Aligning value with values
Ethics strategy consulting for decision makers in tech and finance.
At the intersection of technology, society and the environment, companies are often confronted with ethical questions.
The challenge is to find credible answers to these questions without losing sight of business reality.
That’s my job.
Services
Consulting, speaking, Education
I help decision-makers in tech and finance to align their business strategy with ethics. I offer orientation in the thicket of opportunities and risks and translate complex issues into a language geared to the target group. By doing so, I strengthen the credibility and the trust between organizations and their stakeholders.
I empower my clients to be perceived as credible and effective actors in ethical issues in their core business.
Consulting
I challenge, clarify, and cut through complexity.
As a strategic sparring partner, I support companies in making responsibility and ethics tangible – individually, directly, and at eye level.
Speaking
I speak with clarity – depth, wit and impact.
My keynotes combine analytical precision with narrative ease. For audiences who think – and remember.
Impact
Presence on
all channels
As a sought-after expert, I am regularly invited for interviews, web shows and podcasts. From Swiss television to ELLE Singapore, from the e-commerce conference of Swiss Post to the UNESCO Forum: I have a global and multimedia presence. In addition, I also write my own articles.
Below you see a selection of interviews, podcasts, web shows and my own articles on all my topics. Make your choice with the hashtags. You can find the complete overview here.
- #all
- #aiethics
- #esg
- #csr
Camembert or Pie Charts – Why AI Translation Fails
Camembert or pie charts? AI recognizes patterns but misses meaning. What seems funny on Duolingo becomes troubling when machines judge where humans should understand.
Sustainability under Pressure: From Hype to Backlash
From hype to backlash: what remains of the sustainability promise that was once so hot is gone? A critical take on compliance fatigue, culture war dynamics, and strategic recalibration.
A secret AI study. A biometric orb. A new internet ID.
After researchers sparked outrage with a secret AI experiment on Reddit, the platform considers adopting Sam Altman’s World ID system via a device called the Orb. But is biometric identity the solution, or just another dubious business model?
How AI Hijacks Human Connection
AI doesn’t just train on academic or artistic content. Increasingly, it feeds on blogs, guides, and independent journalism; any content that shows human care, credibility, or craft. Summarized and displayed in search results, this content becomes invisible at the source. Welcome to a world where creators are reduced to training fodder.
Why Human Learning Is Not Machine Learning
Machines improve performance. Humans seek meaning. This piece explores why learning is more than optimization – and what we lose when we confuse adaptation with transformation.
The Myth of AI Democratization
Some still believe that training large language models (LLMs) on copyrighted content is a form of “democratizing knowledge.” But when you look closely at how these models actually handle the material they ingest, the picture looks a lot less heroic – and a lot more extractive.
Meta’s Silent Swallowing of My Academic Legacy
My academic legacy? A monograph, a handful of articles—and now a starring role in training Meta’s Llama 3. No royalties. No citations. Just silent swallowing by a machine. A story of vanishing recognition in the age of AI.
Premature compliance or belated authenticity?
Diversity once made it into glossy reports. Now it’s quietly shelved. Not because it must be, but because it’s easier that way. So what happens to values when they become inconvenient?
Klarna’s AI Whiplash: From Job Cuts to Human Epiphanies
From “AI can do all jobs” to “Humans are invaluable!”: Klarna’s AI journey is a masterclass in hype whiplash. But behind the cringe, the CEO’s rhetoric surfaces real ethical tensions. What happens when honesty about AI and jobs is no longer whispered in executive suites – but shouted?
Predicting Personality from Faces? Bad Science, Worse Ethics
Some say facial recognition and AI can assess your potential by analyzing your face. But what seems like innovation may be pseudoscience at scale – and a threat to privacy, fairness, and human rights.
Keeping AI Weird (for Safety Reasons)
AI makes mistakes differently from humans. And that’s a good thing. This post explores why we shouldn’t train machines to fail like humans and why weirdness might be an important safety feature of AI.
AI: Lessons from Business ethics
When it comes to business ethics, AI companies ignore the most basic concepts linked to accountability, supply chain responsibility and product safety. Yes, AI companies create groundbreaking innovation. But that comes with the responsibility to ensure that what they do serves humanity, not the other way around.
Camembert or Pie Charts – Why AI Translation Fails
Camembert or pie charts? AI recognizes patterns but misses meaning. What seems funny on Duolingo becomes troubling when machines judge where humans should understand.
A secret AI study. A biometric orb. A new internet ID.
After researchers sparked outrage with a secret AI experiment on Reddit, the platform considers adopting Sam Altman’s World ID system via a device called the Orb. But is biometric identity the solution, or just another dubious business model?
How AI Hijacks Human Connection
AI doesn’t just train on academic or artistic content. Increasingly, it feeds on blogs, guides, and independent journalism; any content that shows human care, credibility, or craft. Summarized and displayed in search results, this content becomes invisible at the source. Welcome to a world where creators are reduced to training fodder.
Why Human Learning Is Not Machine Learning
Machines improve performance. Humans seek meaning. This piece explores why learning is more than optimization – and what we lose when we confuse adaptation with transformation.
