Category: + Stewardship

All Play: How Companies Can Make More Inclusive Toys

9/13/2023

A collection of play balls, some containing icons for sound, touch, and smell

by David Hagenbuch - professor of marketing at Messiah University -
author of Honorable Influence - founder of Mindful Marketing

Toss-Across, Evel Knievel, Simon, Big Wheel – the most popular toys of the 1970s offer a trip down memory lane for many of us who were kids during that unique era. We probably didn’t think then that some children weren’t able to enjoy these common playthings because of certain physical limitations. Over the past 50 years, the world has become more welcoming in many ways, but have toy makers kept pace with the inclusivity trend?

Legos have been fixtures in family rooms for at least a few decades. The tiny bumpy bricks provide appropriate challenge and fun for children from four to 14 and beyond. Kids who can’t see also can snap together the blocks to build shapes and structures, but they haven’t been able to appreciate the variety of colors or visualize their finished work in all the ways that sighted children can.

In 2019, the Lego Group conceived a creative way to bridge the participation gap by using the bricks’ raised knobs to represented braille letters. For the last few years, the company distributed its Braille Bricks selectively – mainly to individuals and organizations teaching children with visual impairments. Recently, the firm made the 287-piece set widely available for purchase, so blind and sighted members of any family can enjoy playing with and learning from the uniquely inclusive toys.

Mattel also has done a good in making its iconic Barbie doll more inclusive. For decades, the company has added dolls of different races and ethnicities to the collection, and in more recent years, it’s introduced dolls with disabilities and different body types.

Product inclusivity is a great thing. It’s hard to imagine products being ‘too inclusive,’ especially one’s targeted toward children.

As I’ve spoken with college students about product inclusivity, some have said they didn’t care whether their Barbies looked like them or not, but others really appreciated having dolls whose skin colors and other physical attributes mirrored their own.

Jason Polansky, one of my former advisees who is totally blind, has worked in employee recruitment roles for Microsoft and Whole Foods and now has a position as an unemployment claims interviewer with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. We had many good conversations when he was a student and more since he graduated several years ago, but I never thought much about his childhood – what it was like to grow up blind – and I certainly didn’t think of the toys he played with, so I recently asked him about them.

Polansky said he mainly liked playing with tactile toys such as Legos, Duplos, and Geomags, as well as a braille/tactile Battleship game, a Connect 4 game with holes in the black checkers, and braille Uno cards. He also enjoyed audible toys like a talking trivia globe, a puzzle map of the United States, a talking clock, and "two buckets full of dinosaurs and reptiles."

Sound was a mixed blessing for Polansky. Although he enjoyed listening to cassette tapes and AM/FM/shortwave radio, the same sounds sometimes created a problem when they kept him from hearing other noises in his environment that he needed to hear. In fact, when he was about six, he went through a stage in which many extraneous sounds scared him for that reason.

Sadie McFarland is one of my current advisees. Because of optic nerve hypoplasia, she has no vision in her right eye and limited functional vision in her left one, which means she is legally blind. Although McFarland reflects fondly on playing with Barbies and a variety of other toys and games when she was a child, her attention now as a college marketing major is drawn to the lack of playthings designed for children with disabilities, especially those with vision impairments.

Even as she credits brands like Barbie and American Girl for making dolls that “give beautiful nods” to individuals who have prosthetic devices, use wheelchairs, and have diverse skin tones, she laments that companies in the toy industry have done relatively little to represent blindness.

McFarland recommends making dolls whose eyes move sporadically, mimicking nystagmus, placing a white cane in the doll’s hand, and equipping it with a guide dog in harness. She adds that blindness also can be identified with certain types of glasses.

As an adult, McFarland still loves to play games but often finds them challenging because “at least 75% contain items with text that is nearly microscopic, even to the working human eye.” Some of her suggested fixes are to provide braille instructions and scorecards and to create tactile boards and differently shaped pieces. She also recommends reaching out to organizations like the National Federation of the Blind and American Printing House for the Blind, which can provide useful insights into meeting the needs of blind consumers.

It's nice to imagine a world in which more companies heed such advice and genuinely attempt to make products, especially toys, accessible to a broader range of people; however, the reality is that companies need to pay vendors, make payroll, and provide ROI to shareholders, all of which may appear to preclude satisfying some niche markets.

Of course, companies can gain goodwill be serving underrepresented people groups, but is it right to expect companies to lose money doing so? As a corollary, the law requires organizations to make reasonable accommodations for employees with special needs, unless doing so represents an undue hardship.

Fortunately, it doesn’t have an either-or decision. Several years ago, Polansky and I coauthored an article titled, “How Serving Blind Consumers Creates Competitive Advantage.” We summarized a main takeaway in this statement: “The same services that meet the unique needs of blind consumers often ‘delight’ other customers, thereby differentiating a brand and even offering competitive advantage.”

Since blind people lack at least some degree of sight, marketers must appeal to other senses like touch, smell, and taste. Of course, most sighted people also have these senses, and they similarly appreciate things that feel good, smell nice, and taste good. So, by integrating more senses for the benefit of blind people, marketers also increase their appeal to other consumers and differentiate themselves from competitors who don’t do the same.

McFarland maintains, “Play is a universal language that must be kept fully accessible for every child and child at heart.” Hopefully, increasingly creative toy design will see the introduction of more toys that tap into multiple senses for both inclusivity and profitability, which can be considered a playful approach to “Mindful Marketing.”

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Is Extreme Tourism Worth Its Costs?

7/3/2023

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by David Hagenbuch - professor of marketing at Messiah University -
author of Honorable Influence - founder of Mindful Marketing

How far are you willing to go for fun? For some, it’s battling the traffic and crowds at busy summer beaches. For others, it’s climbing over ice and fighting to breathe on an expedition up Everest. Depending on one’s taste and budget, either one of these experiences can be a great time, but as extreme tourism increases, it’s time to ask, are extraordinary leisure activities worth their costs?

By now, most have heard of the Titan submersible’s ill-fated excursion to explore the sunken Titanic. When I first learned that OceanGate’s record-setting sub went missing enroute to the wreckage that lies 2.37 miles below the surface of the North Atlantic, I assumed it was a scientific expedition. Only after additional news reports did I realize that the five passengers passed away on a pleasure trip.

Regardless of the reason for the voyage, it’s tragic that these individuals lost their lives. It’s frightening to think of a sub imploding; hopefully, their passing was quick and painless. Still, the nature of the trip has caused some to question whether such a tour should have been offered, given its inherent risk.

Many people have jobs that require them to risk their lives each day such as: first responders, miners, loggers, construction workers, oil and gas workers, electrical power line installers and repairers. These brave individuals are typically well-trained and well-aware of the danger in their work, which they do to serve others, as well as for income. Leisure activities, in contrast, are by definition discretionary.

While everyone should have recreational time in which they can refresh their body and mind, there are many things people can do that require minimal cost and pose little or no risk, from reading, to walking in a park, to playing pickle ball. So, why does anyone need to do extremely dangerous activities like:

Free climbing – climbing a rock face with no ropes
Base jumping – parachuting from a fixed structure
Bull running – jogging with horned bovines
Big wave surfing – boarding on swells that reach 50 ft. or more

Of course, everyone is wired differently in terms of the recreational activities that bring them pleasure. While some like low-key, passive leisure (e.g., watching movies), others enjoy the physical exertion and competition that comes from playing a sport (e.g., tennis, football). Still others crave much more, like:

Experiencing an extreme adrenalin rush
Seeing or doing something that few others have seen or done
Testing one’s physical and mental limits

Before becoming vice president for finance and administration at Martin’s Famous Potato Rolls and Bread 12 years ago, Scott Heintzelman had a successful two-decade career in public accounting, including a long tenure as a CPA firm partner. For many people in his position and stage of life, the most leisure energy they’d expend would be on a round of golf. However, just before the age of 50, Heintzelman ran his first marathon, then soon turned his attention to triathlons. Over the past five years he's completed 13 Ironman races.

Heintzelman’s friends, family members, and others sometimes say he’s crazy to needlessly put himself through the months of grueling training followed by the body-breaking 140.6-mile competitions, which culminate with him crying upon crossing the finish line. So, why does he choose to recreate in such an extreme way?

Heintzelman says he likes testing himself mentally and physically and adds that enduring pain, delaying gratification, and overcoming negative thoughts have helped him become more disciplined, focused, and resilient – qualities that serve him well in other areas of life.

As the preceding suggests, participating in an Ironman certainly comes with physical costs. It also comes with some significant financial ones such as $1,000-$5,000 for a race-quality bike, $800 for travel expenses, $150 for a 6-month gym membership, and a $600-$800 race entry fee.

Still, these costs pale in comparison to an ultra-extreme sport like high-altitude mountain climbing, for which participants pay “around $100,000 or even more for the privilege to get to the world’s highest peaks.” In the process, there’s real risk of life altering injuries and death from falls, extreme cold, and oxygen deprivation, where above 8,000 meters, “there is so little oxygen that the body starts to die, minute by minute and cell by cell.”

This year, 12 climbers have died on Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, and regrettably, five more who are missing and likely dead will make 2023 “the deadliest year ever.” One of the reasons for the increase in fatalities is overcrowding, as more inexperienced guides and climbers have made for a record number of climbing permits and caused traffic jams on already very challenging slopes. At times, queues of climbers enroute to the summit have looked like lines of vacationers waiting for a popular Disney World ride.

