Media Mentions

High Country News reports that during the 2025 Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, while thousands of residents were losing their homes and the lives they'd created, others were engaging in an opportunity to make a profit.

Using the prediction market platform Polymarket, people made bets on the fires. Fire survivors say such actions are “morally reprehensible,” and experts worry such wagering could lead to arson.

“Imagine what a bad actor might do,” said Ann Skeet, senior director of leadership ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. “A market that might support that kind of activity, I think, is a dangerous market.” Firefighters or land managers with exclusive information about a fire’s behavior or an agency’s firefighting plans could even be tempted to bet on a fire, which would be considered insider trading.

But the biggest dilemma is largely an ethical one. “When you start gambling on somebody’s potential death or harm, you’re really diminishing the value that you’re placing on human life,” Skeet said.

Ann Skeet, senior director, leadership ethics, quoted by High Country News.

The Sacramento Bee reports, a nonprofit operating on taxpayer funds to run homeless programs across California is paying $3 million to settle a state lawsuit that alleged fraud.

The settlement that Step Up did agree to pay is “significant,” for a nonprofit of its size and scope, said Joan Harrington, an expert in nonprofit governance at Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. “$3 million is a significant charge and a significant resolution that merits attention,” Harrington said.

“If they’re getting negative feedback from their grantors, both the city and the state, you’d expect an improvement,” Harrington said. “They need to strengthen their internal financial controls ... I would expect dramatic changes.”

Joan Harrington, Ethics Center fellow, quoted by The Sacramento Bee.

Citybiz highlights Mike Markkula, co-founder of Apple Computer, for bringing experience and managerial vision into one of the world’s greatest companies.

Unlike many technology pioneers, Markkula never viewed wealth as the ultimate measure of success. Even while serving on Apple’s board, he became increasingly concerned that corporate America had produced what he described as “ethical agnostics”—leaders who were not necessarily dishonest but who rarely considered ethical questions when making important business decisions. In response, he established the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University in 1986, long before corporate ethics became a fashionable subject.

The center reflected Markkula’s belief that ethical reasoning should be practical rather than abstract. Instead of focusing exclusively on philosophy, it examined real-world dilemmas facing business executives, physicians, educators, public officials, and technology companies. Over time it became one of the world’s leading institutions devoted to applied ethics, extending its influence well beyond Silicon Valley.

Mike Markkula, co-founder, Apple Computer and original seed grantor for the Ethics Center, featured in CityBiz.

Self-improving AI systems could accelerate beyond human oversight, prompting renewed calls for stronger safeguards.

Brian Green, director of technology ethics, explains the acceleration as, "Rather than humans programming AI, AI becomes powerful enough to program itself."

"It is very important to get recursive self-improvement right, otherwise it could spiral out of control and create new versions of itself that are not friendly," Green said.

But regarding the June 12 intervention by the Trump administration to suspend foreign access to Anthropic's Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models, Green admitted that "in some ways, the restrictions might be too stringent in that even Anthropic's own non-U.S. citizen employees -- many of whom are from friendly nations like Canada, the U.K. and Germany -- are no longer allowed access."

That move signals "direct government interference with business activity, and should cause American businesses some concern about government overreach," said Green.

Brian Green, director, technology ethics, quoted by Union of Catholic Asian News.

The Los Angeles Times reports, "The amplification of election misinformation by users who had money staked on the mayoral race adds a new twist to evolving scrutiny of prediction markets, and scholars say the ability to bet on elections broadly raises questions about whether the exchanges could alter how Americans engage in democracy."

“Elections are not a game,” said Davina Hurt, director of government ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. “[If market] probabilities begin influencing donor decisions, media attention, the energy around [campaign] volunteers — at that point, markets aren’t just observing the election. They’re a part of it.”

Davina Hurt, director, government ethics, quoted by the Los Angeles Times.

“I have no idea what the origin of this interest is in AI, but I will say that I think he’s exactly the right person for this,” said Brian Green, director, technology ethics, who called the Pope “the man of this moment.”

“The fact that Pope Leo has come along and made this the cornerstone, the most important thing for his pontificate, I think, is extraordinarily foresightful. I think the Holy Spirit is involved here as far as I'm concerned.”

Brian Green, director, technology ethics, quoted by National Catholic Register.

Utlizing the legal practice of behested payments, Oakland Mayor, Barbara Lee has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from nonprofits, developers, contractors, and a union to pay for community events, police recruitment, office staffing, and other civic initiatives.

Officials must report to state or local political watchdogs when they raise money this way.

“The more authority public officials have over contracts and personnel and budgets, it becomes more ethically sensitive,” Hurt said. “And when you’re soliciting money from interested parties, even for civic and city purposes, there’s care that needs to be taken.”

Davina Hurt, director, government ethics, quoted by The Oaklandside.

Hollister City Manager Ana Cortez used her own private recruiting firm to recruit a Human Resources and IT director and while Cortez argues there is no conflict because her firm provided these services pro bono, the act has drawn criticism from at least one community member and raised questions about whether it represents a conflict of interest.

Ethics Center's Director of Government Ethics Davina Hurt said that Cortez using her personal firm has less oversight and accountability because she has control of both recruiting and hiring.

“There’s just no guardrails in this recruitment process because of her business involvement,” says Hurt.

The issue is more about whether the city has a hiring policy that places ethical boundaries that can be applied no matter who is in charge.

Davina Hurt, director, government ethics, quoted by BenitoLink.