Whether we like it or not artificial intelligence has become a part of our everyday life. Some welcomed it with delight, while others fear that AI will steal their jobs. Should ethics advisors be concerned too?

Fear not, my fellow ethics advisors, for it is highly unlikely that AI will replace us in EU-funded projects anytime soon.

In EU-funded research project ethics advisors or ethics advisory boards are often:

• Required for projects involving sensitive areas (e.g., human subjects, AI, genetic data).
• Responsible for identifying ethical issues, ensuring compliance with EU laws (like GDPR), and guiding researchers through evolving norms and values.
• Expected to deal with nuanced, context-sensitive dilemmas where cultural, legal, and philosophical judgment is essential.

Artificial intelligence will not be able to replace these roles in the near future because ethical complexity requires human judgment. AI currently lacks moral reasoning, empathy, and the ability to navigate gray areas or conflicting principles.

Many ethical decisions require dialogue, debate, and an understanding of cultural or institutional norms—not just rule-checking. Furthermore, EU’s legal and ethical frameworks emphasize human oversight. The EU’s Ethics Review process under Horizon Europe explicitly supports independent human oversight. The AI Act (approved in 2024) also emphasizes human-in-the-loop for high-risk applications, reinforcing the idea that human judgment remains essential in ethics-sensitive domains.

And last, but not the least, there are the issues of trust and accountability. Trust in ethical review depends on transparency and accountability. Relying on a black-box AI could reduce both. Ethics advisors are expected to challenge assumptions, push back on risks, and raise uncomfortable truths—areas where AI may either fail or be too compliant.

On the other hand, AI may be helpful in many ways. It can screen proposals for standard compliance (e.g., GDPR alignment, presence of consent forms), flag potential risks using checklists or past case data, provide drafts or suggestions for ethical statements or summarize complex ethics frameworks or compare national/international standards. In this sense, AI could be a co-pilot for ethics advisors, not a replacement.

In conclusion, according to ChatGPT, likelihood that AI will fully replace ethics advisors in EU-funded science projects is low (under 10% in the next 10–15 years). However, the likelihood of AI becoming a support tool for ethics advisors is high.