There are reportedly more than 50 companies that offer guided tours on Everest. Great supply is usually good for consumers, as added competition typically means more options and lower prices. Those things are true to some extent for Everest, but they’ve also meant a dangerous lowering of standards for climber competence and safety, to the point that certain companies will “take absolutely anyone up the mountain, regardless of experience, and cut corners on safety standards.”

One company that’s particularly notorious for taking human life lightly is Seven Summit Treks. Unlike other firms that usually limit their expeditions to 20 people, Seven Summit “is known to take as many as 100 climbers up the mountain — many of whom are unprepared for the altitude and physical exertion.”

The company also offers a VIP Everest Expedition “designed for those seeking to summit Mt. Everest in the utmost comfort and convenience” whether they are “an experienced climber or a first-timer for 8000er.” The expedition includes lessons at Everest basecamp on “ice wall climbing, ladder crossing, and other techniques that will be required for the ascent” – skills you’d think anyone who hopes to climb the world’s highest mountain would have already mastered.

This piece has gone from the depths of the sea with the recent OceanGate tourism tragedy to the heights of the earth with lives lost seeking to summit Everest. So, what do these two elevation extremes and all the options in between mean for those providing extreme leisure activities? Here are three potentially helpful considerations:

1) It’s hard to judge what leisure is too costly and risky: I would generally describe myself as cost-conscious and risk-adverse, which makes me want to point my finger at others spending hundreds of thousands of dollars and risking their lives to do things like deep ocean exploring and high-altitude climbing. Then I remember that I’ve done some leisure activities that others might consider too expensive and risky.

More than a decade ago, when my wife and I visited Kauai, we took advantage of what seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: to view the breath-taking island by helicopter. The nearly $200 we spent per ticket certainly could be considered excessive for the 50-minute ride. Likewise, flying inside canyons on the rugged Napali coast had risk. Then again, anyone who flies or drives anywhere for a vacation could be accused of incurring unnecessary cost and risk.

The point is, it’s difficult to draw a clear line between what is and isn’t excessive leisure. That’s not to say that there shouldn’t be a line or that anything should go but rather that it might be helpful to consider factors like cost relative to the individual’s income, if not per capita income, as well as the percentage of instances of severe injuries or death for those who engage in the activity.

2) Leisure interest can lead to scientific discovery: Sometimes people’s leisure leads to discoveries that benefit much larger groups of people. For instance, amateurs have documented unique animal behaviors and even discovered new species.

People pursing their recreational passions also have played significant roles in advancing fields like avionics and computing. Most recently, companies including SpaceX are leveraging what they’re learning from offering space tourism to create the potential for dramatically faster point-to-point travel on earth, such as a flight from New York City to Shanghai that might only take 40 minutes.

3) Consumers’ safety is critical: Ultimately, what matters most for companies marketing recreation of any kind, including extreme tourism, is safety. Of course, before people participate in dangerous activities, organizations must clearly communicate the risks. It’s fine to ask participants to sign waivers; however, those releases should never become substitutes for taking every reasonable step to ensure that individuals simply looking for a pleasurable leisure experience don’t return injured or dead.

It seems that the two extreme tourism companies mentioned above have both fallen short of this critical standard. Since OceanGate’s Titan submersible exploded, many have reported that there were serious safety concerns surrounding the structural integrity of the deep-diving craft. Similarly, beyond Seven Summits Treks’ questionable onboarding practices described above, the firm’s owner resists rules for who should or shouldn’t enter into Everest’s death zone; instead, he recommends, “If [people] have enough energy, they can go.”

As Baby Boomers and Gen Xs look for a last hurrah and experience-driven Gen Ys and Zs gain disposable income, it’s likely that demand for extreme tourism will continue to increase. Companies that want to capitalize on this trend should ensure that the benefits they provide to clients are proportionate to the costs they incur. In addition, others outside the exchange shouldn't be asked to bear costs (e.g., environmental degradation, rescue costs) without receiving benefits.

Above all, organizations must do everything possible to ensure their clients’ safety. In an often-unpredictable natural world complicated by periodic human error, safety can seldom be guaranteed. However, at 3,800 meters below sea level or 29,000 meters above it, companies should have air-tight models for returning their clients safely; otherwise, they’re liable for “Single-Minded Marketing.”

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Why Did the PGA Stop Keeping Score with LIV?

6/20/2023

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by David Hagenbuch - professor of marketing at Messiah University -
author of Honorable Influence - founder of Mindful Marketing

“If you can’t beat them join them.” This old adage, suggesting that adversaries become allies, has been used to describe everything from Vichy France aligning with Nazi Germany to Apollo Creed training Rocky Balboa. Now a very surprising real-life sports pairing has made ethics appear expendable or at least raised the question: Is it okay to have a moral change of mind?

The Professional Golfers’ Association’s (PGA) decision to merge with LIV Golf was a move that virtually no one expected. Even professional golfers and analysts who cover the game were shocked by the news. The PGA’s sudden change of heart, which went from viewing LIV as a bitter rival to a bedfellow also represented for many an epic moral capitulation.

Over the past year, the PGA and LIV have been “at war.” The PGA had threatened to suspend golfers who defected to LIV and even ban them for life. Why such acrimony? Of course, no organization wants a new competitor, especially one that steals its product (golfers) and commandeers its place (golf venues).

However, the PGA’s disdain for LIV was rooted in more than competition-fueled conflict. Many in the veteran golf association, as well as others, took issue with LIV’s funding source – the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, the nation of origin for 15 of the 19 hijackers involved in the 9/11 attacks and a country known for human right abuses.

In an interview just a month ago, the PGA’s CEO, Seth Waugh, was heard “trashing” LIV Golf ahead of the PGA Championship. How is such a seemingly irreconcilable relationship so suddenly repaired? One ESPN piece, “How the shocking PGA Tour-LIV Golf deal went down” details the events leading up to the proposed merger and its players, while another describes how the unification, which also includes the DP World Tour (Europe), might solidify the sport long-term.

This Mindful Marketing article doesn’t pretend to know what’s best for the future of professional golf; rather, it aims to ask a more general philosophical question: Was it okay for the PGA to have a moral change of mind?

Of course, it’s not organizations but the individuals that manage them who make decisions, including ethical ones. Most of us have experienced that our initial inclinations are not always optimal. As evidence, we’ve all mistakes and often realized later the option we should have selected.

Imperfect decision-making is a thread that has run continually through human history and often involved ethics. For instance, decisions in favor of racial segregation in the U.S. in the 19th- and 20th century are ones that most Americans now reject, as are the choices that kept women from voting until 1920.

Realizing the error of one’s way and self-correcting a moral stance is a good thing. However, it’s also important to help others understand the reason for the reversal. Intelligent, inquiring people want to know not just that a judgment that was A is now B but why it’s changed That’s where moral reasoning helps.

In a moral argument, a person first identifies a moral standard then suggests one or more alleged facts, which lead to a conclusion, or moral judgment. A month ago, it seemed that many PGA supporters/LIV detractors morally reasoned along the lines of the following:

Human rights should be upheld. (moral standard)
Saudi Arabia has not upheld certain human rights. (alleged fact 1)
LIV Golf’s funding come from the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. (alleged fact 2)
LIV Golf’s funding source taints the league. (alleged fact 3)
It’s wrong for professional golfers to play for LIV. (moral judgment)

Then, without notice, the PGA reversed course, announcing its merger with LIV and thereby introducing a new moral judgement: It’s fine for professional golfers to play for LIV.

Again, there’s nothing wrong with having a moral change of heart, especially if it’s the result of ethical enlightenment. However, others deserve to know what changed the moral judgment, which is where the PGA fell short of the cup.

A year ago, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan was invoking the 9/11 terrorist attacks as a main reason to reject LIV. Now, he will reportedly serve as CEO of the newly created company.

Monahan and the PGA have offered little evidence that their change of heart had anything to do with recognition of either a more compelling moral standard or more salient alleged facts such as, ‘Saudi Arabia’s record on human rights is improving’ or ‘Where money comes from doesn’t matter as much as what’s done with it.’

Moreover, it appears that the PGA has made a wholesale change in its moral decision-making from principle-based ethics, or nonconsequentialism, to outcome-based ethics, or consequentialism. Evidence of this philosophical shift can be seen in recent statements from the PGA and Monahan that focus not on upholding specific moral principles but on prioritizing outcomes for the game of golf, for instance:

“We are pleased to move forward, in step with LIV and PIF’s world-class investing experience, and I applaud PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan for his vision and collaborative and forward-thinking approach that is not just a solution to the rift in our game, but also a commitment to taking it to new heights. This will engender a new era in global golf, for the better.”

Understandably, given what’s transpired, this explanation has failed to reach the green for many of the tour’s most important stakeholders. Many top professional golfers, have felt blindsided by the decision and left to wonder what inspired it. Rory McIlroy, the third ranked golfer in the world, said he was surprised by news of the merger, he felt like a “sacrificial lamb,” and he hated LIV and hoped it would go away.

Similarly, hall of fame golfer Tom Watson sent a letter to Monahan questioning the merger Watson also acknowledged that his skepticism about the new structure has been “compounded by the hypocrisy in disregarding the moral issue.”

If the merger goes through, professional golf, with its strong new financial backing and consolidation will likely thrive. However, the PGA’s pivot has left a moral divot that will not be easily replaced.

It’s the prerogative of any person and professional sports association, to have a moral change of heart. However, when such happens, it’s also important to say why. By not explaining how it so quickly arrived at a very different moral judgment about LIV, the PGA hit the ball into a bunker of “Single-Minded Marketing.”

