responsibility

i'm a software developer, i translate my understanding of needs into something a computer can understand. it's a good job. it is challenging, interesting, fun and rewarding. it also means that i am one of the last people between automation and the world.

this means that i have a responsibility to the world. most people in the world cannot make the computers do what they want them to. this is not just about ability, it is about access and privilege. i am in a privileged position and i can affect how some systems actually work.

software development is a complex thing, and how we decide what changes to make is surprisingly complicated and convoluted. there are entire schools of thought, practices and and lots of tools attending to how we change software systems. there are hierarchies involved.

but, in the end, it comes down to a few people typing things into computers and telling the computers how to do something. and this is where it stops – this is where the responsibility finally ends up. the people who actually make the software are responsible for [edit: the consequences of] that software.

we have lots of structures and rules to dissipate and distance ourselves from the effects of our software, but in the end we are responsible. we see this with e.g. the volkswagen emmissions scandal where the company has certainly acted badly, but the developers who made software in question are being held responsible as well.

yes, there are consequences to shirking our responsibility to the community and world. as well there should be.

for evil to happen many people must be willing to let it happen. in the end it is up to the person actually writing the code.