Mission

The Ethics, Society, and Technology (EST) Hub emerged from the long-range planning process and presidential initiative on ethics, society and technology and is managed jointly by the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) and the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society (EIS). 

The mission of the EST Hub is to deepen Stanford’s strength in ethics and generate a fundamental shift in how faculty, staff, and students, whatever their disciplinary home, choice of major, and career pathway, think about our role as enablers and shapers of scientific discovery and technological change in society. 

Focused on four initiatives:

1. PROVIDING ALL STUDENTS WITH A SUSTAINED AND INTEGRATED EDUCATION IN ETHICS

  • Integrate engagement with ethics across more classes, within more majors, and into the very culture of undergraduate and graduate education

2. FORGING NEW INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AT THE FRONTIER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

  • Increase engagement with the ethical issues and societal impacts of research throughout the whole research process in all disciplines—with a focus on developments in science and technology. Build durable institutional bridges between disciplines, especially between the social sciences and humanities with science, technology, math, engineering, and medicine

3. MODELING AN ETHICAL AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE UNIVERSITY

  • Pilot, evaluate, and integrate successful activities that help enhance the University’s role as a leader in a productive and, simultaneously, ethical and socially responsible society

4. SHAPING ETHICS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN SOCIETY

  • Shape how ethical and socially responsible practices concerning science and technology are adopted in the wider world, including in industry, civil society, and government

Building community and bolstering work relating to EST through four integrative activities: 

1. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT AND EMBEDDING ETHICS IN MORE COURSES

  • The Embedded EthiCS Initiative, a joint project of HAI, the Center for Ethics in Society, and the CS department, is developing and embedding ethics modules into four core Computer Science courses. This is the first of the embedded ethics programs we seek to stimulate at Stanford, and the EST Hub is working with the Center for Biomedical Ethics, Bioengineering department, and Bio Policy & Leadership in Society Initiative to extend this effort into Bioengineering courses.

2. COMPETITIVE SEED FUNDING FOR COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH AND PROJECTS

  • Forty-one EST Hub seed grants were awarded since August 2020, and another round of applications will be accepted for the curriculum development, research, and project grants during 21-22 academic year. 

3. ETHICS REVIEW PANEL

  • In partnership with HAI, an Ethics Review Panel (ERP) is being developed for artificial intelligence research. We aim to expand the ERP into other departments, including the life sciences.

4. OUTREACH AND PROMOTING EVENTS AND WORK ON CAMPUS RELATED TO ETHICS, SOCIETY, AND TECHNOLOGY THROUGH OUR WEBSITE AND MAILING LIST