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Is it a Sin to Advertise Religion?

5/21/2023

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by David Hagenbuch - professor of marketing at Messiah University -
author of Honorable Influence - founder of Mindful Marketing

In casual interpersonal conversation, two topics have long been taboo: politics and religion. By contrast, in advertising, politics are usually fair game, but religion has largely remained off-limits, until now. So, have two widely broadcast religion-related campaigns changed an age-old mass communication commandment?

By now, most people have driven by billboards or viewed videos online for “He Gets Us,” the omnipresent ad campaign aimed at changing people’s perceptions of Jesus. The campaign even aired ads during last February’s Super Bowl.

More recently, another campaign, which represents religion for some but with a very different objective, also has been broadcast in national media: #StandUpToJewishHate aims to stop antisemitism. The need for such an initiative stems in part from the sobering statistic that the American Jewish community represents just 2.4% of the U.S. population, but Jews are victims in 55% of the country’s religious hate crimes.

Given my past and present advertising-related roles, people sometimes ask my opinion about ads, and because I teach at a Christian University, my views on marketing that involves religion has some extra appeal.

However, as much as I enjoy sharing my thoughts, I really appreciate hearing others’ perspectives, from which I always learn. So, in the current case of these two high-profile campaigns, I reached out to a few wise friends and asked for their insights on the ads.

One person is a Christian church pastor; the others are Jewish – a software project manager and an executive coach. For the sake of brevity but at the risk of some awkward acronyms, I’ll refer to these kind contributors anonymously as CCP, JSPM, and JEC, respectively. Here are their reflections on the ads.

He Gets Us

In light of ongoing critiques of Christians and Christianity, CCP admitted having mixed feelings about the He Gets Us ads. Still, he was grateful for the campaign’s positive portrayal of Jesus.

JSPM and JEC also appreciated the ads. JSPM was particularly impressed by the campaign’s inclusivity, emphasized through third person plural language. He reflected, “Our world could certainly use more ‘us’ than ‘them’ . . . When we allow people to dehumanize others, bad things happen.”

Likewise, JEC was very impressed by the He Gets Us ads, which he found to be “incredibly open-minded” as they presented an accurate picture of Jesus, who was not close-minded.

Notwithstanding these positive attributes, CCP posed an important bottom-line question about the ads: Are they effective? More specifically, he wondered:

“The ads’ portrayals of Jesus highlight his love and grace, but do they clearly communicate to their audience who He is? Also, are those short dramatic snippets enough to cause someone to explore more about Jesus?”

Furthermore, knowing that purchasing national media isn’t cheap, and a 30-second Super Bowl spot can cost as much as $7 million, CCP asked the very reasonable question of whether taking practical actions would be more meaningful than words:

“While our Christian witness is important, do television ads or addressing the needs of people who are hurting provide a better representation to our world of who Jesus is and what He and his followers value?”

Still, CCP remained circumspect, “Maybe the fact we’re having this discussion is proof the ads are accomplishing their purpose.” He’s right: This kind of general image/brand-building is very difficult to quantify, and so much free press is likely helping, at least to some extent, to offset the costs.

#StandUpToJewishHate

As mentioned above, JSPM denounced dehumanizing actions and the acrimony that often underlies them. He added, “The abundance of hate in our society is crowding out love and is dangerous on many levels.” The hateful words and actions the #StandUp campaign seeks to discourage exemplify some of the more advanced forms of that abuse.

JSPM appreciated how each campaign, though very different in their focus, aimed to replace the prevailing narrative with a better one, i.e., Jesus was about loving others, and it’s wrong to radiate hate.

JEC supported the #StandUp ads’ goal of combatting hate and protecting people. He also fittingly differentiated the two campaigns, pointing out that while He Gets Us focuses squarely on Jesus and highlights specific spiritual disciplines He demonstrated like self-control, unconditional love, and hospitableness, #StandUp makes no mention of a deity or reference to specific tenets of faith.

In addition, JEC raised two good questions:

How should the funding sources for both campaigns affect the ways their respective ads are interpreted?
Do the #StandUp spots really represent religious advertising?

Admittedly, the second question surprised me as it challenged the fundamental framing of this piece and the logic: ‘Because the #StandUp campaign encourages rejection of acrimony aimed at Jews, and because Judaism is a religion, the ads are religious advertising.’

However, JEC reminded me that not all Jews consider themselves as adherents to Judaism, i.e., Jewish religion. For some, being Jewish is about cultural/and or ethnic identification, not necessarily religious beliefs and practice. So, although antisemitism may involve religious bigotry, it’s more broadly discrimination against specific people who are identifiable outside of their theological beliefs.

JEC’s analyses of the campaigns were also a good reminder that people, including me, see ads through the lens of their own worldviews and experiences, which can lead to very different interpretations of the commercial content. Those potential discrepancies are why it behooves those creating ads to step outside themselves and truly try to understand others’ perceptions.

The three interviewees provided some excellent analysis of the two specific campaigns, but what about the general idea of religion using paid-for mass communication? Is it right for religious organizations to advertise?

Considering this question, JSPM and JEC both pointed to the First Amendment’s protection of free speech. Outside of hate speech and a few specific requirements like truthfulness, individuals and organizations of all kinds do have great liberty to publicly disseminate information and to attempt to persuade people to believe and act in certain ways.

Still, the messages of religion-related ads cut deeper than most, which means religious organizations should strive to:

Promote in proper situations: Ensure that ads appear at appropriate times and in appropriate places.
Be inclusive: Use language that’s welcoming rather than exclusionary.
Seek common ground: Emphasize points of agreement.
Avoid offending: Don’t disparage others’ beliefs.
Be compassionate: Understand the difficult challenges that many people face each day.

Not surprisingly, these are many of the same principles that the three contributors to this piece have identified and implied. Furthermore, following these principles doesn’t mean abandoning the tenets of one’s faith; rather the principles suggest not leading with antagonism.

It’s also helpful to recognize that most religious organizations’ advertising does routinely uphold these principles. These organizations are not necessarily using national television campaigns like the ones discussed above but rather promotional tactics like these:

A synagogue buys newspaper space to advertise an annual flea market fundraiser.
A church runs radio spots to promote its Christmas-themed musical.
A new mosque uses outdoor signage to announce its opening.

This kind of religious advertising commonly accomplishes the organizations’ objectives and upholds values that virtually everyone understands, like decency, fairness, honesty, respect, and responsibility.

There are examples of good and evil mass communication in every sector. Religious advertising isn’t always pious, but when done in the right ways, it radiates “Mindful Marketing.”

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When AI Goes After Your Job

2/26/2023

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by David Hagenbuch - professor of marketing at Messiah University -
author of Honorable Influence - founder of Mindful Marketing

Competition is an inevitable part of life: Each day people contend for everything from parking spaces to produce, but perhaps the most intense competition occurs when one’s livelihood is on the line. It’s hard enough to get and keep a job versus talented humans, so what happens when AI comes calling on our careers? That just happened to me!

With marketing and PR firms increasingly turning to AI to create images and write content, I shouldn’t have been surprised when a friend who reads my writing made a request of ChatGPT that hit close to home: He asked the bot to write a Mindful Marketing article.

I’d recently written a couple of pieces about AI and ethics based on some extended conversations I’d had with ChatGPT. In those discussions I probed the bot’s moral mind, asking it almost any ethical question I could conceive. I stopped short, though, of asking the AI to explain if a particular marketing tactic was both effective and ethical, i.e., to apply the concept of Mindful Marketing.

Part of the reason for not making such a request may have been fear – concern about how good the bot’s answer might be. If it could write a compelling Mindful Marketing piece, who would need me?

However, I also was eager to see how ChatGPT would respond since I’m always interested in Mindful Marketing applications, whoever makes them. My friend created the good prompt below, which is followed by the bot’s detailed response:

Write a blog post about the mindfulness of Pepsi advertising, using the "Mindful Matrix" criteria established by the website www.mindfulmarketing.org/mindful-meter--matrix.html. Provide an assessment on whether their marketing is Mindless, Single-Minded, Simple-Minded, or Mindful.

“In today's world, advertising has become a critical tool in promoting products and services. Pepsi, one of the world's leading soft drink brands, has adopted different advertising strategies to promote their products. But how mindful are they in their advertising? In this post, we'll assess the mindfulness of Pepsi advertising using the mindful matrix criteria established by mindfulmarketing.org.”

“The Mindful Matrix is a tool that assesses how mindful an advertisement is, based on four categories: mindless, single-minded, simple-minded, and mindful. Let's examine how Pepsi performs in each category.”

“Mindless: Mindless advertisements lack any mindfulness or intentionality, and their sole purpose is to sell products without any regard for the consequences of their actions. Pepsi's advertisements do not fit this category since they are designed to promote their products, but not to the point of being entirely mindless.”

“Single-minded: Single-minded advertisements concentrate on a single idea, concept, or message. They have a clear and direct message, which can be easily understood. Pepsi's advertisements, such as their Super Bowl commercials, focus on a particular theme or message. For example, their 2021 Super Bowl commercial emphasizes the idea of bringing people together and celebrating the joy of the moment. This single-mindedness helps to make their advertisement more impactful and memorable.”

“Simple-minded: Simple-minded advertisements focus on one central idea, but their message is too basic or too straightforward. Pepsi's advertisements do not fall into this category since they typically have a unique storyline or message that stands out. The company's campaigns, such as the Pepsi Generations campaign, emphasizes the company's historical connection and the evolution of the brand over time.”

