Ethics

Software is getting a bad name. Corporate personal data collection is justified for one purpose, but then somehow finds it way into other purposes. Security breaches mean personal data escapes into the public domain. Technology is blamed for spreading faked news that has resulted in mayhem and death. Democracy is undermined. We need to think about responsibilities as technologists. We are sometime slow to understand the power of the software we create. We need to focus more carefully on how to create software for good. In this chapter, I will explore some issues to help us decide where to draw the line.