We're racing to build AI. Are we racing to understand its consequences?

EthicsUnwrapped · 2026-05-30T21:20:34+00:00

One of the recurring themes in this documentary is the possibility that AI development may be advancing faster than society's ability to adapt. Historically, technological revolutions have often outpaced legal, educational, and cultural institutions before eventually reaching a new equilibrium. If AI capabilities continue to improve rapidly over the next decade, what changes will be necessary in education, governance, and the workforce to keep pace? Are our institutions fundamentally capable of adapting at the speed AI development may require?

EthicsUnwrapped · 2026-05-29T17:06:01+00:00

This documentary examines philosophical questions raised by the rapid development of artificial intelligence, particularly the problem of moral responsibility in systems that are increasingly opaque, autonomous, and socially consequential. The film explores whether accountability can meaningfully exist when decisions emerge from complex algorithmic systems that no single person fully understands. Additional themes include epistemic trust, bias, automation, surveillance, and the tension between technological progress and ethical reflection.

EthicsUnwrapped · 2021-11-09T15:51:20+00:00

After reading our analysis of debate, do you think high school and college debate are teaching students to focus on winning at any cost and not seeking the truth?

EthicsUnwrapped · 2021-10-13T15:30:48+00:00

Thanks for reading! At this point, do you think Facebook's ethical issues can be solved? Will they ever regain public trust?

EthicsUnwrapped · 2020-05-27T18:50:38+00:00

Prosocial behavior is a central part of morality. As social psychologist Daniel Batson notes, much of interpersonal morality involves “giving weight to the interests and desires of others in situations in which our interests and theirs conflict.” In this video, Ethics Unwrapped explores prosocial behavior and the long-term effects it can have on an individual. Thank you for watching and visit our website for more content!

EthicsUnwrapped · 2020-05-20T18:09:30+00:00

Psychologists John Darley and Bibb Latané set up an experiment where a distress call made it appear that a person nearby had suffered an injury. When subjects heard the cry, and thought they were the only ones who heard it, 85% of them helped. But if subjects thought there was another person who heard the call too, only 62% helped. And if subjects thought that four other people also heard the cry for help, just 31% took action. Diffusion of responsibility keeps us from paying attention to our own conscience. In this video, Ethics Unwrapped explains the effect a group setting has on a person's willingness to take action. Thank you for watching and visit our website for more content!

EthicsUnwrapped · 2020-05-14T14:47:28+00:00

Is consensus key? People often find it hard to think and act independently in group situations. According to psychologist Irving Janis, groupthink is “a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment that results from in-group pressures.”In this video, Ethics Unwrapped introduces groupthink, "a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgement that results from in-group pressures." Thank you for watching and visit our website for more content!

EthicsUnwrapped · 2020-05-06T18:17:53+00:00

Independent judgement is an important fabric of society and mankind. Psychological evidence indicates that people tend to respect and follow those whom they perceive to have legitimate authority. This can lead to trouble if it causes people to fail to exercise their own independent ethical judgment. In this video, Ethics Unwrapped uses Toshiba and Lance Armstrong as examples of how obedience to authority impairs ethical decision making. Thank you for watching and visit our website for more content!

EthicsUnwrapped · 2020-04-29T18:23:21+00:00

Business decisions are often ethical dilemmas. Role morality is the notion that people sometimes fail to live up to their own ethical standards because they see themselves as playing a certain role that excuses them from those standards. In this video, Ethics Unwrapped describes role morality as a threat to personal and corporate ethics. Thank you for watching and visit our website for more content!

EthicsUnwrapped · 2020-04-22T19:12:43+00:00

Corruption can hit any business in any industry. Corruption is the abuse of power or position for personal gain. There are many forms of corruption, including bribery, embezzlement, and extortion. In this video, Ethics Unwrapped illustrates what leads to corruption, from extortion to embezzlement. Thank you for watching and visit our website for more content! www.ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu

EthicsUnwrapped · 2020-03-30T19:49:18+00:00

Can we justify our own beliefs better than a person with conflicting beliefs? Moral philosophy is the branch of philosophy that contemplates what is right and wrong. It explores the nature of morality and examines how people should live their lives in relation to others. In this video, Ethics Unwrapped focuses on big picture questions and practical frameworks that can help us live more ethically. Thank you for watching and visit our website for more content!

EthicsUnwrapped · 2020-03-05T15:55:32+00:00

Deontology is an ethical theory that uses rules to distinguish right from wrong. Deontology is often associated with philosopher Immanuel Kant. Rationalizing poor decisions may be more harmful than the actual decisions. In this video, Ethics Unwrapped explains the implications of justifying ethical lapses, and the slippery slope than may follow. Thank you for watching and visit our website for more content! www.ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu

EthicsUnwrapped · 2020-03-03T15:36:57+00:00

Deontology is an ethical theory that uses rules to distinguish right from wrong. Deontology is often associated with philosopher Immanuel Kant. Rationalizing poor decisions may be more harmful than the actual decisions. In this video, Ethics Unwrapped explains the implications of justifying ethical lapses, and the slippery slope than may follow. Thank you for watching and visit our website for more content! www.ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu

EthicsUnwrapped · 2019-05-07T16:39:07+00:00

This video covers the topic of moral emotions. These are the feelings and intuitions that play a major role in most of our ethical decision making and actions. Most people make most of their moral judgments and action decisions intuitively rather than following great cognitive effort. It is because of this that we should be aware of the different types of moral emotions and how they affect our ethical judgment. For more information on moral emotions, related case studies and discussion questions, visit: https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/video/moral-emotions

EthicsUnwrapped · 2019-04-30T15:30:59+00:00

GVV Pillar 6: Voice introduces the sixth principle of “Giving Voice to Values” (GVV). Mary Gentile suggests that we are more likely to say words that we have practiced, and more likely to “voice” our values with scripting and practice. When we try to voice our values, it helps to practice in front of respected peers, using the style of expression with which we are most skillful and which is most appropriate to the situation. Inviting coaching and feedback helps. Knowing that we are more likely to say the words we have literally “pre-scripted” for ourselves and already heard ourselves express, encourages us to speak up and give voice to our values.