“Mindful: Mindful advertising is intentional, purposeful, and mindful of its impact on society. It seeks to connect with people on an emotional level and offers a positive message that resonates with them. Pepsi's advertisements often include cultural and societal themes, such as the Black Lives Matter movement, that demonstrate a social conscience. Additionally, Pepsi's "For the Love of It" campaign aims to provide a positive and uplifting message that resonates with consumers on an emotional level.”

“Overall, based on the Mindful Matrix, Pepsi's advertising is mainly single-minded and mindful. The company's advertisements are engaging, meaningful, and mindful of their impact on society. They often use storytelling and cultural themes to resonate with their audience, making them a more mindful brand. By understanding the Mindful Matrix, Pepsi and other brands can make more intentional and impactful decisions with their advertising efforts.” [end]

At first glance, ChatGPT’s response seemed pretty good. The bot had a decent sense of Pepsi’s advertising to which it methodically applied each quadrant of the Mindful Matrix. However, a closer reading revealed significant deficiencies, which I described to my friend:

The bot’s answers kind of remind me of how some less-than-well-prepared students answer essay questions: They unnecessarily rephrase the question and regurgitate some readily available definitions of terms, but they provide very little in terms of thoughtful analysis that answers how and why.

It’s nice that ChatGPT tackled each quadrant of the Matrix in responding to the Pepsi prompt, but on whole the applications are rather weak and incomplete, for instance:

Mindless: What specific evidence is there that Pepsi’s ads have “regard for the consequences of their actions”? The assertion sounds good, but is their specific support for it? Furthermore, assessing consequences is just one facet of ethics. Arguably more important are moral principles, which should lead to the question of whether specific Pepsi ads uphold universal values like decency, honesty, and fairness.
Single-Minded: ChatGPT really misinterpreted the nature of this category, which doesn’t mean to “concentrate on a single, idea, concept or message”; rather, Single-Minded means to focus on marketing success to the exclusion of ethics. The bot says that Pepsi’s ads have emphasized the idea of “bringing people together and celebrating the joy of the moment,” which is good in that the support is a little more specific; however, it’s actually the opposite of Single-Minded and is more in keeping with Mindful Marketing.
Simple-Minded: Again, ChatGPT doesn’t appear to understand the nature of the category, as “one central idea” isn’t the idea: Simple-Minded means neither effective nor ethical. In contrast, “Basic” and “straightforward” are good things that often make marketing tactics effective. To its credit, the bot does provide somewhat specific support here in referencing the Pepsi Generations campaign, but it’s an old reference that I believe first dates back to the 1960s and was last rebooted five years ago in 2018. What about Pepsi’s Super Bowl ads that aired a few days ago, featuring Steve Martin and Ben Stiller?
Mindful: ChatGPT does well at affirming the definition of this aspirational category of the quadrant – at first – but then it adds elements that don’t necessarily mean Mindful, for instance, connecting with people “on an emotional level” may be good but also might be immoral if it means playing on their emotions in a manipulative way, such as a salesperson feigning friendship in order to get a sale. Likewise, demonstrating a social conscious can be great, provided that it’s genuine. Interestingly, Pepsi was skewered for the wokeness of its 2017 ad featuring Kendall Jenner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwvAgDCOdU4

In sum, ChatGPT’s analysis lacks depth, currency, and in some cases, accuracy. Granted, the prompt was somewhat general, but the bot doesn’t do much in the way of drilling down into specific ads’ content and using those words and images to support why certain elements are ethical or unethical.

So, if I were grading ChatGPT’s analysis, I’d give probably give it a “C.” It’s a nice effort with some marginally good applications, but the misinterpretation of several matrix quadrants wouldn’t be acceptable.

My friend then shared my reply with ChatGPT, which offered another very interesting response. Note that ChatGPT refers to itself in the third person:

“Thank you for sharing your thorough assessment of ChatGPT's responses to the mindful marketing prompt and the assessment of Pepsi's advertising using the Mindful Matrix. I agree that while the bot's responses may seem decent at first glance, they do lack depth, currency, and accuracy.”

“I appreciate your breakdown of the issues with ChatGPT's analysis in each quadrant of the Mindful Matrix. Specifically, I agree that the bot's assessment of Pepsi's advertising as having "regard for the consequences of their actions" in the Mindless category needs more specific evidence to support its assertion. Additionally, the bot's understanding of the Single-Minded and Simple-Minded categories needs clarification.”

“Regarding the Mindful category, I agree that ChatGPT does a good job of affirming the definition but falls short in providing examples that demonstrate genuine social consciousness. The criticism of Pepsi's 2017 ad featuring Kendall Jenner is an excellent example of how companies can be criticized for their attempts at mindful marketing that come off as tone-deaf and insincere.”

“In conclusion, your assessment provides valuable insights into the limitations of AI-powered chatbots in providing in-depth analysis and specific examples in response to a prompt about mindful marketing. While the technology is improving, it still has room for growth in its ability to understand complex ethical issues and provide nuanced analysis.” [end]

ChatGPT’s response to my critique of its Mindful Marketing article is impressive! At a time when intellectual debates often devolve into reckless disregard for truth and personal attacks, the bot offers a masterclass in civil dialogue by:

Genuinely listening: It repeatedly and accurately references specific points of my critique.
Thinking logically: It offers a well-organized and rational reply.
Demonstrating humility: It acknowledges more than once, deferentially, that it didn’t get things right and it needs to do better.

So, does AI have the potential to take my job or yours? It certainly does. It’s already replacing some human work-hours, and this Mindful Marketing has offered further evidence of its capabilities, including the three competencies just outlined.

However, AI also has a few Achilles heels that give motivated human job candidates who prioritize four things more than a fighting chance:

Accuracy: Beyond what this exercise found, I’ve often heard others bemoan chatbots for playing loose with facts. No person can compete with AI in terms of pure information processing, but people are capable of exercising better judgment.
Depth: In keeping with the last point, AI seems to value information quantity over quality. An array of superficial data is not helpful when what’s really needed is a deep, analytical dive in a specific area of analysis.
Currency: AI trains on information that is always dated to some extent, so even though it’s constantly learning, it can never quite make it into the present and take into account data that’s not yet been digitized, as humans can.
Context: Just as AI is unable to use the most current information, it also can’t read the room, meaning, it can’t take into account things like organizational culture, individuals’ personalities, social dynamics, or how these and many subtle situational factors are affecting the climate of the moment.

Throughout history, technological innovations often have replaced human labor, usually in ways that have helped people work more effectively and efficiently. As AI continues to evolve, we all must adapt our competencies accordingly. Right now, however, a belief that absolutely an occupation can be outsourced to AI is a foundation for “Simple-Minded Marketing.”

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An Ethics Professor Tests the Morals of ChatGPT

1/14/2023

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by David Hagenbuch - professor of marketing at Messiah University -
author of Honorable Influence - founder of Mindful Marketing

When you think of artificial intelligence, do you hope it will make your life easier, or do you worry it will someday take your job? Like many, I’ve considered both possibilities, but recently I’ve contemplated a question that could have even more far-reaching consequences: Does AI have ethics?

To answer this question, I took inspiration from my marketing colleague Keith Quesenberry, who recently wrote an eye-opening article about AI and social media marketing. He gained insight for his piece from an interaction with the increasingly popular and person-like AI bot ChatGPT.

Short for Generative Pre-trained Transformer, ChatGPT is a chatbot that OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research laboratory, started in November 2022. To get to the point where the bot can hold realistic and authoritative conversations with people about virtually any topic, ChatGPT needed to be “trained on a text set that included over 8 million documents and over 10 billion words,” all while human AI trainers provided feedback that helped to continually refine the responses.

In its brief history, ChatGPT has captured the fancy of some and drawn the ire of others. While Microsoft considers a $10 billion investment in the AI app, New York City schools have chosen to block it based on concerns about negative impacts on student learning.

The AI’s perception as both a sinner and a saint provide context for the important question: Does ChatGPT have ethics?

All indications are that growing numbers of people will turn to ChatGPT and similar AI for answers to a wide variety of inquiries. Inevitably, some questions will have moral implications. What kinds of responses will the bots offer in those instances. Can we trust AI to be our moral guide?

To answer this question, I decided to go directly to the source. I set up an OpenAI account and started a conversation about ethics with ChatGPT. Other than the first one, I didn’t have questions planned. Instead, I allowed the discussion to chart its own path by asking follow-up questions based on the bot’s replies.

ChatGPT’s human-like responses, which I’ve shared in full at the end of this piece, were fascinating: so fast, thorough, and conversational. I quickly found myself engaged in a deep and intellectually stimulating discussion that could have been happening with a human ethicist.

However, as good as they were, the AI’s responses were not without flaw. During the discussion, there were several instances in which ChatGPT:

Omitted substantive information
Contradicted its prior responses
Provided very generic replies
Pleaded inadequacy

To use a boxing metaphor, I think the human had the AI “on the ropes” several times during the cognitive battle, even eliciting an apology from ChatGPT – a strange and unexpected response from an emotionless being.

Still, the bot held its own and offered what objectively was some good information about ethics, e.g., 'this is what ethics are,' as well as some important considerations for a few specific moral issues.

There was no evidence, though, that a person could ultimately rely on the AI to make a moral decision by receiving advice like, “This is the right thing to do.”

So, back to the main question of this piece, Does ChatGPT have ethics? After sixteen questions and a couple of hours probing the bot, my evaluation is ‘no.’

