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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MAY 31, 2018 Podcast

Why Ethics Matter in International Affairs

How can you ensure that ethics are a core component, not only of an international affairs education, but of graduates' performance once they go out ...

MAY 30, 2018 Article

Why is the Media Unfair to the United Nations?

Journalist Javier Delgado Rivera covers the UN regularly. He lays out the many and complex reasons why the media coverage of the UN focuses on ...

Kutupalong refugee camp near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. November 2017. CREDIT: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dfid/37930256914">UK Department for International Development</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(CC)</a>

MAY 22, 2018 Podcast

The Rohingya Crisis in Bangladesh, with BRAC's Muhammad Musa

Muhammad Musa is executive director of BRAC, which is working with the one million Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh. He describes the problems ...

MAY 17, 2018 Podcast

Climate Change and the Power to Act: An Ethical Approach for Practical Progress

We are already living with climate change; and although countries have pledged to limit global warming to 2 °C, success seems highly unlikely. This panel explores ...

The Wall Street Bull. CREDIT: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/herval/51039207/">herval</a> (<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC</a>)

MAY 17, 2018 Podcast

Greed, Movies, and Capitalism with Ethicist John Paul Rollert

Every capitalist economy struggles with how to come to terms with greed, says John Paul Rollert, an expert on the intellectual history of capitalism. He ...

MAY 17, 2018 Transcript

What Robots Represent and Why it Matters, with Robert Sparrow

Robots are not neutral. People attach social meanings to them. Robert Sparrow discusses the politics of sex and race in the robots that humans create, ...

MAY 17, 2018 Transcript

Virtual Emotion for Robot - Towards Human Support Robot

Robots do not have volition (free will) yet, so they are subject to human ethics as they are controlled by humans. But once they have ...

MAY 17, 2018 Transcript

AI and Safety, with Kush Varshney

When it comes to machine learning, are safety and ethics the same thing?

MAY 17, 2018 Transcript

AI, Public Policy, and Aging Society, with Yoshinori Hiroi

"The issues of aging are a common agenda for the industrialized countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, and Japan. AI technology can be beneficial ...

MAY 17, 2018 Transcript

Designing the Workplace with AI and Robots, with Arisa Ema

In Japan we used to hear the phrase "AI and robots will solve our social problems." But AI and robots also create other new social ...