By Jasmine Worrell
for the 2025 Risky Women Writing Competition, presented in partnership with Ocorian
Suzanne’s plunge into AI ethics reveals a profound truth: in an age dominated by technology, understanding ethical implications isn’t just a bonus—it’s now an essential part of the compliance toolkit, whether she’s ready for it or not. Who knew responsibility could come dressed in a new job title?
Mandatory Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely my own and do not reflect the views, opinions, or positions of my employer.
Suzanne walked into her office on Monday morning with a coffee mug in one hand and planner in the other. As the Chief Compliance Officer of an investment firm, she started her days early, aiming to get through her major tasks before mid-day. She mentally prioritised action items as she scrolled through her emails until one gave her pause. It was a message from the CEO with the subject “Title change”. With mixed feelings of anxiety and anticipation she opened the email.
Suzanne’s title had been changed to Chief Compliance and Artificial Intelligence Ethics Officer. This new title worried her, because in her mind she did not have sufficient expertise to be an AI ethicist. What she wouldn’t say out loud is that she had purposely avoided learning anything about AI believing that it was the sole domain of technological experts. Further, she did not have the formal training needed to be considered an AI ethicist.
What Suzanne did not realize was that she was already an ethicist in a sense. Ethics has long been part and parcel with her profession. While admittedly not ethicists in the strict sense, governance, risk and compliance professionals across industries all require a knowledge of ethical principles and standards. She is already an ethicist by nature of her role, so it should hold true that she could be an AI ethicist.
However, Suzanne is right in her assessment that she needs more training. She cannot be an AI ethicist without first understanding AI and its risks and the relevant ethical principles that can be applied to AI. So, she refilled her coffee mug, took a deep breath, and started her first training session.
AI and Ethics
AI is technology that uses the data it receives to generate outputs, solve problems, make recommendations, and perform other functions. This means that AI can significantly improve efficiency in operations and optimise the use of resources.
Still, there are certain risks associated with AI that cannot be ignored. For example, the quality of the data used in AI models determines whether outputs are dependable. If biases exist in the data used to train the AI model, these biases can be repeated in outputs. Additionally, AI is prone to hallucination risks, where models produce plausible but incorrect answers with confidence. These risks can be significant when the AI output impacts humans in real ways.
In Suzanne’s case, AI risks can affect the financial health of her firm’s clients. This is why AI ethics is so important; it helps mitigate against harm. The Alan Turing Institute defines AI ethics as a set of values, principles, and techniques that employ widely accepted standards of right and wrong to guide moral conduct in the development and use of AI technologies. This means that Suzanne’s role as an AI ethicist will be to ensure that these values and principles are embedded in the culture and operations of her firm.
The Role of the AI Ethicist
A 2025 McKinsey Global AI Survey found that many organisations are redesigning their businesses to capitalise on AI-driven value. However, while more than 75% of respondents noted the use of AI in their operations, less than 20% checked their AI-produced content before use. It is clear that businesses see the value that AI can bring, but it is not so clear whether there is a shared understanding of the risks involved.
AI ethicists bring value by promoting an understanding of AI risks and putting systems, policies, and procedures in place to mitigate against them.
Who should take up the role of an AI Ethicist?
AI ethics should guide the entire AI development lifecycle spanning from the quality of data sets to the deployment and monitoring of AI products. It can therefore be argued that everyone who has to interact with AI to perform their duties should be an AI ethicist.
The Deloitte AI Institute argues that AI ethical issues require insight from a wide range of disciplines, so a team, rather than a designated person, would be better positioned to address AI ethics. This is good news for Suzanne who can benefit from a team of people to help her in carrying out her new duties.
How do we become AI Ethicists
The first step in becoming an AI ethicist is to gain an understanding of how AI works and any associated risks. The UNESCO Recommendation on AI Ethics reminds us that while AI technology has great benefits, without ethical guardrails, there is a risk of reproducing real world biases and discrimination which can threaten human rights and functions. It also reminds us that an AI system cannot replace ultimate human responsibility.
To be AI ethicists we must resonate with this responsibility and dedicate ourselves to understanding ethical values and principles and promoting the ethical use of AI. Like Suzanne, we cannot afford to take the attitude that AI is for technological experts only. It is for everyone, and it affects everyone, and it is up to us to ensure that it is developed and used in an ethical manner.
References
Ammanath, Beena, Does your company need a Chief AI Ethics Officer, an AI Ethicist, AI Ethics Council, or all three, Deloitte AI Institute, Accessed 18 September 2025, https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/services/consulting/articles/ai-ethicist-and-ai-bias.html
Leslie, D. (2019). Understanding artificial intelligence ethics and safety: A guide for the responsible design and implementation of AI systems in the public sector. The Alan Turing Institute. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3240529
The State of AI: How Organisations are Rewiring to capture Value, 2025, McKinsey, https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-state-of-ai
UNESCO, Ethics of Artificial Intelligence: The Recommendation, https://www.unesco.org/en/artificial-intelligence/recommendation-ethics