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Asking software authors to make moral considerations is less simple than saying, "You're free to ignore them." precisely because morality is subjective. Being i
by iandanforth 6y ago
Asking software authors to make moral considerations is less simple than saying, "You're free to ignore them." precisely because morality is subjective. Being irresponsible is much easier than being responsible after all.
- xen0 6y agoThere is some nuance. If I were writing software to control missiles then I had better be comfortable with how those missiles get used. But if I were writing a compiler for a mainstream programming language, then I don't think I could be expected to lose sleep over the fact that _someone_ might be using it to write missile control systems.
- wolco 6y agoIt goes further. Unless you stop the project the missile control will be built with less qualified developers. If a missiles keep hitting buses of average citizens you are at fault because you could have prevented that by finishing the project. Then you can even extend and say because the missile system wasn't built (because you left) when another country bombs and kills kids you are at fault. You could even say because the missile control wasn't built the next Hitler was born and all of those deaths are your fault. It's no wonder all presidents age so rapidly for those 4/8 years.