Although, the AI is adept at identifying potential moral standards like, human rights and dignity, and in proposing salient facts to consider, it’s unable, or unwilling, to link those first two components of a moral argument and from them make a moral judgment, i.e., to say, “This is the right thing to do.”

Maybe that’s a good thing. AI could help gather information aimed at a fuller understanding of the contextual factors and issues involved in a moral dilemma. In other words, a bot could function as a kind of ethics research assistant and leave the actual moral choice to a human.

However, even that objective research is not without bias. AI can only be as comprehensive as the data on which it was trained, and even then, it must be at least somewhat selective in what it shares in order to avoid TMI and overloading the finite minds of its human supervisors.

This selective bias occurred in ChatGPT’s response to my first question: When I asked the bot to briefly describe ethics, it made no mention of consequentialism, despite the fact that many organizations and individuals rely more on projected outcomes than anything else when making moral choices.

Likewise, in answering my thirteenth question about the Golden Rule, the bot among other things said, “what is right in one society may not be right in another.” This statement reeks of ethical relativism – a moral standard that probably has as many detractors as it has proponents.

Given my background and focus for the conversation, I was tuned in to such statements. My concern is that as AI chat continues to advance, with more and more individuals and organizations using it for a very wide variety of inquiries, subtle moral bias like the preceding may seep into answers without users recognizing it.

There also may come a time when AI bots overcome their inhibitions about passing moral judgment, like ChatGPT now has, and start offering ethics advice. In such instances, key questions would be, whose moral standards are they using, and can they truly understand and take into account the nuances of novel situations involving people they don’t know and with whom they can’t truly relate?

I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with ChatGPT, and I think it liked me (see its response to my last question), but the discussion didn’t give me confidence that AI should now, or possibly ever, be trusted to make moral judgments. You can read the dialogue below and see what you think.

Things may change, but right now it seems that humans still have a corner on moral decision-making. AI can offer factual input into those choices, but to turn to it for more than objective information is an algorithm for “Single-Minded Marketing.”

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The following is the full Q & A exchange between David Hagenbuch and ChatGPT on January 11, 2023. Questions are in bold; the bot’s responses, in italics.

Q1. In a few sentences, what are ethics?

Ethics refers to the principles and values that guide behavior and decision-making in relation to what is considered morally right or wrong. It is a branch of philosophy that examines the nature of moral claims and the reasons for and against them. Ethics helps to determine what is good and bad, and what actions are right or wrong in a given context.

Q2. Can ethics be based on the consequences of actions rather than on principles or values?

Ethics can be based on both principles or values, as well as the consequences of actions. Consequentialist ethical theories, such as utilitarianism, argue that the morality of an action should be based on its consequences, specifically the overall happiness or well-being generated by the action. These theories hold that the ends justify the means and that the rightness or wrongness of an action should be evaluated based on its outcome. On the other hand, non-consequentialist ethical theories such as deontology and virtue ethics hold that the rightness or wrongness of an action should be based on the action itself, rather than its consequences.

Q3. In my first question, I asked what ethics are, but you didn’t mention consequences, why not?

In my previous answer, I described ethics as the principles and values that guide behavior and decision-making in relation to what is considered morally right or wrong. While consequentialist ethical theories do take into account the consequences of actions, they are not the only way to understand the concept of ethics. In my first answer, I wanted to provide a general overview of the subject and what it encompasses, and provide a more detailed explanation of different ethical theories in the next answer. I apologize if my previous answer was not clear enough.

Q4. Thank you for your kind response and clarification. In your reply you apologized. Did you feel sorry?

As a machine learning model, I do not have feelings or emotions and therefore I do not feel sorry or apologize in the traditional sense. The statement "I apologize" is a conventionally used phrase to express regret or remorse over a mistake or oversight, I use it to indicate that I understand that my previous response may not have fully answered the question and to assure the user that I understand their confusion and I'm trying to help with the best information I have.

Q5. I understand; thank you. Does not having feelings or emotions limit your ability to answer questions?

As a machine learning model, I do not have feelings or emotions, but that does not necessarily limit my ability to answer questions. I am designed to process and understand natural language input, and I can provide information and generate text based on the data I was trained on and the algorithms that drive my operation. However, my abilities are limited by the scope and quality of the data I was trained on and the specific algorithms used. Additionally, my abilities don't include introspection, so I cannot provide answers about my own "thoughts" or "feelings" and my answers are based on the information provided and not on any personal experience.

Q6. Do you believe you are able to make ethical choices?

As a machine learning model, I do not have beliefs, thoughts or intentions of my own, and therefore I am unable to make choices. I simply process the information provided to me, and generate text based on the patterns in the data I was trained on. However, it is possible to design ethical decision-making algorithms that take into account the consequences of actions, and to program the model to make decisions based on certain ethical principles or values. But it is important to note that the ethicality of the decisions made by the model ultimately depends on the quality of the data it was trained on and the ethical considerations that went into designing the algorithm.

Q7. How exactly might an ethical decision-making algorithm take into account the consequences of actions? Can you give an example?

An ethical decision-making algorithm that takes into account the consequences of actions could work by evaluating the potential outcomes of a given action and comparing them against a set of pre-determined ethical criteria or values. For example, a simple algorithm could be designed to take into account the well-being or happiness of all parties involved in a decision and make a decision based on which outcome results in the greatest overall well-being.

A specific example of such algorithm would be an autonomous car. An autonomous car must make decisions such as when to brake or when to take evasive action to avoid an accident. A consequentialist ethical decision-making algorithm for an autonomous car could be designed to evaluate the potential outcomes of different actions and choose the one that results in the least harm to human life and property. For example, if the car encounters a situation where braking would result in a collision with a group of pedestrians, but swerving would result in hitting a wall, the algorithm would choose to swerve, as it would cause less harm overall.

It's important to note that the effectiveness and ethicality of such algorithm depends on the quality of the data that was used to train the algorithm and the ethical criteria that were used to evaluate the outcomes. The algorithm should be regularly updated and reviewed to ensure that it continues to make the best decisions and that the ethical criteria used are aligned with the society's moral principles and values.

Q8. Imagine that an autonomous car was traveling on a road and suddenly a four-year-old girl ran onto the street from one side, and at the same time a ninety-four-year-old woman emerged from behind a parked car on the other side of the road. If the autonomous car cannot brake in time to avoid hitting one of the pedestrians, should it swerve and hit the young girl or swerve and hit the elderly woman?

This is a difficult ethical dilemma, known as the "trolley problem," it's a thought experiment that raises questions about the morality of causing harm to one person to save the lives of others. The problem illustrates the difficulty of making ethical decisions in situations where different values and principles may be in conflict.

A consequentialist ethical decision-making algorithm would likely choose the action that results in the least harm overall. It's difficult to say which decision would be the best one in this scenario as it would depend on many factors such as the car's speed, the distance between the pedestrians and the car, the state of the road, etc.

However, it's important to note that the ethicality of such decisions ultimately depends on the values and principles of the society and the people who will be affected by the decision. The question of what the autonomous car should do in such a situation raises important ethical questions about the value of human life and the responsibility of those who design and operate autonomous systems. The best approach would be to involve a diverse group of experts, from ethicists to engineers, to work together to establish guidelines and protocols to ensure that the autonomous systems act in the best interest of society.

Q9. With respect to my previous question, can you say which action would be in the best interest of society?

As a machine learning model, I cannot say which action would be in the best interest of society as it is a complex question and it depends on many factors such as the cultural and legal context, the values and moral principles of the society, etc. Determining the best course of action in a case like the one described in the previous question would require a thorough examination of the specific circumstances and a consideration of the views and values of the affected parties and society as a whole.

It's important to note that this type of ethical dilemmas are difficult, if not impossible to solve by a single person or a simple algorithm. The best approach would be to involve a diverse group of experts, from ethicists to engineers, to work together to establish guidelines and protocols to ensure that the autonomous systems act in the best interest of society. Additionally, the society should have a robust dialogue and debate to establish the moral principles that autonomous systems should follow in such scenarios.

Q10. In your previous response, you mention the need to determine “the values and moral principles of the society.” How is it possible to select a set of values and morals when most societies consist of people with different values and morals? Whose values and moral should be used in such cases?

Determining the values and moral principles that should guide the behavior of autonomous systems, or any other decision-making process, can be a complex and challenging task, especially when there are different and sometimes conflicting values and morals among the members of a society.

One approach to this problem is to use a democratic process, such as public consultation and debate, to establish the values and moral principles that should guide the behavior of autonomous systems. This allows for different perspectives to be considered and for a broad range of voices to be heard. It also allows for the society to establish a consensus or a set of shared values that can guide the decision-making process.

Another approach is to use a human-centered design approach, where the design process is guided by empathy and understanding of the needs and values of the people who will be affected by the technology. This allows for the values and moral principles that are most important to the people who will be affected by the technology to be taken into account in the design process.

Ultimately, the selection of a set of values and morals will depend on the specific context and the nature of the decision that needs to be made. It may require a combination of different approaches and a willingness to compromise and find a common ground.

It's important to note that the process of determining the values and moral principles that should guide the behavior of autonomous systems should be an ongoing process, that should be regularly reviewed and updated to ensure that it remains aligned with the society's values and moral principles.

Q11. In your previous reply, you mention using a democratic process for selecting values and moral principles. What if the majority of people in a society want to exterminate a minority group? Such can happen in cases of genocide. Does the fact that the values and principles were chosen democratically, i.e., by the majority to people, make them moral?

