Applied Ethics

Framing ethical perspectives

Applied ethics refers to the practical applications of the moral principles that govern behavior. Carnegie Council focuses on this field, mostly through the realm of international affairs, by identifying and addressing the most critical ethical issues of today and tomorrow. Our initiatives, content, and experts analyze the way that governments, institutions, and individuals interact and make choices on global issues, such as climate change, emerging technology, and governance.

Featured Applied Ethics Resources

Practical conversations, decision analysis, and more

JUL 5, 2023 Article

A Framework for the International Governance of AI

Carnegie Council, in collaboration with IEEE, proposes a five-part AI governance framework to enable the constructive use of AI.

APR 12, 2022 Podcast

Surveillance Tech's Infinite Loop of Harms, with Chris Gilliard

In this discussion with Senior Fellow Arthur Holland Michel, Chris Gilliard explains why the arc of surveillance technology and novel AI bends toward failures that ...

Explore Our Applied Ethics Resources

Malware notification. CREDIT: <a href=https://www.flickr.com/photos/140988606@N08/28710271786/>Christoph Scholz (CC)</a>.

JAN 31, 2020 Article

Internet Regulations Are the Superbugs of Speech

This essay written by Jennifer Baek is the third prize winner of the high school category in the 2019 student essay contest. What can we learn ...

Likes. CREDIT: <a href=https://pixabay.com/illustrations/facebook-icon-like-thumb-1084449/>Pixabay (CC)</a>.

JAN 31, 2020 Article

Internet Regulation: The Responsibility of the People

This essay written by Justin Oh is the second prize winner of the high school category in the 2019 student essay contest. What have data and ...

Airline passenger uses biometric scanning technology at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, GA. CREDIT: <a href= https://flickr.com/photos/deltanewshub/44275739610/in/album-72157704052266884/>John Paul Van Wert/Rank Studios 2018 (CC)</a>.

JAN 31, 2020 Article

Big Data, Surveillance, and the Tradeoffs of Internet Regulation

This essay written by Seungki Kim is the first prize winner of the high school category in the 2019 student essay contest. Should internet users be ...

U.S. Army soldiers in Iraq, March 2008. CREDIT: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/soldiersmediacenter/2340862578">The U.S. Army</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(CC)</a>

JAN 27, 2020 Podcast

Just War, Unjust Soldiers, & American Public Opinion, with Scott D. Sagan

Do soldiers fighting for a "just cause" have more rights than soldiers fighting on the other side? In this interview following up on an "Ethics & ...

President Trump delivers remarks on Jan. 8, 2020 at the White House. <a href=https://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/49351700228/>Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian/Public Domain</a>.

JAN 13, 2020 Article

A Parting of Values: America First versus Transactionalism

"The existing divide in American foreign policy discourse has been the extent to which the U.S. must actively propagate and spread its values, or ...

Protesters at Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC after the drone strike that killed Soleimani. CREDIT: <a href=https://www.flickr.com/photos/stephenmelkisethian/49329666788/>Stephen Melkisethian (CC)</a>.

JAN 8, 2020 Article

Suleimani Is Dead, but Diplomacy Shouldn't Be

Carnegie Council fellow and Pacific Delegate Philip Caruso advocates for the value of diplomacy in the aftermath of the U.S. killing Iran's general Qassem ...

President Trump delivers remarks on Jan. 8, 2020 at the White House. <a href=https://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/49351700228/>Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian/Public Domain</a>.

JAN 6, 2020 Article

Soleimani and the Democratic Primary Electorate

In the aftermath of the U.S. drone strike on the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, General Qassem Soleimani, senior fellow Nikolas Gvosdev ...

DEC 18, 2019 Podcast

Gene Editing, Slow Science, & Public Empowerment, with Françoise Baylis

In the fourth podcast in Carnegie Council's gene editing podcast series, Dalhousie University's Professor Françoise Baylis, author of "Altered Inheritance," explains what "slow science" ...

DEC 11, 2019 Podcast

The Ethics of Gene Editing & Human Enhancement, with Julian Savulescu

What does "good ethics" means when it comes to gene editing? What types of conversations should we be having about this technology? Julian Savulescu, director ...

DEC 4, 2019 Podcast

Carnegie New Leaders Podcast: Designing an Ethical Algorithm, with Michael Kearns

How can algorithms be made more "ethical"? How can we design AI to protect against biases when it comes to loan applications or policing? UPenn's ...