A selection of articles, op-eds, TV segments, and other media featuring Ethics Center staff and programs.
The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics does not advocate for any product, company, or organization. Our engagements are intended to provide training, customized materials, and other resources. The Markkula Center does not offer certifications or seals of approval.
Damian Trujillo/NBC Bay Area report that former California Assemblymember Evan Low used his technology-focused nonprofit to pay actor Alec Baldwin more than $227,000 to appear at a tech event and a separate fundraiser for Low, then deliberately tried to conceal the payments, the California Fair Political Practices Commission determined in a filing released Friday.
Ann Skeet, senior director, leadership weighed in on the ethical aspects of Low's situation saying, "He should know better and he should act better if he wants people to have confidence and trust in his ability as a public official and as a leader. He should do everything that he can to make sure his actions are transparent and serve the public interest."
Ann Skeet, senior director, leadership ethics, quoted by NBC Bay Area.
Engaging with chatbots can come with risks; privacy is a real concern.
“Bots can extract a lot of information out of you if they’re acting like one of your deceased loved ones […] as a friend, [or] a significant relation,” says Brian Green, director of technology ethics. “Who’s actually in control of the bot? Is the information private? Even if it’s private, is it being securely stored?"
Brian Green, director, technology ethics, quoted by Elizabeth Fernandez in "My Friend the Chatbot," published in Discover Magazine, Nov./Dec., 2024.
Paolo Confino reports for Fortune:
Real America’s Voice was once an also-ran in the conservative news business. But it is now the key link between President Trump’s company—Trump Media & Technology Group—and his most prominent boosters in the media. With its spot in the White House press pool, RAV has gone from being an upstart TV network founded by a man once convicted of mortgage fraud to walking the halls of power.
“I look at it as a way of assembling the leaders of the MAGA movement, the leaders of the conservative movement that has been all-in on Donald Trump,” said John Pelissero, director of government ethics Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.
John Pelissero, director, government ethics, quoted by Fortune (paywall).
The ads may have markers indicating that a campaign paid for them, but that doesn’t mean they’re not misleading, said Subramaniam Vincent, director, journalism and media ethics.
A Google user seeing the ad, he said, “may or may not notice that the headline on the KQED story and the framing and the thrust of the story and the findings in the story and the scope of the story are actually different from the conclusion in the campaign headline.”
“Misrepresentation is kind of the name of the game,” Vincent said. “Politicians are engaged in making claims against their opponents because their speech is protected.”
Subbu Vincent, director, journalism and media ethics, quoted by KQED.
DNA genetic testing company 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy and will eventually have to sell its assets to pay its creditors.
More than 15 million people have provided saliva samples to the company and unless those users take action, there is a risk their genetic information could wind up in the hands of asset buyers, and could be purchsed by health providers or insurance companies who would benefit from having the personal data that 23andMe collected from users.
Ann Skeet, senior director, leadership ethics weighed in about how the company got into this position.
"They had trouble monetizing their original business plan beyond the data report that customers got when submitting their saliva samples for
investigation....and they had a significant data breach which really eroded consumer's trust and eroded the brand."
Ann Skeet, senior director, leadership ethics, interviewed by ABC7.
"Ethics in the Age of AI, a survey commissioned by the Ethics Center's Institute for Technology, Ethics, and Culture (ITEC) was referenced by Investopia in an article outlining the evolution of business ethics over decades, and the current responsibilities for companies developing AI.
"Ethics in the Age of AI" poll conducted by the Ethics Center was cited in an article from Investopia.
"It is imperative to respect the claims of conscience behind the pacifist convictions often associated with the rejection of the modern state. But if Catholic social teaching is going to incorporate nonviolence more fully, it also must develop the connection between nonviolence and modern politics."
David DeCosse, director, religious and Catholic ethics, published by Political Theology.
The role of Silvers in sensitive employee discussions becomes muddy when her position as an HR representative and a board member clash, said Ann Skeet, the senior director of leadership ethics.
“It is not best practice, in my point of view,” she said.
The nonprofit sector often has board members who provide services to the organization, with the best of intentions, Skeet said. It does not happen all the time, and when it does, it reflects badly on the field, she said.
Ann Skeet, senior director, leadership ethics, quoted by The Sacramento Bee (article behind paywall).
- More pages:
