Consensus software: robustness and social good

In this column I explore some far-reaching issues of software development that lie at the intersection of robust software and sociopolitical systems. These two areas might seem unrelated-and most software developers would likely be horrified to have politics intrude on their programming efforts-but the intersection occurs through these premises: software systems administer and control much of our societal infrastructure; people would appreciate and better accept that control if they had input into the nature of the control and the systems´ behavior; designers can make software systems more robust through redundancy, in which different versions of software components might cover for each other´s mistakes and limitations; and if many people could contribute software to societal control systems, the systems might be more robust and better represent people´s interests. The need for redundancy and the need for widespread participation can be mutually satisfying.