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“Wild Beasts” analyzes current events from the perspective of applied ethics. Who is responsible for creating a sustainable future for AI? Why are state legislators passing restrictive voting bills? What is woke capitalism? Who ought to have control over our bodies in virtual reality? What is the fate of social media? These are only a few of the questions addressed in the podcast.
The first episode features an interview with the Markkula Center’s Director of Technology Ethics, Brian Patrick Green. Prompted by Show Host Courtney Davis, Green reflects on the sudden release of new generative AI-powered products and services. He questions whether technology companies ought to receive some form of general consent from the public before they are permitted to release life-altering technologies. At the very least, he points out that there is no informed consent system in place between technology companies and society at large when new products go public.
“There are very few podcasts that actively discuss ethics and even fewer make the subject easily accessible to the public or to anyone who might be unfamiliar with how ethical analyses are conducted by professionals in the field,” said Don Heider, executive director, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. “Through ‘Wild Beasts,’ we hope to offer a simple framework for ethical analysis that people can apply to their own lives. With more than three decades of experience, our team of ethicists are well-equipped to quiet the overwhelming noise in our news feeds by providing digestible and constructive ethical insights.”
When professionals in applied ethics are not consulting with each other, they are often explaining in plain terms what ethics actually is to someone outside of the field. The Markkula Center strongly believes that ethics flow through everything: technology, health care, business, communication, the political process, culture, and more. Ethics plays a central role in how these issues are framed–or, perhaps more importantly, in how these issues are understood by society at large. Every news headline is ripe for ethical dissection. “Wild Beasts” strives to give voice to that dissection, and to share its findings with a wider audience.
The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics will release a new episode every Wednesday for the next 9 weeks. The topics discussed include voter suppression, extended reality, data storage, broadcast news journalism, the “meme wars,” and more. Episodes average 35 minutes in length, with the longest spanning just over 60 minutes.
About the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
Founded in 1986 with a seed grant and initial endowment from Linda and A.C. “Mike” Markkula Jr., the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics brings the traditions of ethical thinking to bear on real world problems. Beyond a full range of programs for the Santa Clara University community, the Center also serves professionals in fields from business to health care, from government to the social sector, providing innovative approaches to problems from fake news to privacy protection. Through its website and international collaborations, the Center brings ethical decision-making resources to the wider world. For more information, see https://www.scu.edu/ethics.
Joel Dibble
Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara Univ.
+1 4085545116
[email protected]
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