Apparently every ill in society is somehow my fault.
**You fucking brogramming shitlord!!!shift111!!! FUCK YOU™**
Nah. The guards in vedic hell are not subject to karma of their actions, they are incapable of good karma but there is of course another fraction that believes they do accumulate bad karma until the end of the cycle and it gets reset hopefully not being incarnated again as the lowest caste possible. This is an slightly funny example. I know multiple software urges working on automated weapons that will kill them later, they can not see this and even if you convinced them, they are blackmailed worse than fake paedophiles in acting positions of power. Already dead.
Should I feel bad for working as a professional programmer?
Yes.
Apparently every ill in society is somehow my fault.
Yes.
No.
Human communication is a critically important skill in our sophisticated society. If you don't care to defend yourself from criticisms directed towards yourself about the nature of programming and software, then perhaps it's better to find a different job that doesn't involve programming. There are plenty of jobs out there that don't require such sophisticated human communication skills.
Why would you feel sorry for that?
>>5 if your job is writing an equivalent of Newspeak dictionary in software for example
>>1
Is it? I don't think so.
It really depends on what you're doing:
the nth CRUD app/framework: meh
systems/infrastructure programming: Bravo
Android/social media stuff: Yes you should feel bad, you can redeem yourself by posting internal secrets somewhere and leaving backdoors in things to discredit your employer.
Imagine being the person responsible for making an entire generation dumber
If you wouldn't do it for free, maybe don't do it at all.