Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University

The recent arrival of the world's first trillionaire has brought along a wide spectrum of ethical opinions on wealth.

The Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics hosted a debate in anticipation of this moment. Panelists representing fields including philosophy, political economy, and business administration staked contrasting and occasionally unexpected positions on whether the super-rich are a net positive for society.

Read Christy DeSmith's coverage of the event in the Harvard Gazette, or watch the event on our YouTube channel:

The Ethics of Extreme Wealth | Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics The Ethics of Extreme Wealth June 15, 2026 The recent arrival of the world's first trillionaire has brought along a wide spectrum of ethical opinions on wealth.The Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics hosted a debate in anticipation of this moment, inviting participants to wrestle with issues of ex...

Former Fellow-in-Residence Dr. David O'Brien has a new article in titled "Why it Matters That Some are Worse Off Than Those Who Could Have Existed." The article examines egalitarianism and prioritarianism as they relate to a case raised by philosopher Michael Otsuka. Read the article here: https://www.ethics.harvard.edu/news/2026/06/why-it-matters-some-are-worse-those-who-could-have-existed

Congratulations to Safra Center Faculty Associate Joshua Greene, Alfred and Rebecca Lin Professor of Civil Discourse, on receiving the 2026 Faculty Prize for Excellence in General Education at Harvard University!

Greene's course asks, "how can we understand the evolution of morality—from primordial soup to superintelligent machines—and how might the science of morality equip us to meet our most pressing moral challenges?"

Learn more:

Joshua Greene receives Faculty Prize for Excellence in General Education The award recognizes outstanding course design and teaching that exemplifies the program’s pedagogical aims.

“Future generations will view the medical neglect occurring in federal immigration detention centers as a profound ethical failure in US medicine.”

A new article in Health Affairs by former fellow Dr. Katherine Peeler and co-authors Drs. Krutika Kuppalli and Tim Lahey argues that states should take a more active role in detention center oversight, offering California as an example.

Read the article here:

Medical Neglect In Immigration Detention: Righting An Historic Wrong | Health Affairs Forefront Given the federal government’s failure to demonstrate responsible oversight of medical care in the nation’s rapidly expanding network of ICE detention facilities, states should take a more active role in addressing ongoing legal and ethical violations.

Our pedagogy team is always working to develop new tools, resources, activities, and lesson plans that apply active learning to teach ethics-related topics in an immersive and engaging way.

This Spring, they had an idea — host a competition to create the best game or lesson plan for facilitating difficult conversations. Organized by Tomer Perry, Associate Director of Pedagogy and Maxine Gill, Pre-Doctoral Fellow, the one-day event, “Innovating Civil Discourse: An Instructional Design Hackathon,” welcomed students and scholars from the Boston area to design something ready for use in a classroom.

The winning team — all from the Harvard Graduate School of Education — Luis Gaitan, Abeeha Tahir, Raia Karmali, and Shreya Goel, created a digital decision-making simulation built around ethical dilemmas intended for Harvard College students concentrating in STEM-related fields.

Two teams tied for second place. Kelly Ding and Cristina DeOliveira created a board game to help students practice ethical reasoning involving the impacts of AI in real-world settings.

Kat Mitchell, Ashley Blazek, and Qiao Le L. created a conversation-based card game that encourages players to develop crucial conversational skills, such as active listening and perspective taking.

Thank you to the judges!
Marta McAlister, Director of Gemini for Education
Eliza O'Neil, Senior Curriculum Manager at The Constructive Dialogue Institute
Eric Beerbohm, Faculty Director of the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics

Read more about these projects below:

Gaming for Good: A One Day Instructional Design Hackathon | Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics Gaming for Good: A One Day Instructional Design Hackathon May 22, 2026 Genevieve Wallace The pedagogy team at the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics is always working to develop new tools, resources, activities, and lesson plans that apply active learning to teach ethics-related topics in an imme...

Each summer, a select group of Harvard University undergraduates are awarded Kissel Grants to support research and writing that contributes to the understanding of practical ethics.

This year’s recipients will spend the summer pursuing a diverse and engaging range of topics: the nature and extent of sympathy; the relationship between agency, reason, and love; a universal right to fun opportunities; the practical ethics of federalism; whether large language models possess a genuine introspective capacity; and the ethics of AI data centers.

Read more about the recipients and their projects: https://www.ethics.harvard.edu/news/2026/05/ethically-focused-summer-research

In case you missed it, our Human Relationships in an Artificial World panel is now available on YouTube! Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAd5-X-V4JM

Artificial intelligence has the potential to make us better people, providing expert-sourced guidance to help us through difficult conversations. But the technology can also generate suspicion, leading people to question the authenticity of these interactions.

An electric discussion last week, featuring Jonathan Zittrain and Carissa Véliz, explored the impact of generative AI on human relationships. Navigating the various ways chatbots fill spaces between people, panelists considered AI in medicine, whether the platforms can be called empathetic, and their effectiveness in coaching and counseling roles.

Read the full event write up here: https://live-harvard-fas.pantheonsite.io/stories/interloper-or-interlocutor-debating-ais-impact-social-interactions

At a meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on May 5, 2026, a tribute to the life and service of the late Dennis Frank Thompson was spread upon the permanent records of the Faculty.

Dennis F. Thompson, founding director of what is now the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University, passed away on March 30, 2025 leaving behind a legacy that has shaped generations of scholars, public servants, and students committed to pursuing ethical reflection in public life.

"Over more than 20 years as director, he built a community that brought scholars and practitioners from law, medicine, government, business, and the humanities into sustained conversation about moral questions in public life. Where others might have seen mission creep, he saw mission enrichment. It helped that John Rawls told colleagues he thought some of the most interesting discussions at the university were taking place in the Program’s seminars, which he attended regularly. The house that Thompson built has inspired similar centers at universities around the world."

Read the full tribute in The Harvard Gazette:

Memorial Minute for Dennis Frank Thompson, 84 — Harvard Gazette At a meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on May 5, 2026, the following tribute to the life and service of the late Dennis Frank Thompson was spread upon the permanent records of the Faculty.

Artificial intelligence has the potential to make us better people, providing expert-sourced guidance to help us through difficult conversations. But the technology can also generate suspicion, leading people to question the authenticity of these interactions.

An electric discussion last week, featuring Jonathan Zittrain and Carissa Véliz, explored the impact of generative AI on human relationships. Navigating the various ways chatbots fill spaces between people, panelists considered AI in medicine, whether the platforms can be called empathetic, and their effectiveness in coaching and counseling roles.

Read the full event write up here: https://live-harvard-fas.pantheonsite.io/stories/interloper-or-interlocutor-debating-ais-impact-social-interactions

We are delighted to welcome our 2026-2027 Fellows-in-Residence and Civil Discourse Fellows! This group brings together exemplary scholars across philosophy, law, political science, and public policy to examine how communication, institutions, and technology shape social and political life.

Read about each of them here:

https://www.ethics.harvard.edu/news/2026/04/announcing-2026-fellows-residence-civil-discourse-fellows