“I’m not a corporate executive or billionaire. I have approximately zero impact” – exploring public concerns about software & the implications for responsible software engineering 

Little is known about the public’s ethical priorities for responsible software engineering (RSE). In response, we conducted a mixed method public survey (n=479) to understand ethical priorities related to software, public actions taken to address concerns, and the barriers to action. Our preliminary findings indicate that the public are primarily concerned about privacy, security, undermining of consent, mis and disinformation, and persuasive design (both addictive qualities and dark patterns) of software that keep them engaged and impact in various ways. In response, 59% of our sample had acted to address concerns whilst 41% had not. Primary actions were personal security and privacy measures; actively resisting software through non-use, minimising use, or leaving or migrating to software that better aligned with user values (often open-source software); blocking or reporting harmful followers and content on social media and making complaints to software companies, government officials and in a minority of instances, authorities such as Data Protection Commissioners. However, some respondents talked about a lack of response to complaints. For the 41% that did not act, the primary barriers were a lack of knowledge, not knowing where to start, feeling trapped within software enabled infrastructure, and a lack of self-efficacy/power in being able to address concerns. In general, these respondents did not know who to engage with or how, indicating a lack of awareness of relevant authorities and pathways. These findings indicate the importance of creating dialogue between the public and software as a discipline, in addressing digital divides and signposting accountability mechanisms.