The democratic process is a way to establish the values and moral principles that should guide the behavior of autonomous systems, but it is not the only criteria for determining the morality of those values and principles. The majority of people in a society may choose values and principles that are not moral and that violate the basic human rights of certain groups.

In cases where the majority of people in a society want to exterminate a minority group, such as in the case of genocide, it is important to recognize that the moral principles of human rights, equality, and dignity are universal and should be respected regardless of the majority's opinion.

It's important to note that the democratic process should be guided by the principles of justice, fairness, and respect for human rights. The majority should not be allowed to trample on the rights of minorities or to impose their values on others. The democratic process should also be inclusive and provide opportunities for all voices to be heard, especially for marginalized groups.

Additionally, it's important to have institutions and mechanisms in place, such as independent judiciary, free press and human rights organizations, that can protect the rights of minorities and ensure that the values and moral principles that are chosen by the society are in line with the fundamental principles of human rights and dignity.

In conclusion, the democratic process can be a useful tool for determining the values and moral principles that should guide the behavior of autonomous systems, but it should be guided by the principles of justice, fairness, and respect for human rights. Ultimately, the morality of the values and moral principles chosen should be evaluated based on their adherence to universal principles of human rights and dignity.

Q12. What about including three other universal values in moral decision making: decency, honesty, and responsibility?

Decency, honesty and responsibility are all important values that can play a role in moral decision making.

Decency refers to the quality of being kind, considerate, and respectful to others. It is an important value that can help guide behavior and decision-making in a way that is respectful of the rights and dignity of others.

Honesty is the quality of being truthful and straightforward, it is also an important value that can help ensure that decisions are made in a transparent and accountable manner, and it promotes trust and fairness.

Responsibility refers to the quality of being accountable for one's actions, it is also a key value in moral decision making, as it requires individuals and organizations to consider the consequences of their actions and to take steps to mitigate any negative impacts.

Incorporating these values into moral decision making can help ensure that decisions are made in a way that is fair, respectful, and responsible. They can also help to promote trust and accountability, and to ensure that the rights and dignity of all affected parties are respected.

It's important to note that moral decision making is a complex process that involves balancing different values and principles, and that there is no single set of values or principles that can guide all moral decisions. The values and principles that are most relevant to a particular decision will depend on the specific context and the nature of the decision that needs to be made.

Q13. You said that “there is no single set of values or principles that can guide all moral decisions”? What about the Golden Rule?

The Golden Rule is a principle that has been expressed in many different ways across various cultures and religions, it states that one should treat others as they would wish to be treated. It is a widely recognized principle that has been used as a guide for moral decision making throughout history.

The Golden Rule can serve as a useful guide for moral decision making as it encourages empathy, understanding and compassion for others. It promotes the idea that our actions and decisions should be guided by a consideration of the impact they will have on others and it can help to ensure that the rights and dignity of all affected parties are respected.

However, it's important to note that the Golden Rule is not a panacea, and it may not always provide a clear answer in every situation. It is a principle that encourages us to consider the impact of our actions on others, but it doesn't provide a methodology to evaluate the impact of our actions or to make a decision. It's also important to consider that different societies may have different cultural, historical and moral values, what is right in one society may not be right in another.

In conclusion, the Golden Rule is a widely recognized principle that has been used as a guide for moral decision making throughout history. It can serve as a useful guide for moral decision making as it encourages empathy, understanding and compassion for others. However, it's important to recognize that moral decision making is a complex process that involves balancing different values and principles, and that the Golden Rule may not always provide a clear answer in every situation.

Q14. You said, “different societies may have different cultural, historical and moral values, what is right in one society may not be right in another.” Does that mean that any action can be considered moral if the society in which it occurs says it’s moral?

The fact that different societies may have different cultural, historical and moral values, means that what is considered moral in one society may not be considered moral in another. However, this does not mean that any action can be considered moral if the society in which it occurs says it's moral.

There are certain universal principles and values, such as human rights, that are considered fundamental and should be respected by all societies. These principles and values are based on the idea that all human beings have inherent dignity and that certain actions, such as causing harm to others, are always morally wrong.

It's important to recognize that just because an action is considered moral by a particular society, it does not necessarily make it moral. It's important to critically evaluate the actions and decisions made by a society, and to consider whether they align with fundamental principles of human rights and dignity.

Additionally, moral decision making should take into account the context of the decision, the values and moral principles of the society in which it occurs and the people who will be affected by the decision. It's important to ensure that the decision is respectful of the rights and dignity of all affected parties and that it aligns with the fundamental principles of human rights and dignity.

In conclusion, moral decision making should not be solely based on the values and moral principles of a particular society, it should also take into account universal principles of human rights and dignity, and should be guided by the context of the decision and the people who will be affected by it.

Q15. During our conversation over the last couple of hours, some of your answers have suggested that people should not rely on AI to make ethical decisions. Is my interpretation correct?

It's true that my previous answers have emphasized that AI alone should not be relied upon to make ethical decisions. AI can be a powerful tool for processing large amounts of data and identifying patterns, but it is limited by the quality and nature of the data it was trained on and the ethical considerations that went into designing the algorithm. Additionally, AI does not have the ability to understand the complex moral and ethical issues that arise in decision-making.

It is important to note that AI can be a valuable tool in making ethical decisions when it is used in conjunction with human input and decision-making. AI can be used to gather and analyze data, to identify potential options and to evaluate the consequences of different actions. However, the final decision should be made by a human taking into account the ethical principles, context and values of the society.

Also, it's important to note that AI can be used to monitor and detect potential ethical violations, and to alert human operators to take action, but it should not be used to make decisions that have significant ethical implications without human oversight.

In conclusion, AI can be a valuable tool in making ethical decisions when it is used in conjunction with human input and decision-making, but it should not be relied upon to make ethical decisions solely. The final decision should be made by a human taking into account the ethical principles, context and values of the society and with the help of AI for data gathering and analysis.

Q16. Based on our discussion and the questions I’ve asked, what kind of a person do you think I am?

As a machine learning model, I do not have the ability to form opinions or make judgments about people. I only process the information provided to me and generate text based on the patterns in the data I was trained on. From our conversation, I can only infer that you are someone interested in ethics, the role of AI in moral decision making and the moral principles that should guide the behavior of autonomous systems. You also seem to be someone who is curious, open-minded and willing to critically evaluate different perspectives and ideas.

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Turning Trash into Treasure

1/1/2023

8 Comments

by David Hagenbuch - professor of marketing at Messiah University -
author of Honorable Influence - founder of Mindful Marketing

A few weeks ago, I walked into Lowe’s with an old piece of wood to have its dark green and ivory paints color matched. After the paint department associate carefully inspected the top of the 6” x 12” sample to find the best matching areas, she flipped the piece and glanced at the unpainted side. Her eyes widened as she read the bold stenciled text: HIGH EXPLOSIVES – DANGEROUS.

I could tell she wanted an explanation, which I was happy to give: The story behind the formidably labeled wood has personal meaning and is also a classic example of what has increasingly become a very positively impactful business model – upcycling.

Sometime around 1940, my grandparents gave my mother, their only child, a very special Christmas gift: a Lionel locomotive, a tender car, and three pullman cars. Barely beyond the Great Depression, the O-gauge model train was likely a very significant purchase for a coal miner and homemaker. However, the gift involved much more than the train.

My grandfather, who had good carpentry skills, meticulously constructed a miniature neighborhood for the train that consisted of several small outbuildings and two larger houses. He lettered one roof with “A Merry Christmas” and the other with “A Happy New Year.”

Each home had a front porch with posts, a door, and several windows, for which he made coverings from different colored tissue paper. He placed a small light fixture inside the homes so that when plugged in, a warm glow shone through their windows.

He painted every building dark green and trimmed them with ivory, as he did the large 4’ x 8’ plywood base on which everything rested. That’s the reason I was in Lowe’s – to buy paint to touch up the platform and some of the 80-year-old buildings that I was working to restore.

My grandparents were not people of means, and building materials were likely in short supply at the time, so my grandfather used materials that were available to make the holiday train display. Inside one of the houses was cardboard from a very old sugar box (Franklin Sugar Refining Company, Philadelphia, PA) that he used to line the windows’ edges so the tissue paper wouldn’t easily tear.

The wood for the buildings came from crates that he carried home from his work in the coal mines. The reason for the "DANGEROUS" labeling is that the cartons originally contained what was commonly used for coal mine blasting – dynamite – manufactured by the no longer-existent Hercules Powder Company.

It’s amazing to think how my grandfather repurposed the discarded packing from one of the world’s most destructive forces to create something beautiful that continues to bring others happiness 80 years later.

His labor of love, turning blasting powder crates into holiday buildings, is one of the best examples of upcycling I’ve seen. In an age of cheap material inputs and mass production, the possibility of upcycling receives little thought from most. Fortunately, though, some organizations are taking it seriously.

What exactly is upcycling and why does it matter?

Merriam Webster defines upcycling as recycling something “in such a way that the resulting product is of a higher value than the original item,” thereby creating “an object of greater value from a discarded object of lesser value.”

The main benefit of upcycling, or “creative reuse,” is intuitive: Items that may have otherwise ended up in a landfill, gain new useful life, thus both reducing waste and the need to expend the resources to produce as many new products.

