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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JUN 8, 2012 Podcast

Antonio Franceschet on the International Criminal Court

What is the role of the International Criminal Court today?  What are its strengths and limitations? In this informative interview, Professor Antonio Franceschet discusses the ...

JUN 7, 2012 Podcast

Every Nation for Itself: Winners and Losers in a G-Zero World

What's a G-zero world? It's when no one takes a global leadership role, when no one is willing to, and no one is capable of ...

CREDIT: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dpu-ucl/6982018401/">dpu-ucl</a> (<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en">CC</a>).

JUN 1, 2012 Article

Policy Innovations Digital Magazine (2006-2016): Commentary: Principle vs. Practicality: A Closer Look at the Ethics of Climate Change Adaptation Finance

Mixing the principles of causality, vulnerability, and ability to pay into the negotiations over climate change adaptation is unnecessarily complicated. There are moral and political ...

CREDIT: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/togawanderings/6991578886/" target="_blank">ToGa Wanderings (CC)</a>

MAY 23, 2012 Article

Coming Unstuck

What is the role of the nation-state in a globalizing world? The need is not for a relinquishment of national identity per se, but for ...

MAY 11, 2012 Podcast

Global Ethics Corner: Vigilante Justice: Have Libyans' Demands for Retribution Gone Too Far?

Libya's civil war is over, but many victims of the Qaddafi regime are still violently meting out justice to their former oppressors. Will this just ...

MAY 8, 2012 Podcast

Ethics Matter: Dov Seidman, a Moral Philosopher in a Suit

Leadership is going from being command-and-control to connect-and-collaborate; from inspecting for trust to giving it away; and from discussing success towards significance: "If we make ...

MAY 1, 2012 Podcast

Special Preview: May Day and Occupy Wall Street

This "Just Business" preview features two Occupy Wall Street (OWS) activists. OWS has hibernated a bit since New York City shut down its flagship encampment ...

APR 27, 2012 Podcast

Global Ethics Corner: A Warrior Ethic: Can Military Ethics be Taught?

After the recent highly publicized stories of American military members desecrating the remains of Taliban soldiers, many in the U.S. armed forces are learning ...

APR 13, 2012 Podcast

Global Ethics Corner: Do Super-Maximum Security Prisons Constitute Cruel and Unusual Punishment?

A surprise ruling from the European Court of Human Rights could send five terror suspects to a super-maximum security prison in the United States. Is ...

APR 9, 2012 Podcast

No One's World: The West, the Rising Rest, and the Coming Global Turn

How do we manage a world where no one power is dominant, and emerging powers have their own views about how to organize political, social, ...