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World Congress 2026 Europe - Virtual Stage • Jul 2, 2026 • Session details

The Avengers Initiative (Practical Ethics for Software Engineers)

Chris Sellek

Software engineers hold immense power. Are your coding choices making you a superhero or a supervillain? Discover practical tactics to resist unethical decisions and champion workplace diversity.

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#1 about 3 min

Ethical implications of holding power in software engineering

Controlling software behavior gives developers the influence to either protect or exploit users.

#2 about 5 min

Standing up against unethical software business decisions

Pushing back against deceptive business practices prevents companies from stealing from their users.

#3 about 2 min

Real-world examples of unethical software engineering practices

Examining historical technology scandals reveals how individual engineers enable systemic harm by blindly implementing features.

#4 about 3 min

Practical strategies for resisting unethical feature requests

Delaying implementations and practicing malicious compliance can effectively derail harmful product features without risking job security.

#5 about 5 min

Building diverse teams to improve software products

Diverse engineering teams consistently produce smarter insights, fewer factual errors, and more innovative solutions than homogeneous groups.

#6 about 4 min

Facing the reality of discrimination and inequality

Analyzing industry data exposes stark racial and gender disparities in pay, seniority, and employment rates.

#7 about 5 min

Leveraging majority privilege to support marginalized team members

Using positional influence to amplify ignored voices and openly discussing salaries helps combat systemic workplace discrimination.

#8 about 3 min

Responding effectively to reports of workplace discrimination

Believing colleagues who report unfair treatment is essential for addressing blind spots and resolving toxic team dynamics.

#9 about 3 min

Correcting unrealistic expectations for junior engineering positions

Elimating absurd experience requirements for entry-level jobs is necessary to sustain the software engineering workforce.

#10 about 5 min

Mentoring and integrating junior engineers into the team

Guiding new developers with patience and valuing their fresh perspectives prevents costly technical mistakes while accelerating their growth.

#11 about 5 min

Conducting respectful and realistic technical engineering interviews

Designing interviews that reflect actual day-to-day work while treating candidates with dignity yields better hiring outcomes.

Matching moments

4:30 min

Overcoming engineered biases to achieve equal technology representation

Brenda Romero Brenda Romero · LIVE

3:58 min

The ethical and civic responsibilities of software engineers

Constantijn van Oranje Constantijn van Oranje +3 · WWC 2024

3:45 min

Actionable playbook for ethical software development workflows

Torsten Stiller Torsten Stiller · WWC 2025

5:18 min

Addressing psychological safety and ethical risks of AI adoption

Vera Slavnić Vera Slavnić · Europe 2026 Virtual

4:01 min

Experience requirements and empathy in developer relations

Angie Jones Angie Jones +3 · WWC 2024

8:08 min

Q&A on making workplaces inclusive and software career advice

Joana Simoes · LIVE

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