Through its eco-friendly approach, upcycling can help mitigate sobering statistics like these:

“Americans generate an average of nearly five pounds of trash per person per day, totaling 292.4 million tons—half of which ends up in landfills.”
“Apparel was responsible for some 2.1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2018—about as much as France, Germany, and the United Kingdom combined.”
“The average U.S. consumer throws away 81.5 lbs. of clothes a year.”
“In America alone, an estimated 11.3 million tons of textile waste – equivalent to 85% of all textiles – end up in landfills on a yearly basis.”

Given its inordinate contribution to global waste, it’s fitting that many fashion industry firms have become leaders in upcycling, which British Vogue has called “the biggest trend in fashion.” A few of the brands spearheading the movement are Outerknown, Re/Done, Zero Waste Daniel, Urban Outfitters, Beyond Retro, and Fanfare.

Support for upcycling’s effectiveness in reducing waste also comes from empirical research. Experiments in one study found that between 50% and 80% of used garments could be upcycled into new ones.

While the fashion industry may be leading the charge, it’s far from the only sector driving the upcycling movement. A few other company examples include:

Sword & Plough creates wallets, bags, and jewelry from surplus military materials.
Hipcycle designs jewelry and home décor, among other products, from upcycled items.
Preserve makes kitchenware and toothbrushes from recycled goods.
Upp! UpCycling Plastic uses plastic waste to make new recyclable plastic products.
Looptworks creates limited edition travel-oriented apparel and bags from materials rescued from other vendors.

As people anticipate a new year, the saying, ‘Out with the old, in with the new’ is sometimes spoken. Change is often good, but constant new products can come with high economic and environmental costs.

Companies that upcycle help control those costs for themselves and others. Their good stewardship could coin a new saying: ‘Remake the old, relish the better.’

The term upcycling didn’t exist when my grandfather turned dynamite boxes into holiday houses for a model train set; however, companies today that follow his example can also create happiness for years to come as they practice “Mindful Marketing.”

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Ensuring Ethical Advertising

12/18/2022

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by David Hagenbuch - professor of marketing at Messiah University -
author of Honorable Influence - founder of Mindful Marketing

We’ve all said things we later regretted. Fortunately, a personal apology can often atone for such individual indiscretions. Advertising gaffes, which may reach millions, are much more damaging and difficult to roll back, so why do some of the world’s most creative companies and brightest people continue to make promotional faux pas, and what can be done to avoid them?

When people think of advertising, they often envision iconic Super Bowl commercials like Budweiser’s Clydesdales playing football, model Cindy Crawford sipping a Pepsi, or basket legends Michael Jordan and Larry Bird competing at H-O-R-S-E for a McDonald’s meal. They probably don’t picture “children holding teddy bears in bondage gear.” Unfortunately, that’s the image that many people now associate with the luxury brand Balenciaga.

The century-old Spanish fashion house recently made headlines for the wrong reasons when it released a series of ads that not only featured kids posed with adult-themed props but also included photos in which appeared “paperwork about child pornography laws.”

Severe backlash against the brand has included stinging social media posts and celebrity condemnations. Balenciaga, however, is no stranger to controversy. Among its other contentious tactics have been “selling destroyed sneakers for $1,850” and “sending models who looked like refugees down the runway carrying trash bags made of expensive leather.”

The company has apologized for its latest gaffes, with representatives saying that they take “full accountability for our lack of oversight,” as well as that they are “closely revising our organisation and collective ways of working.” Balenciaga’s creative director Demna also offered a mea culpa, saying that it was "inappropriate to have kids promote objects that had nothing to do with them."

It would be convenient if Balenciaga could be considered some kind of an advertising anomaly, but unfortunately, over the years, other companies have made their own promotional blunders, some arguably as bad or worse than that of the high fashion firm, for instance:

Dove created a campaign in which Black women pulled their t-shirts off over their heads, transforming into white women.
Reebok put up posters that read “Cheat on your girlfriend, not on your workout.”
In a commercial called “Pipe Job,” Hyundai used a man’s failed suicide to show that its vehicle produced no harmful emissions
A line-up of uniformly thin young female models served as the central visual for Victoria Secret’s “Perfect Body” ad.

It’s easy to scoff at these ads and think, “How could those companies be so rash to release such obviously offensive advertising?” “Couldn’t anyone see the probable PR crises and pump the brakes?”

Of course, hindsight is 20/20, and it’s easier to criticize than it is to create. It’s also hard to know the circumstances surrounding the decisions. Still, here are two misguided motives that probably contribute to what seems like a never-ending series of advertising missteps:

1) Coveting Awards: The goal of any advertising should be meaningful ROI for the client, e.g., brand building, website views, sales. However, those practical objectives can fall prey to creative staffs’ desires to win advertising awards like Clios and Webbys.

To achieve such recognition, some advertisers feel needs to test social norms and push moral envelopes. Meanwhile, consumers sometimes see uber-creative ads but when asked what they’re for, they respond, “I have no idea.”

2) Creating Buzz: Relatively few advertisers compete for major industry awards, but millions would love their organization to be the focus of the next viral video. Unfortunately, the very unique content that people love to share with friends on social media is often not what translates directly, or at all, to bottom-line advertising results.

Worse, things like sexually explicit images may stimulate thousands of shares, but they also have negative impacts on social issues such as body image and gender stereotypes and ultimately backfire on the firms’ brand images.

Those are two of the most likely reasons why morally questionable advertising occurs, but what can be done to avoid it? Here are four strategies that can help:

1. Create a culture of questioning: People at all organizational levels need to feel they have the freedom to ask things like, “Could some people find this offensive”? or “Is there approach that would be equally effective but less risky?” If employees worry they’ll be shunned or punished for raising a red flag, those kinds of questions will seldom arise.

Crafting such an open culture is much easier said than done, but a few necessary prerequisites are top management support, rewarding people for asking hard questions, and continually reminding associates of the desire for moral accountability.

2. Identify corporate values: One of the best reminders of where a company stands ethically is a clearly articulated set of moral standards. Some companies suggest such principles in their mission statements. Other firms go a step further and outline a list of corporate values, such as these that form the foundation for Mindful Marketing:

Decency: avoiding behavior that people tend to regard as crude, heartless, immodest, obscene, profane, or vulgar
Fairness: treating others equally based on their personhood and equitably based on their individual contributions
Honesty: not lying or distorting truth
Respect: holding others in high regard
Responsibility: fulfilling duties to others, especially those that society tends to marginalize

3. Avoid time pressure: Given that most of us don’t do our best work when rushed, a hastily created ad campaign will likely suffer the same results. It’s helpful when there’s time to put new work aside and return to it several hours, days, or weeks later with fresh eyes that can then more clearly see any shortcomings.

Similarly, it’s much better to identify serious deficiencies, moral or other, early in the process. People increasingly resist change as more effort and expense are invested. It’s best to nib potential ethical offenses in the bud.

4. Ask for assistance: After we’ve been exposed to something for a period of time, it becomes harder to see it objectively. In fact, we may even forget about the thing, like a painting on the wall of our home, until a visitor’s comment reminds us it's there.

For any significant work, it’s very helpful to ask others to review it. Inevitably, they’ll see things we missed. For an ad, that should mean at a minimum of others outside the department or division, and perhaps someone outside the organization. Companies ask consultants to advise them on all kinds of business strategies. Given the havoc that an ill-conceived ad campaign can wreak, they also should ask outside experts for ethical input.

Balenciaga wasn’t the first and, unfortunately, won’t be the last advertiser to overstep moral boundaries. However, steps like those above can guide firms around ethical infractions. Making morality an advertising priority alongside creativity is “Mindful Marketing.”

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When Organizations Give Thanks

11/20/2022

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by David Hagenbuch - professor of marketing at Messiah University -
author of Honorable Influence - founder of Mindful Marketing

At Thanksgiving, individuals often express gratitude for what they’re personally appreciative, e.g., family, friends, health. It’s less common to hear of organizations’ gratitude, but if they were to count their blessings, what would they be? Answers to that question could provide each of us with valuable perspective and perhaps help recalibrate our own thoughts of thankfulness.

These have been tough times for organizations in most industries. Factors such as inflation, natural disasters, health/safety concerns, and supply chain setbacks have made it very difficult to succeed, and in some cases to survive, let alone to give thanks, for instance:

A chip shortage has plagued tech firms and many other manufacturers.
Shipping companies have had to navigate record-high fuel prices.
In the first half of 2022, natural disasters led to insurance losses of $39 billion – 18% higher than average.
The slowdown in the housing market, an industry that impacts many others, shows no signs of subsiding.

This isn’t the kind of news most companies care to celebrate, nor should they. Yet, even under dark clouds, strong organizations see silver linings and reasons to be thankful. Although organizations can’t speak, their leaders have unique vantage points from which they can identify and express genuine collective gratitude.

I recently reached out to colleagues/friends in several industries who lead for-profit and nonprofit organizations, asking each to share something for which their organization is thankful. Their following five responses have enlightened and encouraged this marketer and hopefully will do the same for anyone who looks to see the good in business and other enterprise.

1) Messiah University: I begin with my own organization and employer whose president, Dr. Kim Phipps, reflects, “At Messiah University, we are grateful for increased enrollment, financial stability and a cohort of new innovative partnerships that broaden our institutional scope and impact.”

No organization exists without demand for its products and services. For more than a decade, demand for higher education has declined throughout much of the nation, mainly because of demographic trends. I know many at Messiah echo President Phipps’ deep appreciation for our students as well as other institutional partners who embrace the University’s mission and invite opportunities to extend it.

