics. Tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and IBM have established internal ethics boards. Governments are passing AI regulations such as the European Union’s AI Act. Hence, companies need specialists who can ensure compliance, reduce risks, and build user trust around AI.
This is where AI ethicist specialist come into the picture. Beyond big tech, industries such as finance, healthcare, cybersecurity, and even entertainment are hiring AI ethics professionals for their services.
Being an AI ethic specialist is a future-proof career. As AI becomes more powerful, society will demand stronger safeguards. Engineers who understand both AI and ethics will be indispensable. Therefore, Engineering students need to think beyond code and computers and look into ethical considerations as well.
What Do AI Ethics Specialists Do?
The role of an AI ethics specialist is multifaceted. They:
- Monitor AI systems for bias and fairness – This means ensuring algorithms don’t discriminate.
- Develop ethical frameworks and guidelines – Involves setting standards for responsible AI use with organisations, states, etc.
- Collaborate with developers and policymakers – To bridging the gap between technology and regulation at the very core.
- Audit algorithms – This audit includes testing how systems perform across different bases and are ethical parameters being considered or not.
- Safeguard privacy – AI ethics specialist needs to have knowledge of data protection laws such as the GDPR, CCPA, digital personal data protection (DPDP) act for protection of rights of individuals. Their work involves designing AI that respects data protection laws.
- Education & Training– AI ethicists also train engineers and decision-makers about ethical risks of AI.
Skills Needed to Become an AI Ethicist
AI ethicist needs more than an understanding of coding languages and programming to work in this role. An AI ethicist has to be someone who understand technical language like an engineer and ethics like a policymaker. This career demands a unique blend of technical and non-technical skills:
- Technical foundation: AI Ethics specialist needs strong understanding of AI, machine learning, data science, and programming to work in this field.
- Non-technical foundation: This role also requires non-technical knowledge of ethics, philosophy, sociology, and law. Since, the role involves more than technology, it is the framing of policies around ethical considerations.
- Soft skills: AI Ethics specialists will need the ability to work across disciplines, critical thinking, and solid communication skills to succeed in this role
- Regulatory awareness: This comes with the domain of being a specialist. AI ethicist also need to have familiarity with global frameworks like the EU AI Act, GDPR, and IEEE’s ethical standards.
Pathway to Becoming an AI Ethics Specialist
If you’re a student pursuing an AI-first BTech degree like a degree from Mirai School of Technology, you already have the technical foundation. Here’s how you can build toward a career in AI ethics:
- Study AI ethics and law: Take courses that explore the social and legal implications of technology.
- Participate in projects and hackathons: Work on AI projects that address fairness, inclusivity, or sustainability.
- Get certified: Online platforms like Coursera, edX, and MIT offer specialized certifications in AI ethics.
- Build a portfolio: Showcase projects where you evaluated bias, implemented explainability, or improved transparency.
- Internships and research: Gain experience with think tanks, tech firms, or NGOs working on AI governance.
- Network and join communities: Be part of conferences and groups dedicated to responsible AI.
Why Students Should Care
For engineering students, AI ethics is more than just a career opportunity it’s their chance to shape the future responsibly. As AI spreads across industries, professionals who combine coding skills with ethical judgment will stand out.
Choosing this field allows you to work at the cutting edge of technology while ensuring social good. It’s perfect for students who want to make an impact beyond coding and those who want to see their innovations change lives positively. And since AI ethics is still a relatively new field, students entering today will be pioneers, setting benchmarks for the generations that follow.
Conclusion
The future of AI is not just about building smarter algorithms; it’s about aligning technology with humanity. That requires engineers who think beyond efficiency and accuracy and ask whether their creations are fair, safe, and inclusive.
For students pursuing an AI-first BTech degree, embracing AI ethics is not optional, it is a necessity. It will give you an edge in the job market, open up exciting career pathways, and allow you to become part of a global movement shaping responsible technology.
Mirai School of Technology
Your foundation of B.Tech degree matters when you are thinking of pursuing a career as an AI ethics specialist. Mirai School of Technology’s AI-First B.Tech Program is the perfect pillar to build your career on. Unlike traditional engineering degrees where AI is treated like an optional subject introduced in the degrees last year, Mirai integrates AI into your curriculum from day one.
We focus on creating students that think beyond code with our interdisciplinary teaching practices. With hands-on projects students work on real world challenges and develop fair, transparent and unbiased solutions that also solve ethical dilemmas. Moreover, we nurture our students by providing them with industry collaborations and internation tie-ups. So you can gain insight on how AI is regulated and ethics is practiced worldwide from your college years itself.
Interested in knowing more? Visit us at andhttps://msot.org/mirai-school-of-technology and learn all about our one-of-its-kind AI B.Tech program today!
