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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APR 20, 2017 Podcast

The Intersection of Religion, Identity, and Peacemaking with Rev. Robert Chase

Rev. Robert Chase has spent 10 years as director of Intersections International, working "to bring disparate groups together in search of peaceful and socially just resolution ...

APR 19, 2017 Podcast

A Conversation on Statelessness with Kristy A. Belton

There are over 10 million stateless people around the world, says researcher Kristy A. Belton, with, often, limited access to banking, education, health care, and countless ...

APR 17, 2017 Podcast

Megatech: Technology in 2050

In this insightful interview, "Economist" executive editor Daniel Franklin discusses driverless cars, gene-editing, artificial intelligence, and much more. Are we entering an "accelerando" stage of ...

MAR 24, 2017 Podcast

The Lockerbie Bombing: The Search for Justice

In 1988, a bomb detonated on Pan Am 103, killing all on board and devastating the Scottish town of Lockerbie. A Libyan was convicted of the crime. ...

MAR 23, 2017 Podcast

Teaching Ethics at the Coast Guard Academy with Lt. Tony Gregg

Lt. Tony Gregg is an active-duty officer and instructor of moral and ethical philosophy for the Coast Guard Academy. In this talk, he discusses his ...

May 2, 2015. A boat carrying 369 mainly Eritrean migrants, 45 km off the Libyan coast. The bilge pump was blocked and water was pouring in. Everyone was evacuated safely to a rescue boat and taken to Sicily. ©Jason Florio - all rights reserved.

MAR 22, 2017 Article

No Place for Eritreans

Eritreans are fleeing their repressive homeland at the rate of 5,000 a month. Yet once they manage to leave, new dangers await these hapless refugees, from ...

Orville Schell. CREDIT: Amanda Ghanooni.

MAR 21, 2017 Podcast

Orville Schell on China's Role in the World

Orville Schell has been reporting on China since 1970. In this wide-ranging and insightful conversation he looks at China and the U.S. exit from TPP; ...

MAR 13, 2017 Podcast

Trump and the Intelligence Community: The View from a Former CIA Analyst

Eisenstat spent most of her government career in the background, but Trump's unorthodox CIA address convinced her to add to the public discourse in "a ...

Protest against the travel ban at Dulles International Airport in Virgina, January 28, 2017. CREDIT: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/geoliv/31769361243/">Geoff Livingston</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">(CC)</a>

MAR 3, 2017 Podcast

Human Rights Narratives and Active Resistance, with Sujata Gadka-Wilcox

Gadkar-Wilcox says that when it comes to human rights, we need to ask more questions about systems and origins. This is especially important now, as ...

MAR 2, 2017 Podcast

Cultural Relations and their Effects on Politics and Economics

J. P. Singh describes himself as working at the intersection of culture and political economy, examining how ways of life and their symbolic representations bleed ...