"Computers will match us in emotional intelligence, which includes our whole moral system," says inventor and computer scientist Ray Kurzweil.

When you talk about end-of-life issues, according to Gundersen Lutheran Health System’s director of clinical ethics, “you’re really talking about the meaning of life, about your religious beliefs and faith, and ultimately about who you are.”

"The whole system is greased to pay hospitals and others for expensive things people might not even want” at the end of life, says Dr. Lachlan Forrow, director of ethics and palliative care at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital.

“It’s impossible not to ration, it’s irrational not to ration, and it’s unethical not to ration” medical care at the end of life, says this Harvard Medical School ethics professor.

The September 30 killing in Yemen of radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki is reigniting an ethical debate: Should the US use armed drones outside combat zones? Watch excerpts from recent interviews on drones and the ethics of war.

"This is a new wave of activism through what one eats, that what we eat and what we buy is a vote of confidence in our highest values," says Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz.

“When we’re using missiles that kill but place no risk,” suggests Yale law professor Stephen Carter, “that means it’s easier to fight, which means it’s more likely we’ll fight.”

Religious leaders of this largely Christian country will have a key role to play in successfully managing its wealth and in fostering its adherence to democratic values.

"It’s a matter of sharing the burdens of a free society and a good society. That’s, morally speaking, what taxes are about," according to political philosopher and Harvard government professor Michael Sandel.

Donating organs "is considered an altruistic, charitable act, and all the major religions look favorably upon that behavior," says ethicist Robert Veatch.