The ethical choices of powering the AI race

Sarah Miles has a dilemma. The Director of Strategic Planning at Great Lakes Energy has worked her way up through the ranks and now faces a difficult career choice. The company’s new CFO is asking Miles to do something that would help the company, yet challenge her ethical beliefs.

Great Lakes Energy’s stock hasn’t performed as well as its peers, and the Board has hired a new CFO to boost its value. She asks Miles to prepare a presentation to the Board recommending a growth strategy based on providing power for a new AI data center. The catch is that adding the new data center would also mean keeping the company’s coal-fired power plants online — and going back on its commitment to decommission them. Following through on her boss’ request would be a betrayal of Miles’ environmental principles. But refusing the assignment could end her career.

Sarah Miles is not a real person. She is a fictional character in a new case study published by the Notre Dame Deloitte Center for Ethical Leadership (NDDCEL) at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. But her dilemma is all too real. Being a leader in business means making tough decisions. And the answers aren’t always clear-cut. The case study, designed for use in classrooms or workplaces to inspire analysis and discussion, captures exactly the type of contribution NDCCEL seeks to make. 

“NDDCEL equips decision makers with ideas and inspiration to navigate high-stakes decisions where financial performance, rapid technological change and responsibility to people and the planet are deeply intertwined,” said Jessica McManus Warnell, the Rex and Alice A. Martin Faculty Director of NDDCEL. “The case, developed by an experienced professional alongside students, reflects our commitment to forming values-based decision makers who can thoughtfully balance competing priorities and lead in ways that foster just, resilient and flourishing communities.”

The study’s concept came from Lee Wilson, the former chairman and CEO of First Capital and a participant in Mendoza’s Executive-in-Residence program, which comprises industry leaders who bring real-world insights and expertise to the Notre Dame MBA community. Wilson also spent part of his career as a partner at the consulting firm Booz Allen, where he counted major public utilities among his clients. He drew on his extensive business experience to craft a case study that grapples with the type of difficult decisions business leaders actually face.

“At some point in their career, many business leaders will be asked to take on tasks they don’t fully agree with,” said Wilson. “But opting out altogether often isn’t the only answer.

“I spent 40 years in business and I've seen lots of ethical situations, but not everyone has had the experience of making those choices yet. The question can be much more than just whether something is right or wrong. It can be, ‘Am I in the right company?’ or ‘Am I working for the right boss?’ And I hope this case will create lots of discussion and that learners will take different points of view,” he added.

The case study is open-access and comes with teaching notes to help learners explore the ethical and strategic implications of the challenge that Miles faces. Producing it was a team effort. Wilson researched and wrote it collaboratively with McManus Warnell and undergraduate business students and NDDCEL research assistants Jennifer Di Capua and Allison Narmi.

Wilson favors case studies as a teaching tool because they force you to grapple with a problem’s complexity and nuance. A good case study has no clear answer. It presents a situation that you could approach in different ways, and forces you to think it through.

“When your boss wants you to do something that's against your ethical beliefs, do you say no? Do you quit? Do you try to change their point of view?” asked Wilson. “Many students might think that Sarah Miles should resign. But it's not that easy. In real life, you have a career and a family, and there will be consequences. The harder answer to think through is how might you change the situation. How might you approach your boss or others in the company to influence the situation? I've seen that happen many different times.”

NDDCEL offers additional inspiration and downloadable resources for values-based leaders at all stages, from early career to senior leadership. Find out more here.