Being a software engineer is such a blessing and a curse.There are many ways that it can help the community and also ruin many. That is why teaching people about how to produce applications ethically thinking of the community is such an important concept of being a software engineering. Being able to stop and think, “Is this project going to help the community than destroy it?,”is a much needed skill for the many of the upcoming software engineers.
Being able to just think about the things you create can be beneficial in order as it could lead to regrets and disappointment on your career. For example, Bill Sourour in his article “The code I’m still ashamed of” giving us a clear example of thinking before you act.His story is about his regret of creating an application for medicine that cause many individuals to take their own life. His passion of creating apps and just doing what the client wants created an app that he deeply regrets till this day.
In my opinion he didn’t do anything wrong in a legal standpoint but in a moral sense. If he stepped back before engaging on the client’s project, he could’ve prevented deaths. Maybe he could’ve have not experience this big disappointment in his life. Yes, he produced an excellent application that are above and beyond the client’s expectations. But, he didn’t think through how it was going to affect the community. Now he labeled himself as the suspect of the many deaths due to the clients products. If we teach the upcoming software engineers how to thinks and step back, we can prevent moments like this and save the reputation of our field.