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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Janos Pasztor and Stephanie Sy

DEC 12, 2016 Podcast

The Ethics and Governance of Geoengineering

The definition of geoengineering is "large-scale human intervention with the Earth in order to change the climate," says Janos Pasztor, and to manage the world's ...

DEC 6, 2016 Podcast

Jamal Sowell on Leadership, Veterans, & Escaping the "Bubble"

"I want to do everything I can to make a difference on the Earth while I'm still here," says Jamal Sowell. Currently a fellow at ...

DEC 5, 2016 Podcast

Artificial Intelligence: What Everyone Needs to Know

We're asking the wrong questions about artificial intelligence, says AI expert Jerry Kaplan. Machines are not going to take over the world. They don't have ...

Protest at Standing Rock, November 2016. CREDIT: Max Collins

NOV 30, 2016 Article

Solidarity in Dark Times: Why the World Must Fight for Collective Human Rights Now

"It is time for the world to move away from liberal and neoliberal-centric understandings of human rights that underline the importance of the individual, and ...

CREDIT: Terence Hurley

NOV 29, 2016 Podcast

The Indispensable Role of Trust: A Conversation with Judge William Webster

Don't miss this candid conversation with Judge Webster, current chairman of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, and former director of both the CIA and the ...

NOV 18, 2016 Podcast

A Conversation on Climate Change & Forced Displacement with David Sussman

Conflict and war are often talked about as main drivers of forced displacement, but researcher David Sussman also points to climate change and consumerism as ...

OCT 28, 2016 Article

Briefing Paper on Climate Engineering

Climate engineering is defined as large-scale, deliberate intervention in the Earth system to counteract climate change. Two major sets of techniques are usually included: those ...

OCT 18, 2016 Podcast

Peacemakers in Action: An In-depth Discussion of Religious Peacebuilding

Don't miss this remarkable conversation with Joyce Dubensky, CEO of Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding, and one of Tanenbaum's peacemakers, Rev. Bill Lowrey, who spent ...

Moshe "Bogie" Yaalon. CREDIT: Amanda Ghanooni

OCT 5, 2016 Podcast

How to Achieve Military Victory and Maintain National and Personal Ethics

Moshe Yaalon: "Military excellence has handed us an advantage on the battlefield, but this edge can only be maintained if we preserve our ethical superiority. ...

SEP 28, 2016 Podcast

Karin Aggestam on Sweden's Feminist Foreign Policy

In 2015, the newly formed Swedish government not only declared that it was going to be a feminist government but its foreign minister, Margot Wallström, ...