Against Peripheral Ethics Committees: A Critique of the Strategic De-coupling of Ethics

Jesús Salgado-Criado
Proceedings of Fifth European Conference on Algorithmic Fairness, PMLR 350:247-253, 2026.

Abstract

This paper critically examines the efficacy of the ethics committee model as the primary mechanism for institutional ethical governance. While ostensibly designed to ensure moral deliberation, we posit that the placement of ethics committees outside the highest strategic and financial decision-making bodies—the board of directors— or line management, renders them structurally incapable of addressing the most consequential moral challenges. The resulting phenomenon is a strategic de-coupling of ethics from power, leading to performative compliance rather than genuine moral integration. This is owed to the tension between the commitment to ethics and a broader and longer-standing industry commitments to meritocracy, technological solutionism, and market fundamentalism.

Cite this Paper

BibTeX
@InProceedings{pmlr-v350-salgado-criado26a, title = {Against Peripheral Ethics Committees: A Critique of the Strategic De-coupling of Ethics}, author = {Salgado-Criado, Jes\'us}, booktitle = {Proceedings of Fifth European Conference on Algorithmic Fairness}, pages = {247--253}, year = {2026}, editor = {De Bie, Tijl and Defrance, MaryBeth and Calders, Toon and Nguyen, Dennis}, volume = {350}, series = {Proceedings of Machine Learning Research}, month = {02--04 Sep}, publisher = {PMLR}, pdf = {https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mlresearch/v350/main/assets/salgado-criado26a/salgado-criado26a.pdf}, url = {https://proceedings.mlr.press/v350/salgado-criado26a.html}, abstract = {This paper critically examines the efficacy of the ethics committee model as the primary mechanism for institutional ethical governance. While ostensibly designed to ensure moral deliberation, we posit that the placement of ethics committees outside the highest strategic and financial decision-making bodies—the board of directors— or line management, renders them structurally incapable of addressing the most consequential moral challenges. The resulting phenomenon is a strategic de-coupling of ethics from power, leading to performative compliance rather than genuine moral integration. This is owed to the tension between the commitment to ethics and a broader and longer-standing industry commitments to meritocracy, technological solutionism, and market fundamentalism.} }
Endnote
%0 Conference Paper %T Against Peripheral Ethics Committees: A Critique of the Strategic De-coupling of Ethics %A Jesús Salgado-Criado %B Proceedings of Fifth European Conference on Algorithmic Fairness %C Proceedings of Machine Learning Research %D 2026 %E Tijl De Bie %E MaryBeth Defrance %E Toon Calders %E Dennis Nguyen %F pmlr-v350-salgado-criado26a %I PMLR %P 247--253 %U https://proceedings.mlr.press/v350/salgado-criado26a.html %V 350 %X This paper critically examines the efficacy of the ethics committee model as the primary mechanism for institutional ethical governance. While ostensibly designed to ensure moral deliberation, we posit that the placement of ethics committees outside the highest strategic and financial decision-making bodies—the board of directors— or line management, renders them structurally incapable of addressing the most consequential moral challenges. The resulting phenomenon is a strategic de-coupling of ethics from power, leading to performative compliance rather than genuine moral integration. This is owed to the tension between the commitment to ethics and a broader and longer-standing industry commitments to meritocracy, technological solutionism, and market fundamentalism.
APA
Salgado-Criado, J.. (2026). Against Peripheral Ethics Committees: A Critique of the Strategic De-coupling of Ethics. Proceedings of Fifth European Conference on Algorithmic Fairness, in Proceedings of Machine Learning Research 350:247-253 Available from https://proceedings.mlr.press/v350/salgado-criado26a.html.

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