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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FEB 3, 2023 Article

"Forced Migrants," Human Rights, and "Climate Refugees"

Senior Fellow Michael Doyle explores arguments for assistance and asylum that those who are driven by climate to cross international borders can and should claim.

Cathryn Costello, Cornelia Woll, Reem Alabali-Radovan, & Michael Doyle

DEC 15, 2022 Article

Revising MIMC: Finding Solutions to the Challenges of Today's Migration

On October 13-14, 2022, the Model International Mobility Convention (MIMC), Carnegie Council’s migration impact initiative, convened a workshop to find solutions to the most pressing ...

DEC 15, 2022 Article

Family Reunification: Domestic and Human Rights Regional Courts Perspective

Domestic and regional courts have a relevant role not only in applying international law but also in developing it. This paper aims to critically analyze ...

DEC 7, 2022 Article

Five Moments That Will Shape Ethics in International Affairs for 2023

How can ethics help us better understand the world in 2023 and the choices we face within it? Carnegie Council President Joel Rosenthal discusses the FTX ...

OCT 4, 2022 Podcast

Ethics in the Classroom: Empowering the Next Generation

This panel brings together contributors from the Carnegie Council’s journal "Ethics & International Affairs" to explore how ethics can be used in the classroom to ...

SEP 9, 2022 Podcast

Freezing Order: Surviving Vladimir Putin's Wrath, with Bill Browder

What will it take to stop Russia’s President Vladimir Putin? Few have seen his wrath as closely as American-born British financier Bill Browder, who ...

JUN 27, 2022 Podcast

Should American Nonprofits Work In China? with Freedom House's Michael Abramowitz

For decades, American nonprofits and philanthropies worked with Chinese citizens and the Chinese Communist Party. But over the last several years, the space for foreign ...

Ukrainian refugee center in Moldova.

JUN 8, 2022 Article

Ethics & Artificial Intelligence: Migration

With Russia's invasion of Ukraine leading to Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II, this article from researchers Gustavo Macedo and Lutiana Barbosa details ...

MAY 13, 2022 Article

Ethics As We Know it is Gone. It's Time for Ethics Re-envisioned.

Given the troubling state of international affairs there is reason to be greatly concerned about how ethics is framed or co-opted. To meet this moment, ...

MAY 6, 2022 Podcast

For Companies, Could China Be the Next Russia? with Perth Tolle

Isaac Stone Fish and finance expert Perth Tolle discuss the global economic backlash to Russia after the Ukraine invasion, China, and much more.