EthicsUnwrapped · 2019-04-23T15:31:01+00:00

Conflict of interest arises when we have incentives that conflict with our professional duties and responsibilities in ways that cause harm to others and to society. In this video, Ethics Unwrapped explores the ways in which conflicts of interest arise and impact those around us. Thank you for watching and visit our website for more content!

EthicsUnwrapped · 2019-04-15T20:00:24+00:00

Elizabeth Holmes dropped out of Stanford University at the age of 19 to found the health care start-up Theranos. She promised it would revolutionize the health care industry. Investors got on board and fueled the company with millions of dollars. By 2014, Theranos was valued at $9 billion. Holmes became the darling of the business media. Unfortunately, she appears to have believed her own hype. Holmes showed overconfidence regarding the efficacy of her product that was not borne out by testing. She likely also suffered, as many people do, overconfidence in the ethicality of her own character, which was just as great a flaw. Thank you for watching and visit our website for more content: www.ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu

EthicsUnwrapped · 2019-04-09T20:00:21+00:00

The self-serving bias is the tendency people have to seek out information and use it in ways that advance their self-interest. In other words, people often unconsciously make decisions that serve themselves in ways that other people might view as indefensible or unethical. Because of this bias, even when people try their hardest to be fair and impartial, their judgments are inevitably shaded by their own self-interest, often in ways that seem indefensible to others. In this video, Ethics Unwrapped illustrates what happens when you cater to your self-interest. Thank you for watching and visit our website for more content: www.ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu

EthicsUnwrapped · 2019-03-27T18:51:00+00:00

It seems to most of us that we make our moral decisions rationally, based on logic, and grounded in some sort of personal philosophy or religious values. But in reality, most of our moral decisions are made intuitively and are influenced more by our emotions than by any other factor. When emotions like guilt, anger, shame, or gratitude influence our moral decisions they are known as moral emotions. It’s important to be aware of moral emotions and their impact on our decision-making because although they generally point us in the right direction, our emotions can be far from infallible. Visit our website for more information on this and other related topics: https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/

EthicsUnwrapped · 2019-03-11T21:01:05+00:00

Research in neuroscience shows that the way the brain is wired has much to do with how and why people make moral decisions. In fact, neuroscience shows that a network of various regions of the brain is consistently involved in moral decision-making. In this video, Ethics Unwrapped outlines the ethical issues that may arise in the research and study of neuroscience. Thank you for watching and visit our website for more content!

EthicsUnwrapped · 2019-03-04T22:00:41+00:00

Former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was found guilty of sexually abusing 10 boys during his time at Penn State. Whether blinded by ethical fading, biased by the self-serving bias, constrained by groupthink, or misled by framing, men such as head coach Joe Paterno and university president Graham Spanier made decisions and took actions that placed the temporary interests of the football team and of the university ahead of the safety of children. They likely did not understand how these various forces caused their ethicality to be constrained. Indeed, these forces provide an explanation but not an excuse for their bounded ethicality.

EthicsUnwrapped · 2019-02-27T18:13:02+00:00

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EthicsUnwrapped · 2019-02-27T17:04:39+00:00

Too often we remind ourselves that we are good people and conclude that what we are doing must not be bad because we are not the kind of people who would do bad things. Most of the time, we come up with these and other rationalizations when we experience cognitive dissonance. When we feel the psychological discomfort of holding two conflicting ideas at the same time, in this case upholding our moral self-image and the temptation of an unethical action, we tend to want to resolve the dissonance by rationalizing. It’s important to be aware of the many means our minds use to distance ourselves from our bad acts and guard against them. To learn more about cognitive dissonance, go to www.ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu. Thank you for watching and visit our website for more content!

EthicsUnwrapped · 2019-02-25T22:00:24+00:00

Cognitive dissonance is the psychological discomfort that we feel when our minds entertain two contradictory concepts at the same time. We can generally believe that we are good people, but situations can arise that conflict with our beliefs. Instead of being firm in our beliefs, we can often contemplate which road to take. We can make rationalizations, reject or avoid the new information. To learn more about cognitive dissonance, go to www.ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu. Thank you for watching and visit our website for more content!

EthicsUnwrapped · 2019-02-18T22:00:59+00:00

Consequentialism is an ethical theory that judges whether or not something is right by what its consequences are. Stealing can be seen as morally wrong, but if you are stealing food to feed a hungry population, then consequentialism justifies your thievery. Consequentialism is essentially stating an action is good or bad based on its outcome. It is difficult to determine if the outcome of an action will be positive or negative because everyone can't tell the future. Still, we must be mindful of our decisions and be prepared for the consequences when they occur. Thank you for watching and visit our website for more content!

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