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.
President Trump’s planned 90,000-square-foot, highly secure White House ballroom is an animating focus of his second term and deemed by ethics experts a key example of the administration's pay-to-play behavior.
“President Trump’s approach to ethics seems to be to ask for forgiveness rather than permission,” says Ann Skeet, Ethic Center senior director of leadership ethics.
Ann Skeet, senior director, leadership ethics, quoted by The Christian Science Monitor.
We must immediately and unequivocally renounce any genocidal aims, recognize international humanitarian law and the legitimacy of selective conscientious objection for military personnel, pursue negotiations in good faith, and do all possible to secure a lasting cease-fire.
William "Bill" O'Neill S.J., director, immigration ethics, quoted by America Magazine.
University of California and California State University campuses, like others around the country, all outlaw cheating — commonly understood as “the attempt to pass off work as your own without having done the work,” said Irina
Raicu says, “the danger is that we have a bunch of people who get ‘faux educated.’ People who have degrees but who don’t really know how to think and how to write.”
Irina Raicu, director, internet ethics, quoted by San Francisco Chronicle.
St. Joseph the Worker symbolizes labor and highlights the importance of work to human flourishing, but in our AI developing world, St. Joseph may also serve as a warning about the loss of work to artificial intelligence.
Ann Skeet, senior director of leadership ethics at the Markkula Center says Catholic leaders should, "remember that you are leading people, not technology."
Ann Skeet, senior director, leadership ethics, quoted by National Catholic Reporter.
A recent Newsweek article discusses how rising participation in prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket raises ethical questions about how these markets plan to address insider trading, especially regarding government and military actions. Ann Skeet, senior director of leadership ethics, speaks with Newsweek about measures that could curb insider trading.
“A comprehensive approach to the issues is needed including legislation such as the proposed bills, standards set by various government agencies to prevent those with inside knowledge of political events from inappropriately using that knowledge, and greater sanctions for transgressions,” Skeet says.
Ann Skeet, senior director leadership ethics, quoted by Newsweek.
Is a male-dominated AI ecosystem widening the gender gap? Is AI bias shaping real-world outcomes?
Ann Skeet, senior director of leadership ethics notes that studies are emerging showing a widening gender gap in AI adoption, which could have long-term implications for workforce advancement.
Ann Skeet, senior director, leadership ethics featured in article from TechRound.
San Francisco Chronicle reports on a nonprofit that was awarded a six-figure contract from the city of Berkeley to run a marijuana education program between 2022 and 2024, and failed to complete key parts of the project. Despite the program failures, the nonprofit still got paid for the services.
Davina Hurt, director, government ethics, said that "the buck stops with the city."
"It breaks the public's trust that their money isn't being well spent," she said. "It's upon the city to ensure that they handle things appropriately by either stopping payments, retrieving their money back, or demanding that the contract be fulfilled."
Davina Hurt, director, government ethics, quoted in an article by San Francisco Chronicle and republished via Yahoo.com, the New York Post, and other outlets.
The Seattle Times reports a King County employee who ran a youth education and anti-racism program awarded more than $800,000 in grant payments to family members questioning a lack of ethics oversight in the County's processes.
"The “gold standard” is a unified, independent ethics body, said Davina Hurt, director, government ethics. Short of that, ethics officials need to collaborate. That appears to be missing from King County’s fragmented oversight system."
Davina Hurt, director, government ethics, quoted by The Seattle Times.
