With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: The Role of Software Engineers
Stefanie Betz, Birgit Penzenstadler
TL;DR
The paper argues that software engineers' roles are rapidly expanding due to digital transformation and AI, demanding responsibility across the full development lifecycle and beyond coding. It proposes an ethnographic, bottom-up understanding of current practices and a top-down educational framework to embed ethics, sustainability, and self-reflection into SE curricula. The three-fold contribution includes an ethnographic research roadmap, a framework for a revised role, and a mechanism for ongoing discourse and self-reflection, aiming to transform software engineering into responsible citizenship. The work highlights gaps in current education, emphasizes environmental and societal impacts, and outlines a plan to operationalize codes of ethics in daily practice.
Abstract
The landscape of software engineering is evolving rapidly amidst the digital transformation and the ascendancy of AI, leading to profound shifts in the role and responsibilities of software engineers. This evolution encompasses both immediate changes, such as the adoption of Language Model-based approaches in coding, and deeper shifts driven by the profound societal and environmental impacts of technology. Despite the urgency, there persists a lag in adapting to these evolving roles. By fostering ongoing discourse and reflection on Software Engineers role and responsibilities, this vision paper seeks to cultivate a new generation of software engineers equipped to navigate the complexities and ethical considerations inherent in their evolving profession.