I left this table talk feeling a pit in my stomach, and it wasn’t for a lack of food. I was really uncomfortable by some of the anecdotes shared about personal ethical dilemmas that people had experienced as well as some that had previously appeared in courts. Talking about ethics is generally an uncomfortable topic for me, because I feel as though some people really see things in black and white where there is a lot of gray. Thankfully, I found this not to be true of the people at this event.

My biggest take-away from this talk was that ethical dilemmas are things we should consider when we are not immediately facing having to make a decision. It had never occurred to me, but it made a lot of sense that at the times when we are faced with circumstances that challenge our predefined values, we generally don’t take the time to think twice about it, whether by choice or by design. Having a predefined notion of what you value most and where your ethical standards are can be useful when faced with these situations. While I acknowledge that these ethical standards dynamic, it seems a good idea to know when or why you have changed your point of view to help justify your actions. This can help us make more conscientious decisions in the future.

I have spent the remainder of the week really considering what I value most of myself and other people. I really feel our generation is being faced with a set of new ethical challenges when it comes to industry (especially as someone who deals with and studies data). It would serve me well to know ahead of time where my personal boundaries are.