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 ...

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OCT 16, 2018 Video

Ethics in Business: In Their Own Words, with ACCA's Helen Brand

Helen Brand, chief executive of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), explains the role of ethics in accounting. She details the Association's role in ...

Donald Trump at the 72nd United Nations General Assembly, September 2017. CREDIT: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/36747060754/">The White House/Public Domain</a>

OCT 2, 2018 Podcast

All Options Are on the Table: Threats and Coercive Diplomacy in Foreign Affairs

Are there ever justifiable reasons for issuing threats to achieve foreign policy objectives? In particular, are President Trump's threats against Iran justified? Don't miss this ...

Detail from book cover.

SEP 28, 2018 Podcast

On the Future: Prospects for Humanity, with Martin Rees

Cosmologist and astrophysicist Martin Rees discusses the future of humanity on Earth and beyond, foreseeing a time when space pioneers may use gene splicing and ...

CREDIT: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dak1b/4970045694/sizes/l">Ryan Anderson</a> (<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">CC</a>)

AUG 7, 2018 Article

The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Chemical Weapons

"Chemical weapons have been used in almost every decade since their advent just over a century ago. They are not a specter, like nuclear weapons. ...

CREDIT: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fajalar/7796078926">Matthew Oliphant</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/">(CC)</a>

JUL 25, 2018 Podcast

Twitter's Moral Flaws, with Mark Hansen

Columbia Journalism School's Mark Hansen, along with his students and "New York Times" journalists, conducted deep, firsthand research into Twitter, buying followers and charting networks, ...

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump at the 2017 G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 2017. CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vladimir_Putin_and_Donald_Trump_at_the_2017_G-20_Hamburg_Summit_(3).jpg">Kremlin.ru (CC)</a>

JUL 24, 2018 Article

The Assault on Ethics

"A year and a half into the Trump presidency, its most consequential feature thus far is its assault on ethics," writes Carnegie Council President Joel ...

Child at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility, 2014. CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CBP_Processing_Unaccompanied_Children_(15020197208).jpg"> Eddie Perez</a> , U.S. Customs & Border Protection, public domain

JUN 20, 2018 Article

The Zero Tolerance Migration Policy: Two Moral Objections

"The ends do not always justify the means, especially when children are involved." It's important to lay out all the ways Trump's policy of separating ...

DPRK–USA Singapore Summit,  June 12, 2018. CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trump_and_Kim_shaking_hands_in_the_summit_room.jpg">Dan Scavino Jr.</a> via Wikipedia, Public Domain

JUN 14, 2018 Article

In Defense of the Trump-Kim Summit

"As a long-time Asia watcher, I feel it's important to defend the value of the Singapore summit. The meeting has served to establish rapport between ...

Nadine Strossen. CREDIT: Amanda Ghanooni.

JUN 11, 2018 Podcast

HATE: Why We Should Resist It with Free Speech, Not Censorship, with Nadine Strossen

Nadine Strossen gives a rousing, detailed, and convincing defense of free speech as it is laid out in the First Amendment. "American law really is ...

CREDIT: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/59937401@N07/5856675881">Images Money</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(CC)</a>

JUN 4, 2018 Podcast

Golden Visas, Dreamers, & Ethics in Immigration, with Ayelet Shachar

There is a global surge in "golden visas" for the super-rich, who often have "no connection to the country other than a wire transfer, the ...