Ethical development, deployment, and use of artificial intelligence is essential to ensure responsible innovation, fairness, trustworthiness, and societal benefit.
- When developing AI systems, it is crucial to prioritise human well-being, autonomy, and dignity.
- AI should enhance user capabilities and decision-making processes.
- Design systems to accommodate people of all abilities and demographics.
- Provide clear, understandable explanations of AI functionality and outcomes.
- Incorporate mechanisms to prevent harm, misuse, or unintended negative consequences.
- Regularly incorporate user feedback to improve AI systems and address potential concerns.
- Transparency builds trust and understanding between users and AI systems, making it essential to communicate AI processes.
- Users should always be aware of when they interact with AI technologies.
- Provide detailed yet understandable explanations of how the AI operates and makes decisions.
- Share potential risks, limitations, and intended uses of AI systems openly with stakeholders.
- Be transparent about how AI models collect, use, and safeguard data.
- Maintain an open dialogue with users, researchers, and regulators to ensure ongoing alignment with ethical standards.
- Develop and maintain AI systems to promote equitable outcomes and avoid discrimination.
- Conduct regular audits to identify and mitigate biases in data and algorithms.
- Use diverse datasets to prevent systemic inequalities from being embedded into AI systems.
- Test and validate systems to guarantee fair treatment for all users.
- Build AI solutions that actively address and reduce societal inequities.
- Ensure compliance with laws and ethical norms to safeguard fairness and equality.
- Protecting user data and respecting privacy rights is critical when designing and implementing AI systems.
- Only collect the data necessary for the intended purpose.
- Ensure sensitive data is anonymised to protect user identities.
- Employ appropriate security measures to protect data from breaches or misuse.
- Obtain explicit, informed consent for data collection and usage.
- Align all practices with relevant privacy laws and regulations such as GDPR.
- Accountability mechanisms ensure the responsible use of AI and the ability to address ethical challenges effectively.
- Establish specialised teams or committees to oversee ethical compliance.
- Conduct periodic reviews to verify adherence to ethical policies.
- Define transparent processes to identify, address, and resolve issues related to AI systems.
- Provide ongoing education for teams to remain informed on best practices and emerging ethical challenges.
- Maintain accessible avenues for reporting concerns or suggesting improvements.
- As technology and societal expectations evolve, so should the ethical frameworks surrounding AI.
- Regularly review and update policies to address new challenges and opportunities in AI ethics.
- Partner with global AI ethics communities to exchange insights and best practices.
- Stay informed of advancements and risks to refine ethical approaches proactively.
I recently looked at Certified Ethical Emerging Technologist (CEET), a certification from CertNexus. The certification marketplace is expanding as more professional bodies offer qualifications in AI. CertNexus also offer the Certified AI Practitioner (CAIP) certification.
I chose to focus on the Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional (AIGP) from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) and both Certified ISO/IEC 42001 Lead Auditor and Certified ISO/IEC 42001 Lead Implementer from the Professional Evaluation and Certification Board (PECB).
In a rapidly evolving field, embedding ethics into AI development is not a constraint, it is a critical enabler of long-term trust and value.

Information security, risk management, internal audit, and governance professional with over 25 years of post-graduate experience gained across a diverse range of private and public sector projects in banking, insurance, telecommunications, health services, charities and more, both in the UK and internationally – MORE