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Ethics Cases

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Find case studies and scenarios on a variety of fields in applied ethics.

Cases can also be viewed by the following categories:

Bioethics

Business Ethics

Engineering Ethics

ESG Topics

Ethical Issues for Students

Government Ethics

Immigration Ethics

Internet Ethics

Journalism Ethics 

Leadership Ethics

Social Sector Ethics

Technology Ethics

For permission to reprint cases, submit requests to ethics@scu.edu.

Looking to draft your own case studies? This template provides the basics for writing ethics case studies in technology (though with some modification it could be used in other fields as well).

 

 

All Cases
  • Meeting Avatars
    An AI Ethics Case Study

    Avatars based on personalized LLMs aim to meet the need for more efficient online communication.

  • Make Waves or Go With the Flow
    Navigating the complexities and pressures of a new auditing career.

    A business case study focused on the auditing profession and the associated pressures.

  • Chatbots and Agency
    An AI Ethics Case Study

    Exploring the intersection of chatbot design, personalization, and agency.

  • The Environmental Impact of Generating Images with AI
    An Ethics Case Study

    Image generation tools and day-to-day emissions of using AI have environmental consequences.

  • Kids, Exercise, and Technology
    An Ethics Case Study

    A fitness tracker aimed at children raises issues of design ethics, incentives, and more.

  • Ethical Considerations for Disability Advocacy, Representation, and Access

    Six case studies explore how accessibility intersects with health care, education, and workplace ethics. The cases serve as a foundation for difficult dialogues, in-class discussions, or workshops and should be used by stakeholders involved in disability advocacy, education, health care, and policy-making.

  • AI, Comedy, and Counterculture
    An Ethics Case Study

    AI-generated text, voices, and images used for entertainment productions and impersonation raise ethical questions.

  • Organizational Culture and its Role in Fostering Policy Development
    A Focus on Sustainability Policy at SCU

    The importance of academic institutions in shaping the societal narrative is increasingly showcased by constant media exposure and continuous requests for social commentary. This case study outlines effective methodologies of leadership, ethics, and change management within an organization, for the purpose of motivating and engaging stakeholders to empathize with and carry out a shared directive.

  • The Ethical Distribution of News: Roundtable Use Cases

    How might news platforms and products ensure that ethical journalism on chronic issues is not drowned out by the noise of runaway political news cycles?

  • AI-Writing Detectors
    A Tech Ethics Case Study

    Ethical questions arise in interactions among students, instructors, administrators, and providers of AI tools.

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