Wow! eBook
Responsible Software Engineering: With Real-World Case Studies from Google
Author(s): Daniel J. Barrett (Author)
- Publisher: O'Reilly Media
- Publication Date: October 14, 2025
- Edition: 1st
- Language: English
- Print length: 197 pages
- ISBN-10: 1098149165
- ISBN-13: 9781098149161
Book Description
Today’s software applications need more than a friendly interface and correct algorithms. They also need to be responsible: to be beneficial for society and not cause harm. In an era of AI chatbots, deep fake images and videos, social media bubbles, expanding privacy regulations, and a warming planet, it’s more important than ever to practice responsible software engineering so your products earn your users’ trust—and deserve it.
Responsible Software Engineering gathers the wisdom of over 100 Google employees to help you anticipate the effects of your software on the world and its inhabitants. It features expert advice and practical case studies so you can build better applications that are more ready for real-world situations:
- Treating people more fairly, regardless of their beliefs, culture, skin tone, and other attributes
- Operating more safely, to reduce the risk of physical, psychological, or financial harm
- Better protecting people’s privacy, particularly when collecting personal information
- Incorporating wisdom from the social sciences, law, ethics, and other fields that many engineers may be unfamiliar with
- Reducing emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), to address the risks of climate change
Editorial Reviews
Review
—Bruce Schneier, author of A Hacker’s Mind: How the Powerful Bend Society’s Rules, and How to Bend them Back
“I really enjoyed reading
Responsible Software Engineering and learned a lot. It changed my perspective on a number of things, which I think is the highest compliment you can give to a book.”—Alex Hamerstone, director, TrustedSec
“Responsible Software Engineering tackles the urgent, but often invisible, decisions every developer faces. Barrett transforms nuanced real-world challenges into practical guidance, showing how we can effectively consider the broader implications of the software we build. This is essential reading that deserves a spot on the shelf of every developer or technology leader.”
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“
Responsible Software Engineering is a vital new book for technologists who want to ensure their products do right by their users. It is essential reading for engineers to go beyond just writing good software and into the realm of being responsible and ethical.”—Eva PenzeyMoog, author of Design for Safety
“Dan Barrett’s books consistently impress with their depth of technical expertise. Here, with
Responsible Software Engineering, he brings the same scope to responsible engineering practices, and the reader is both challenged and informed.”—Jess Males, DevOps engineer, Triumphpay
