Emerging Technology

Framing ethical perspectives

Emerging Technologies are technologies whose development and/or practical applications are still largely unrealized. Carnegie Council’s events, experts, and initiatives focus on the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies and aim to map the field, illuminate topics requiring further research, and build a diverse community of experts, with the goal of ensuring that these systems are developed and deployed in a just, responsible, and inclusive manner.

Featured Emerging Technology Resources

Artificial intelligence, climate-altering technologies, and more

APR 9, 2024 Video

Algorithms of War: The Use of AI in Armed Conflict

From Gaza to Ukraine, the military applications of AI are fundamentally reshaping the ethics of war. How should policymakers navigate AI’s inherent trade-offs?

MAR 27, 2024 Article

The Specter of EMP Weapons in Space

Visiting Fellow Zhanna Malekos Smith details the danger of electromagnetic pulse weapons. How can nations protect themselves from this catastrophic threat?

Explore Our Emerging Technology Resources

Around the Bataclan, Paris, November 2015. CREDIT: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jmenj/22442015744" target="_blank">JeanneMenjoulet&Cie</a>

MAY 24, 2016 Article

The Symbiotic Relationship between Western Media and Terrorism

Mass media and terrorism have become ever more intertwined in a mutually beneficial relationship often described as 'symbiotic.' This column examines that dynamic and ...

APR 22, 2016 Podcast

New Paradigms for Refugee Camps and for Humanitarian Aid Itself

Kilian Kleinschmidt describes how he, together with the refugees themselves, transformed the Zaatari refugee camp from what the media called a "hellhole of humanitarian aid" ...

Devin Stewart (on left) and Michael Ignatieff (center) with student leaders and activists at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

APR 21, 2016 Article

In Search of a Global Ethic

Research in 25 cities in eight countries on five continents shows that norms across cultures may not be so different after all.

APR 15, 2016 Podcast

A Conversation with Krista Tippett on Becoming Wise

What does it mean to be human, and how do we want to live? "We possess intelligence. We possess consciousness. And we have this capacity ...

MAR 10, 2016 Podcast

The Industries of the Future

Driverless cars, designer babies, crypto currencies, cyber warfare, pervasive "sousveillance" that erodes our privacy, often with our consent--what are the upsides and downsides of this ...

Jack Conway

FEB 23, 2016 Article

Better Transportation for a Better City

Did you know that the longest traffic jam ever recorded--192 miles--occurred in São Paulo? "Not only would an expansion of the subway system increase ...

CREDIT: <a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/" target="_blank">freedigitalphotos.net</a>

FEB 22, 2016 Article

Ethics in Online Activism: False Senses of Social Action or Effective Source of Change?

"There is a growing skepticism of whether or not sectors of online activism are more self-interested than socially interested," writes Rimah Jaber. When and how ...

JAN 14, 2016 Podcast

Humans Need Not Apply: A Guide to Wealth and Work in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

"Artificial intelligence" is a misnomer, says computer scientist Jerry Kaplan. Machines are not intelligent; their programmers are. What we're seeing is a huge acceleration of ...

Credit: <a href="http://www.new-harvest.org/ target="_blank">New Harvest</a>.

DEC 14, 2015 Article

Policy Innovations Digital Magazine (2006-2016): Innovations: From Lab to Table

"New Harvest" wants to kick-start a bio-economy of animal products made without animals. Some have already called this revolution "the next .com."

NOV 16, 2015 Podcast

Addressing Root Causes of Unrest in Arab Countries

What's the best way to create stability in the Middle East and North Africa? Get more young people into the workforce, says Ron Bruder, founder ...