Ethical Concerns on Software Development: A Survey

The rapid advancement of computer technologies has sparked a major societal transformation, reshaping various aspects of human life. However, as technology evolves quickly, regulatory frameworks and ethical oversight often lag behind, leading to significant challenges in maintaining ethical standards in software development. This paper investigates the ethical concerns faced by software practitioners and examines how these concerns are handled during the software development process. We conducted a survey of 150 software professionals, exploring the presence of ethical concerns, the influence of corporate culture, and how business priorities impact ethical decision-making. Our findings reveal that corporate incentives often sideline ethical considerations, leading to inconsistencies in how ethical issues are addressed. This paper contributes to the understanding of software development ethics by providing empirical insights into the influence of corporate culture, organizational structures, and software development practices on ethical integration, highlighting the gaps that remain in operationalizing ethics effectively in the software industry.