The Myth of AI Democratization
Some still believe that training large language models (LLMs) on copyrighted content is a form of “democratizing knowledge.” But when you look closely at how these models actually handle the material they ingest, the picture looks a lot less heroic – and a lot more extractive.
Meta’s Silent Swallowing of My Academic Legacy
My academic legacy? A monograph, a handful of articles—and now a starring role in training Meta’s Llama 3. No royalties. No citations. Just silent swallowing by a machine. A story of vanishing recognition in the age of AI.
Sustainability under Pressure: From Hype to Backlash
From hype to backlash: what remains of the sustainability promise that was once so hot is gone? A critical take on compliance fatigue, culture war dynamics, and strategic recalibration.
Premature compliance or belated authenticity?
Diversity once made it into glossy reports. Now it’s quietly shelved. Not because it must be, but because it’s easier that way. So what happens to values when they become inconvenient?
Podcasts – my thoughts on ethics on air
Hosts from all over the world invite me to share my thoughts on ethics, artificial intelligence, data protection, sustainability or my personal career. Podcasts are a great opportunity to present my views and convictions in a structured and understandable manner. Every single one of these conversations has been an eye-opener for myself as well.
Cryptocurrencies and ESG? Mission impossible
Cryptocurrencies are booming; many of them are based on extremely energy-intensive mining processes. At the same time, we are under pressure to drastically reduce global emissions consumption, keyword ESG. These two trends are not compatible.
Robinhood: democratized finance on shaky ground
More than 900 years after the heroic figure Robin Hood set out to steal from the rich and give to the poor, two American entrepreneurs borrowed his name to establish a fintech company that claims to “democratize finance for all”. But the new Robinhood’s claim of ‘democracy’ is on shaky ground. Just as the company…
Pension funds, climate change and the value of future pensions
Climate youth have a long-term horizon – they have that in common with pension funds. Anyone who invests in companies that promote climate change is wilfully depreciating the value of pensions.
Premature compliance or belated authenticity?
Diversity once made it into glossy reports. Now it’s quietly shelved. Not because it must be, but because it’s easier that way. So what happens to values when they become inconvenient?
AI: Lessons from Business ethics
When it comes to business ethics, AI companies ignore the most basic concepts linked to accountability, supply chain responsibility and product safety. Yes, AI companies create groundbreaking innovation. But that comes with the responsibility to ensure that what they do serves humanity, not the other way around.
Business Ethics and AI: A Wake-Up Call
The most powerful AI applications stem primarily from private corporations driven by profit. This means that questions of AI ethics must always be linked to business ethics, and its core elements like corporate responsibility, accountability along the value chain and towards stakeholders, and safe and responsible products.
The data revolution devours their children
AI automates many things. And it is considered neutral. Will we finally achieve equal opportunities thanks to it? It’s not that simple: without human intervention, AI becomes a continuation of discrimination by other means. What’s more, LLMs are running out of food after years of data theft. They are increasingly feeding them with their own…
Podcasts – my thoughts on ethics on air
Hosts from all over the world invite me to share my thoughts on ethics, artificial intelligence, data protection, sustainability or my personal career. Podcasts are a great opportunity to present my views and convictions in a structured and understandable manner. Every single one of these conversations has been an eye-opener for myself as well.
Cryptocurrencies and ESG? Mission impossible
Cryptocurrencies are booming; many of them are based on extremely energy-intensive mining processes. At the same time, we are under pressure to drastically reduce global emissions consumption, keyword ESG. These two trends are not compatible.
Approach
My clients choose me because I make ethics tangible and understandable. They appreciate my ability to get to the heart of complex issues and my commitment to meeting their specific needs in every case.
I do not offer standardized solutions. I work out what is right and creates value for you and your stakeholders.
Independent
As a 1-person company, Baur Consulting has transparent structures and no vested interests.
Competent
I combine analytical rigour, academically trained, and conceptual strength with strong communication skills. This enables me to present the results of my work in a comprehensible and convincing manner.
Personal
I deal with your mandates single-handedly, with strong commitment and I engage in regular personal exchange.
Topics
Sustainability & Responsibility
I help organisations anchor sustainability strategically – in line with their goals, values and economic realities.
With analytical depth, clear language and long-standing experience, I support them in defining impact, priorities and room for manoeuvre with precision.
AI & Ethics
The use of AI creates new possibilities – while confronting organisations with fundamental questions of responsibility.
I support them in applying AI in a credible, transparent and responsible way.
Dorothea Baur
New website coming soon
A new home for my speaking and writing.
dorotheabaur.ch
About me
Dr. Dorothea Baur
I work at the intersection of business, society, and academia – and have done so for many years.
In my work, I combine analytical depth with a clear sense of language, context, and reality – in consulting, teaching, and public speaking.
I am drawn to questions that resist simple answers:
How can responsibility be made tangible in complex systems?
How can we connect sustainability, ethics, and technology in a credible way?
I hold a doctorate in business ethics, have taught and conducted research at leading European business schools, and have long-standing advisory roles with banks, insurers, pension funds, and foundations.