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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The Javits New York Medical Station, March 31, 2020. CREDIT: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JNYMS_Operations_(5).jpg">US Navy/Barry Riley (Public Domain)</a>

FEB 8, 2021 Podcast

Pandemic Ethics: Where Do We Go from Here?

The pandemic has made us all shockingly aware of the way that a highly infectious disease exposes the moral frailties of our social systems. In ...

JAN 27, 2021 Podcast

Right/Wrong: How Technology Transforms Our Ethics, with Juan Enriquez

Many shifts in the right vs. wrong pendulum are affected by advances in technology. In his new book "Right/Wrong," Juan Enriquez reflects on the ...

Joseph R. Biden, Jr. being sworn in as 46th president of the United States, January 20, 2021. <br>CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:President_Biden_taking_oath_of_office_(cropped).png">Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies/Public Domain</a>

JAN 21, 2021 Article

Revisiting the Ethical Calculus: Which Obligations Take Precedence?

In President Joe Biden's first day in office, he signed executive orders returning the United States to the Paris climate accords and took steps to ...

DEC 21, 2020 Podcast

AI & Equality Initiative: Algorithmic Bias & the Ethical Implications

In this AI & Equality Initiative podcast, Senior Fellow Anja Kaspersen speaks with three researchers working with the University of Melbourne's Centre for AI and Digital ...

CREDIT: <a href="https://pixabay.com/illustrations/abstract-geometric-world-map-1278080/">Pixabay (CC)</a>.

DEC 17, 2020 Podcast

The Technical Limits of AI Ethics

In recent years, the global discussion on "AI ethics" has succeeded in mainstreaming key principles to limit the risks that would otherwise arise from the ...

DEC 11, 2020 Podcast

AI & Equality Initiative: The Path to Meaningful Connectivity, with Doreen Bogdan-Martin

In the first AI & Equality Iniatitive (AIEI) podcast, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, director of the Telecommunications Development Bureau of the International Telecommunication Union, joins AIEI Senior Fellow ...

CREDIT: <a href="https://flic.kr/p/a6kuVE">Carlos Reusser</a>/<a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">Public Domain</a>

DEC 7, 2020 Podcast

Vaccine Ethics: What Are We Learning from COVID-19?

As the race for COVID–19 vaccines enters its next stage, we are faced with broad ethical challenges, along with specific questions of principle and practice. ...

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken &  Vice President Joe Biden in Honolulu, July 2016. CREDIT: <a href="https://dod.defense.gov/OIR/gallery/igphoto/2001574265/">Staff Sgt. Chris Hubenthal/U.S.Department of Defense</a>/<a href="https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/">Public Domain</a>

NOV 23, 2020 Article

Competing Ethics in the Biden Administration?

In this blog post responding to Thomas Wright's recent article in "The Atlantic," Senior Fellow Nikolas Gvosdev outlines the three different "camps" vying for influence ...

SEP 23, 2020 Podcast

The Last Million: Europe's Displaced Persons from World War to Cold War, with David Nasaw

The aftershocks of World War II did not end with German capitulation in May 1945. Millions were displaced, including concentration camp survivors, POWs, slave laborers, political ...

Satellite view of California, September 9, 2020. Source: <a href=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GOES17_geocolor_Western_US_2020-09-09_1100AM.jpg>U.S. National Weather Service/Wikimedia (Public Domain)</a>.

SEP 11, 2020 Article

Ecological Dimension of Foreign Policy

One of the emerging narratives about United States foreign policy is the use of climate change as a central organizing principle. How can ecological and ...