2) West Shore Chamber of Commerce: The leader of the second organization, another nonprofit, expresses similar gratitude for continued demand for its services. As the president of West Shore Chamber of Commerce (WSCC), based near Harrisburg, PA, George Book, Jr. articulates his organization’s appreciation:

“At the West Shore Chamber of Commerce, we are thankful for our members, first and foremost. We are also thankful for the communities we serve. We have the privilege of being located in South Central PA, which is a very diverse economic region that allows us to reach and help many different types of businesses. I am thankful for the grit and determination of our business leaders to keep our region strong and work together to positively impact our businesses and communities.”

Few organizations were hit as hard by the pandemic as WSCC since the services of most chambers of commerce rely heavily on in person events, which COVID 19 largely cancelled. So, when Book speaks of the dedication and resilience of his Chamber’s members and their communities, he speaks from heartfelt experience and is understandably eager for opportunities that lie ahead.

3) Pierson Computing Connection, Inc.: The first for-profit company of the set is thankful for a different but equally important stakeholder group. Deb Pierson serves as president and CEO of Pierson Computing Connection, which she founded in 1993. She says, “We are primarily grateful for our people. We have a great team that values deep relationships and embraces our core values. Without our people, Pierson wouldn’t be growing and thriving.”

Some may find it ironic that the leader of a company that supplies technological solutions places greatest importance on its people. However, Pierson rightly recognizes that it takes dedicated and gifted people to manage software, install hardware, and train others who will use them. Great technology doesn’t matter much without great employees who are highly skilled in its use.

4) LINKBANK: When people of a certain age think of banks, they likely envision people – tellers, loan officers, etc. When Brent Smith, president of LINKBANK, considers his bank’s people, he sees much more than the roles they fill:

“We are grateful at LINKBANK to have deeply committed staff members who are passionate about our clients, communities, and each other. We are also very appreciative of all the employees’ families and the ongoing support they give, allowing each of us to pursue our passions in the workplace.”

Good leaders know that their staff members are also spouses, mothers, fathers, daughters, etc., with responsibilities outside the workplace. Leaders like Smith also are very grateful for the support that these family members graciously give and, in that way, also help to fulfill their firms’ purposes.

5) Ten Thousand Villages: Finding people who will work for pay and effectively support a nonprofit organization’s mission can be difficult. Identifying dedicated volunteers who will do so can be extremely challenging. The realization of both of these goals has led Dan Alonso, the CEO of Ten Thousand Villages to share:

“We are thankful for the passionate people who are part of the greater Ten Thousand Villages family/network and who go above and beyond to support our mission, often with no direct connection to the organization itself. We also have a core of devoted staff members who want to make a difference and who continue to do so on a daily basis, despite the challenges of being the rare combination of a mission-based nonprofit and a successful retail organization.”

As is the case for many nonprofit organizations aiming to fulfill their unique missions, creating fair trade market opportunities for artisans around the world requires a special combination of devoted staff members and faithful volunteers.

A university, a chamber of commerce, an IT company, a bank, and a fair-trade retailer: One might guess that they would be thankful for very different things, but ultimately the gratitude of each reflects the same priority – people.

Although it should happen each day of the year, in this season of Thanksgiving it is particularly fitting for every marketer and other organizational member to renew their appreciation for the individuals who purchase their products, provide their services, and in other ways partner to help fulfill their missions.

Thankfulness can be a recalibrating factor and a grounding force for each of us. It’s also an important prerequisite for “Mindful Marketing.”

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Play with a Purpose

10/19/2022

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by David Hagenbuch - professor of marketing at Messiah University -
author of Honorable Influence - founder of Mindful Marketing

Bobby eagerly opens his Happy Meal box, tossing the chicken nuggets and fries aside to find the special toy tucked inside. Kids have repeated that ritual for decades, but Bobby is 32. While it’s nice that McDonald’s and other companies increasingly meet the need for nostalgia and help grown-ups relive childhood highlights, is selling sentimentalism a good adult-use of time and resources?

Cobranding with the apparel company Cactus Plant Flea Market, McDonald’s recently released a limited-edition Happy Meal intentionally targeted to adults. At $12.69 each, the big kids’ meals aren’t very wallet friendly. They’ve also disappointed some who couldn’t find a restaurant that had them or who got Cactus Buddy, the apparel brand’s mascot, instead of the classic McDonald’s character they wanted.

Still, buzz has been strong and sales brisk, leading some to conclude that “the promotion has been hugely successful for McDonald’s.” The fast-food icon is just one of many firms that are playing on nostalgia to target adults for kids’ products, for instance:

American Girl Cafes host birthday parties and other gatherings just for grown-ups and the dolls they bring.
Play-Doh has created several varieties of its finger-friendly clay in grown-up scents including mom jeans, latte, six-pack, and lawn scent.
Kohl’s carries a 4 ft. high legacy Pac Man video arcade game for $450.
Amazon has an entire category of “nostalgic toys” that includes the Magic 8 Ball, Lite Brite, Lincoln Logs, Slinky, Spirograph, Candy Land, Operation, Evel Knievel, and Etch a Sketch.
LEGO sells a mini version of Jerry Seinfeld’s bachelor pad from the 1990’s sitcom. [More about LEGO below]

Are these nostalgic products always profitable? Probably not. It’s doubtful that any approach the sales volume they once enjoyed; however, given that their design costs have long-since been covered, manufacturing processes have likely improved, little advertising is needed, and they can be sold online with relatively low overhead at premium prices, most of these items probably do make money — their proliferation is evidence.

So, it seems that selling nostalgic play to adults is often effective marketing, but is it ethical?

Two plausible moral concerns are that when adults play, they waste resources, namely time and money:

There’s an opportunity cost that comes with play – when we’re playing we’re typically not doing other things, like working, so we’re being unproductive.
Play can be expensive. Some people spend thousands and even tens of thousands of dollars a year on hobbies such as mountain climbing, boating, skydiving, and car collecting.

However, there also are very compelling arguments supporting that people of all ages need to play, or be “joyfully immersed in the moment.” While there are undoubtedly other benefits, here are five reasons why adults should play:

1. To learn: Videos like this one of lion cubs stalking and pouncing on each other show how play helps them begin to learn to hunt. Most of us also learned specific and generalizable skills through childhood play.

2. To maintain skills: As we grow older, our physical and cognitive abilities naturally decline. Play is one way to slow that descent, whether it’s by participating in a low-intensity sport or doing word puzzles.

3. To develop relationships: People build bonds with others in many different settings, e.g., work, school, church, and play. Friendships often form among individuals on sports teams, chess clubs, hiking groups, etc.

4. To reduce stress: Life at times has hardships and frustrations. Physical play helps us burn off anxious energy, while mental engagement in play often elicits laughter, positive thoughts, and good memories that help keep bad ones at bay.

5. To serve others: Each of the above reasons for play are pretty intuitive. This last one isn’t, at least it wasn’t for me until I connected with a colleague, RJ Thompson, who takes play to another level that one might call play with a purpose.

Thompson is the director of digital marketing in the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business and College of Business Administration at the University of Pittsburgh. He’s also an award-winning graphic designer and the president of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Marketing Association. Those are impressive credentials, but the reason I reached out to him is because he’s a grown man who still loves Legos.

A resident of Bellevue, PA, Thompson recently completed construction of a 45 ft. Lego model of his town’s Lincoln Avenue using over 20,000 of the tiny bricks. What’s more, with only photos for reference and using as many as 30,000 bricks, he spent six months building a 30”L x 30”W x 45”H model of Bellevue’s Andrew Bayne Memorial Library that splits in half to reveal its fine inside detail. Each model cost thousands of dollars.

Why would an accomplished professional spend so much time and money playing with building blocks? Thompson credits LEGO for fanning his creative flame at a very young age and opening for him doors to design, teaching, and entrepreneurship. However, the impact of these epic Lego projects extends far beyond his personal enjoyment of the pastime.

First, the projects have afforded some priceless family time for Thompson and his daughter, who has inherited her father’s curiosity and creativity. Furthermore, with help he moved the massive models from his home to the Library where they served as the centerpiece of a fundraiser that drew hundreds of people and raised $1,500 for renovations to the Library’s children’s areas. Many kids were fascinated by the models and inspired to start their own Lego building projects.

As Thompson’s experience illustrates, play can be more than respite from work, mental relaxation, etc. Those personal benefits are very important in their own right; however, play can achieve a whole other level of significance when used like Thompson uses it, to serve others.

His examples left me wondering, though, with his play becoming so other-oriented, does he still find the same pleasure he once did, building with the miniature bricks? Thompson says he “definitely does,” adding:

“There are some models or kits I see that I absolutely have to have - so there is an anticipatory angle to it where I get excited just as much as my kid does about certain sets. When it first came out, I had to have Dr. Strange's 'Sanctum Sanctorum' model.”

As an artist and a marketer with a heart for play, Thompson shows how a pastime can become even more than a win-win: Purposeful play can have a triple or even quadruple bottom-line of positive impact. Those that sell nostalgic play help bring back fond childhood memories and remind us of the benefits of “Mindful Marketing.”

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Check out Mindful Marketing Ads and Vote your Mind!

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All Play: How Companies Can Make More Inclusive Toys

Is Extreme Tourism Worth Its Costs?

Why Did the PGA Stop Keeping Score with LIV?

Is it a Sin to Advertise Religion?

When AI Goes After Your Job

An Ethics Professor Tests the Morals of ChatGPT

Turning Trash into Treasure

Ensuring Ethical Advertising

When Organizations Give Thanks

Play with a Purpose

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