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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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 ...

COVID-19 samples being studied at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, June 2020.<br> CREDIT: <a href="https://www.army.mil/article/238434/usaisec_enabling_rapid_secure_communications_for_army_covid_19_research">U.S. Army photo by Mike Walters</a>

SEP 3, 2020 Article

The Ethics of Non-Cooperation: COVID Vaccine Questions

The search for a COVID-19 vaccine is another example of how the pandemic has increased competition among nations, writes Senior Fellow Nikolas Gvosdev. Will the ...

Solidarity protest against anti-black violence in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, June 2020. Credit: <a href=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Solidarity_Protest_Against_Anti-black_violence_in_the_US_and_EU_DSC02745.jpg>Karen Elliot/Wikimedia (CC)</a>.

JUL 28, 2020 Article

We The People: Democracy in 2020

Mass protests have erupted around the world over the brutal killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. Carnegie New Leader Rachel Baranowski argues ...

PPE & COVID-19 testing kits arrive in the Philippines from China, March 2020. <br>CREDIT: <a href=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:China_COVID19_test_kit_PH_donation_10.jpg>Philippines Presidential Communications Operations Office/Wikimedia (CC)</a>.

JUL 28, 2020 Article

Ethical Dilemmas in Ensuring Human Security

In this blog post, Carnegie Council Senior Fellow Nikolas Gvosdev reflects on his recent "Human Security is National Security in a Time of Pandemic" webinar ...