Analysis and commentary on applied ethics in many fields by the staff of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
Pride, Prejudice, and Predictions about People
On Avoiding Pitfalls
It is a truth universally acknowledged—or at least a belief shared by many AI and machine learning researchers—that algorithms will be able to predict the behavior of individual human beings.
Robinhood: Legend or Fairy Tale? It’s Important That we can Tell the Difference
Businesses that serve consumers and other businesses simultaneously often involve conflicted interests, and require regulation to reconcile these conflicts.
The Physician’s Conundrum: Assigning Moral Responsibility for Medical Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Two features of AI/ML in clinical decision making raise important ethical and legal questions about how to assign responsibility for medical decisions.
Words Matter: Illegal Immigrant, Undocumented Immigrant, or Unauthorized Immigrant?
The labels we use to refer to different classes of individuals are not merely neutral descriptors but often implicitly come with various associations or value judgments, which can, in turn, frame and influence political debates.
How Media can Help (and Hurt) our Awareness of Struggles Outside our Direct Experience
Turning toward struggle in faraway places—even during the pandemic.
The Economic Argument for Increasing Immigration
Economics and ethics partner to help make the case for increased immigration.
What are Our Duties to Asylum Seekers? Start by Ending the “Remain in Mexico” Program
In reality, the “Remain in Mexico” program is a way for the U.S. government to avoid adjudicating the claims of asylum seekers in the first place and to keep the violations of their basic human rights out of sight and out of mind to the U.S. public.
Immigrant Citizenship: Should it be Denied if They Have Committed Crimes or Have Unpaid Taxes?
The ethical basis for politically recognizing someone as a citizen lies simply in the fact that they are already members of our society.
Biden’s Inaugural Speech was Grounded in the Ethics of Virtue and the Common Good
President Biden's inaugural speech urging the nation to put aside personal interests and find unity in the common good.
On Holocaust Memorial Day
Internet Ethics: Voices Amplified
The internet has enabled both mass memorialization and massacres.
