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
MAY 22, 2009 • Article
Policy Innovations Digital Magazine (2006-2016): Briefings: Mass Incarceration as Social Control
Historians of mass incarceration in the U.S. have long argued for an assessment of the U.S. criminal justice system in terms of human ...
MAY 22, 2009 • Podcast
Global Ethics Corner: How Do We Know When We've Been Bad?
To become ethical, must behavior be grounded in a religious faith or other system of belief? How do we judge the behavior of states and ...
MAY 19, 2009 • Article
Policy Innovations Digital Magazine (2006-2016): Commentary: Our Biology Makes Us All Truly Equal
"Race" is a persistent example of our imagination.
MAY 8, 2009 • Podcast
Global Ethics Corner: The Health Legacy of Nuclear Test Veterans
Participants in Britain's nuclear weapons testing program argued recently that health was damaged by radiation. Who is responsible? Should compensation be a legal matter or ...
MAY 1, 2009 • Podcast
Global Ethics Corner: Jumping Parties: Principles or Pragmatism?
Senator Specter is now a Democrat. Was his decision to switch parties principled, pragmatic, or just expedient?
APR 27, 2009 • Article
Policy Innovations Digital Magazine (2006-2016): Commentary: A Blight on the Nation: Slavery in Today's America
Certain things we know to be true. We know that the South kept slaves, and the North fought a righteous war of liberation. We know ...
APR 24, 2009 • Article
Policy Innovations Digital Magazine (2006-2016): Commentary: The G-20's Global Hit-and-Run
The economic crisis has been compared to familiar catastrophes such as the sinking Titanic and a tsunami. But the car crash analogy works much better ...
APR 24, 2009 • Podcast
Global Ethics Corner: For Torture, Who Should We Prosecute?
Torture is wrong. So who is culpable? The point people? The memo writers? The overseers? No one? Everyone?
APR 22, 2009 • Article
Policy Innovations Digital Magazine (2006-2016): Innovations: Spring 2009 Poetry Contest Winners
Policy Innovations is pleased to announce the winners of its Spring 2009 Poetry Contest. The following five submissions, each from a different city, represent the inspiration ...
APR 22, 2009 • Podcast
Restoring Trust in the Global Financial System
This Workshop for Ethics in Business panel analyzes the growing lack of trust in the financial system and how it threatens to keep the global ...