Skip to main content
Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
Digital Dignity Day

Join us May 2 in person or via livestream for a daylong conference exploring the impact AI is having on human dignity, part of the Markkula Center’s work in the international project New Humanism in the time of Neurosciences and Artificial Intelligence (NHNAI).

8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. PDT |  Friday May 2, 2025

St. Clare Room, Learning Commons, Santa Clara University

An arm outstretched holding a heart with words
Civic Learning Week Resources

Voting for Ethics: A Guide for U.S. Voters

Voting for Ethics is a non-partisan, how-to guide for U.S. voters. It will help you identify the hallmarks of an ethical candidate and make a more informed decision -- whether for your local school board or a national election.

Purchase "Voting for Ethics"/Access Voting Ethics Resources

Two Column

Empowering Democracy: An Ethical Civic Education Project

A democratic society requires an educated and informed citizenry that understands the purpose of democratic government and how the processes of a democracy work, especially voting and elections. Government has a special role in promoting the common good, an important ethical standard. As a society, we need to strengthen formal civics education in our schools and colleges to build understanding of the institutions and processes of democracy. The Empowering Democracy Curriculum can be taught as a special undergraduate course in colleges and universities or in the high school curricula.

 

 

Two Column
One Column
AI and the Environment: Sustaining the Common Good

On November 1, 2024 the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics and Next10 cohosted a daylong conference on AI and sustainability.

Access Recordings from "AI and the Environment" Panels

360x360
Ethics in the Age of Disruptive Technologies: An Operational Roadmap

By José Roger Flahaux, Brian Patrick Green, and Ann Skeet

"Ethics in the Age of Disruptive Technologies: An Operational Roadmap,” or, more briefly, the “ITEC Handbook,” offers organizations a strategic plan to enhance ethical management practices, empowering them to navigate the complex landscape of disruptive technologies such as AI, machine learning, encryption, tracking, and others while upholding strong ethical standards.

Download the ITEC Handbook

All About Ethics: Perspectives From Across the Center
Map of the United States. The northwestern corner displays an American flag. The lower half of the map displays the U.S. Constitution showing the words,

Governments must ensure that representative democracy is preserved through the responsible use of AI by the citizens’ representatives.

A man wearing a virtual reality headset.

By prioritizing empathy, mutual respect, and ethical behavior, we can build virtual communities that reflect the best of humanity and honor everyone's dignity.

Man using VR Headset with virtual screen. Photo by High Stock via Adobe Stock.

A uniquely digital dignity requires that we extend the moral and legal protections afforded to physical bodies to include non-physical digital layers.

An Industry Leader in Ethics Consultation

For more than 35 years, the Ethics Center has helped individuals and organizations make better decisions and includes offering fee-for-service options for organizations that want a customized approach to building training programs, case studies, and other materials.

Featured Ethics Spotlights
Generative Artificial Intelligence including text, computer generated images.

Throughout history, new technologies have disrupted society in different ways–some positively and some negatively–from steam-powered engines and electricity, to the Internet, and now again with artificial intelligence (AI); generative AI in particular in this instance. The creation of art, journalism, education, and the very truth itself have all been tested by the use of ChatGPT and other generative AIs. Markkula Center staff and scholars unpack some of the many related ethical dilemmas in this Ethics Spotlight.

The U.S. Flag and Constitution, semi-automatic guns, a shooter with AR-15, and a human hand held in the air to block or stop the action.

The gun debate has again reached a fever pitch in the shadow of several horrific mass shootings. Ethics Center staff and faculty interrogate the moral and ethical issues associated with gun use and regulation.

California wildfire

The world has been experiencing worsening wildfire conditions for decades, and in California the situation is particularly bad. The Ethics Center staff and other scholars address some of the key ethical issues surrounding these disasters.

Center News
Hannah Hamawi, Arden DeCicco, Jessica Garofalo, and David DeCosse at the Pajaro Levee on March 1, 2025.

The 2024-25 Environmental Ethics Fellows are focusing on the ethical dimensions of the 2023 levee failure in Pajaro, California.

Aalto University Researchers, Vikas Garg and Samuel Kaski, Kirk Bresniker’89, Chief Architect of Hewlett Packard Labs, HP Enterprise Fellow and Vice President, and Maya Ackerman, SCU engineering professor and AI pioneer, joined panel moderator, Irina Raicu, Ethics Center director of Internet ethics to discuss

During this thought-provoking event participants identified key themes including the transformative potential of AI, its risks and pitfalls, and the critical question of who sets the rules that will determine its impact on humanity.

William “Bill” O’Neill, S.J., Ph.D. joins Ethics Center as Director of Immigration Ethics

William “Bill” O’Neill, S.J., Ph.D. joins the Ethics Center as Director of Immigration Ethics.

Elmer Huh, Ethics Center Advisory Board

Huh, Chief Investment Officer at M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, brings financial and venture capital expertise to the Ethics Center in advisory roles.

Teaching Note: Interview of Theranos Whistleblower, Tyler Shultz

This teaching module for business ethics, leadership and management courses includes two videos, homework assignments, and class discussion, all designed to spark conversation about ethical issues associated with whistleblowers and corporate governance.

View the Teaching Module

Full Width
Evaluating Culture for Ethics

Our Culture Self-Assessment Practice recommends approaches to evaluating culture for ethics within companies and other types of organizations. The materials are primarily for members of an organization’s leadership team, including human resources and legal, but designed to engage a cross-section of leaders from various disciplines.

Get Started

Media Commentary
Oklahoma Voice Logo. Series of vertical white lines that comprise a circular shape against a green background.

Don Heider, executive director, quoted by the Oklahoma Voice.

Spanish Missions In CA

David DeCosse, director, religious and Catholic ethics, featured on the "What Your History Textbook Left Out" Podcast.

Ann Skeet, senior director, leadership ethics, quoted by NBC Bay Area.

Brian Green, director, technology ethics, quoted by Elizabeth Fernandez in "My Friend the Chatbot," published in Discover Magazine, Nov./Dec., 2024.

Upcoming Events