I don't think trying to select for an ethical core really works. Ultimately, you are either going to go along with the people around you or you are going to stick to some principles that aren't shared by everybody, and in the latter case, you're going to be unsuitable for the job, because you're not running the company.

So looking for evidence of ethics in an interview is just looking for a smooth talking hypocrite, even if you think you really want to.

The point is about asking good questions and having a healthy debate not about arriving with a preconceived “ethical core.”

The one Googler I know personally and have talked to about this stuff seems to have a weird blind spot around privacy and data collection. They're super friendly and happy to discuss products and features, but any questions about keeping data on your own device, limiting data access etc. just gets a blank stare, as if the very concept of "data which Google doesn't track" is nonsensical to them.

It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it. -Upton Sinclair

I'm just now realizing why I might have failed my interviews that I thought I nailed some questions in...