Truth be told, I originally wanted to title this article as "I'm ashamed of being a computer programmer". I chose to make it a more aspirational one instead. I want it to reflect a goal I set to myself, even though I might not have it all figured out right now.

The way the average person is treated by the technology in their life is despicable. Our devices track our every move. Each software update makes the experience of using your phone worse. Advertisements sprinkled generously in-between nonsensical "content" served by software designed for just one goal: addiction. The only hardware people can afford is e-waste from day 1, because the operating system only cares about serving ads for the latest AI craze to justify the unimaginable wealth thoughtlessly invested into it by the worst people in our society.

The way people less privileged than the average person is treated by the technology is criminal. Facial recognition is used to enforce unjust laws in an unjust manner. Border controls. Apartheid. Genocide. Scanning your social media to see if you're undesirable. Serve your neighbors disinformation and propaganda about you. Accelerate the climate change that will destroy your home. Make you the target of the next smart weapon.

This awful world is made possible by people like me. Computer programmers. These days this almost feels like a dirty word to my ears. We have a responsibility to the world. And I think we failed in something important. Not necessarily as individuals, but as a collective. I'm wary of anybody who I don't know well who introduces themselves as a computer programmer or a "software engineer" or any variation upon. Chances are, our value systems are going to have a serious mismatch.

And yet, I choose to love computers. I choose to find beauty in the rigid logic of the machine, and in the infinitely complex things that can emerge from that. I choose to love problem solving, and tinkering, and freedom, and the pursuit of knowledge, and the human soul behind it all.

I choose to believe in this hobby of mine. I choose to believe that it doesn't have to be like this. It doesn't have to make the world a worse place. I'm the only one who can make this choice. No tech billionaire has the power to take this choice away from me. I choose not to let anyone else ruin this for me. And I want to help people realize that they have this choice as well.

Today I choose not to be ashamed of being a computer programmer.