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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JUN 27, 2022 Podcast

Should American Nonprofits Work In China? with Freedom House's Michael Abramowitz

For decades, American nonprofits and philanthropies worked with Chinese citizens and the Chinese Communist Party. But over the last several years, the space for foreign ...

Ukrainian refugee center in Moldova.

JUN 8, 2022 Article

Ethics & Artificial Intelligence: Migration

With Russia's invasion of Ukraine leading to Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II, this article from researchers Gustavo Macedo and Lutiana Barbosa details ...

MAY 13, 2022 Article

Ethics As We Know it is Gone. It's Time for Ethics Re-envisioned.

Given the troubling state of international affairs there is reason to be greatly concerned about how ethics is framed or co-opted. To meet this moment, ...

MAY 6, 2022 Podcast

For Companies, Could China Be the Next Russia? with Perth Tolle

Isaac Stone Fish and finance expert Perth Tolle discuss the global economic backlash to Russia after the Ukraine invasion, China, and much more.

MAY 3, 2022 Article

Why Democracy vs. Autocracy Misses the Point

Today, the world seems to be laser-focused on the struggle of "democracy vs. autocracy," but what if this ideological debate is missing the point? Columbia ...

APR 27, 2022 Podcast

The Genesis Machine: Our Quest to Rewrite Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology, with Amy Webb

The global pandemic and investments in mRNA COVID vaccines have accelerated worldwide interest in the field of synthetic biology--a field that unifies chemistry, biology, computer ...

APR 26, 2022 Podcast

The Promise & Peril of Brain Machine Interfaces, with Ricardo Chavarriaga

In this "Artificial Intelligence & Equality" podcast, Senior Fellow Anja Kaspersen talks with Dr. Ricardo Chavarriaga about the promise and peril of brain-machine interfaces and cognitive ...

APR 19, 2022 Podcast

Why Democracy vs. Autocracy Misses the Point, with Jean-Marie Guéhenno

Senior Fellow Anja Kapsersen is joined by Professor Jean-Marie Guéhenno for a conversation about virtual communities and the advent of the age of data.

Cybersecurity. CREDIT: Pixabay.

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 ...

APR 8, 2022 Podcast

Carnegie New Leaders Podcast: Decoding the Ethics of Propaganda, with Emma Briant

Alicia Fawcett, advisory board member of Carnegie New Leaders, speaks with Dr. Emma Briant, associate at University of Cambridge University Centre for Financial Reporting & Accountability ...