> I wonder if software engineers had to pass ethics classes like other types of engineers if the world would be a different place today.

I had to take one as part of my ABET program. I highly doubt it made a difference. If anything, it demonstrated how much ethical behavior varies between people. I distinctly remember conversations about how awesome computer-aided sniper rifles would be (before these became a literal thing). That seems completely unethical to me, but I went to a college full of people getting back from tours in Afghanistan, so they had a very different perspective on the topic.