Hello there,

There are three questions asked by you. so to make this one a bit simpler, let us break down into parts and get you the answer.

Firstly. Yes. A software engineer can become an AI engineer.

Secondly. You have to be thorough and clear with the conceptual knowledge and working of AI engineering skills. There are certain pre-requisites for the same:-

Education Prerequisites

• Bachelor’s degree in IT, Computer Science, Statistics, Data Science, Finance, etc.
• Master’s degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Cognitive Science, Data Science, etc.
• Certifications in Data Science, Machine Learning, etc.

Technical/ Non-Technical AI Engineer Skills

• Programming Languages like C, Java, Python, R, Prolog, etc
• Statistics, Calculus, Algebra
• Algorithms and Applied Mathematics
• Natural Language Processing
• Neural Networks
• Communication Skills
• Analytical Mind
• Rapid Prototyping

Third. It is not necessary to do B.Tech or B.E. in Computer Science. You can do any of the above mentioned courses for your  graduation. But you have to have the required skills to excel into this field.

Hope this information helps you.

Good Luck!