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
MAY 10, 2022 • Podcast
Making Decisions When Values Conflict or Are Prioritized Differently, with Paul Root Wolpe
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 ...
Related Initiatives
Carnegie Ethics Accelerator
The Carnegie Ethics Accelerator is a new kind of incubator designed to empower ethics in the face of swiftly evolving challenges in technology and public policies.
Ethics & International Affairs Journal
Ethics & International Affairs is the quarterly journal of Carnegie Council. It aims to close the gap between the theory and practice of ethics.
Carnegie Ethics Fellows
The Carnegie Ethics Fellows program (CEF) seeks to cultivate the next generation of ethical global leaders across business, policy, technology, NGOs, and academia.
Explore Our Applied Ethics Resources
FEB 14, 2013 • Article
Saddam's Pistol, and Yours
"In the current debate over gun regulation a simple point is being missed. Every citizen has the right to a gun. But shouldn't every man, ...
JAN 18, 2013 • Podcast
Ethics Matter: Top Risks and Ethical Decisions 2013 with Ian Bremmer
"There are three big things happening right now in the world: China rising, Middle East exploding, Europe muddling through. Those are the things that truly ...
DEC 17, 2012 • Article
Israel and Hamas: Time to Talk?
Hamas is unlikely to ever become a partner for peace with Israel, but it can be a partner for coexistence, albeit a limited and uneasy ...
DEC 6, 2012 • Article
Policy Innovations Digital Magazine (2006-2016): Commentary: Send Salads to Ethiopia, and Solar Panels to Senegal
We wouldn't send salads as food relief to a starving country, so why is the Overseas Private Investment Corporation doing the equivalent in the energy ...
DEC 3, 2012 • Article
Hard Questions for Humanitarians
Do international laws intended to constrain war and uphold human rights unwittingly legitimate violence? Zach Dorfman of Carnegie Council reviews Eyal Weizman's book, "The Least ...
DEC 3, 2012 • Podcast
Corey Brettschneider on Hate Speech
How should states deal with hate speech? In the U.S., the prevailing attitude is that hate speech should be protected. In other liberal democracies, ...
NOV 29, 2012 • Podcast
Human Rights Watch: Promoting Ethical Behavior When It's Contested
It's the job of Human Rights Watch to shine a spotlight on human rights abuses worldwide, including in the U.S., says its executive director ...
NOV 28, 2012 • Article
Losing the Violence Monopoly
The poisonous cocktail of widespread police and military brutality, increasingly lethal inter-communal ethnic violence in several regions, the anxious countdown to the March 2013 presidential elections, ...
NOV 26, 2012 • Article
Ethics, International Relations, and Global Environmental Governance
Lorraine Elliott's recent lecture in Singapore drew on more than a decade of work to canvass ways in which we might understand--and indeed make sense ...
NOV 26, 2012 • Podcast
Global Ethics Corner: Is It Too Soon to Normalize Relations with Burma?
As Burma begins to reform its government, the U.S. has been quick to begin normalizing relations with the Asian state. Are geostrategic considerations overshadowing ...