Non-Functional Requirements Orienting the Development of Socially Responsible Software

Nowadays, software is ubiquitous and present in almost everything we buy and use. Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming prevalent in software products. The use of AI entices consumer inquisitiveness, promising software products that can make our lives easier, productive, and in some mission-critical applications safer. Similar reasoning can be applied to systems exploring Internet of Things, cloud services, and mobile technologies. However, there is a trust deficit when it comes to accepting AI as well as the other above-mentioned features, as a reliable technology platform. This paper argues that the more critical the domain is, the less consumers seem to trust software to make decisions on their behalf or even to be used. Aspects such as safety, privacy, and ethics challenges the perception of trustworthy computing. In the past two decades, several works have suggested that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) may play an essential role in creating a trust paradigm between customers and businesses promoting loyalty, customer retention and thus enhancing customer trust and increasing corporate profit. We believe that the software industry will need soon rather than later to encourage trust in their embedded software. A promising approach lies in adapting principles associated with CSR to guide the software development processes. Such an approach could help to achieve two goals: Deliver trustworthy software and, if desired, deliver socially responsible software. We believe that Non-Functional Requirements (NFR) will play a crucial role in this endeavor. This paper highlights a first approach to establishing a basic set of NFRs that should always be carefully considered when developing software, as to aim socially responsible software.