Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith

Maria Ressa: Turning crisis into opportunity Oct 08, 2024

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Maria Ressa, and her co-founders created Rappler to harness social media’s connecting power to bring journalists directly to audiences. But those same social networks were then used by others against her – as a weapon – to spread disinformation and to seek to silence her. Brad and Maria also discuss turning crisis to opportunities and how the golden rule she learned as a child influences her decisions today.

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From What Now? with Trevor Noah: Why AI Won't Destroy Us with Microsoft's Brad Smith Aug 29, 2024

Brad was recently a guest on What Now? with Trevor Noah, and we're excited to share their conversation with our listeners. Here's what the podcast had to say about this episode:

Trevor puts on a suit (no, he’s not returning to The Daily Show) and heads to Microsoft. This week Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft talks AI, explains why he doesn’t believe it will be the end of humankind, and what we all have to do to keep it that way.

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber: The connection between AI and energy Jun 20, 2024

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber is the President of COP28, the UN Climate Change Conference hosted by the UAE last year. He's also the CEO and Managing Director of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), where he leads efforts to produce cleaner energy today and invests in sustainable energy solutions for the future. In this episode, Dr. Sultan shares how his leadership united diverse stakeholders to adopt the UAE Consensus. He also discusses the deep interconnectedness between AI and green energy, and how each can propel the other forward.

Bill Anderson: Using AI to combat hunger Apr 04, 2024

Bayer CEO Bill Anderson considers himself a scientist at heart, a chemical engineer by training, and a lifelong student of biotechnology. Now at the helm of a 160-year-old German pharmaceutical and agriculture company, he's employing science and technology with a bold mission — Health for All, Hunger for none.

In this episode, Bill discusses AI’s role in accelerating agricultural breakthroughs that are needed to feed a a growing population, including helping smallholder farmers become more resilient to climate change. And he discusses how this intersection of science and technology is empowering employees to unblock innovation within the company.

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The New AI Economy Mar 06, 2024

Gutenberg's invention of the printing press led to a new economy, which created a new sector of businesses, industries, and jobs. Generative AI is providing a similar opportunity today.

In this episode, Brad Smith draws on the lessons from the printing press and supporting industries to illustrate how different technologies are coming together to create a new AI economy. He explains the critical partnerships between countries, government regulators, and tech companies - building the necessary infrastructure required to run generative AI to developing the skills people need to use it. Brad also discusses how Microsoft’s AI Access Principles foster both innovation and a path for new businesses by ensuring access, fairness, and responsibility.

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Yves Ubelmann: Saving our heritage, one digital twin at a time Feb 08, 2024

Yves Ubelmann is a technologist, artist, and architect who is on a mission to digitally preserve the world’s cultural and natural heritage. He is the founder and CEO of Iconem, a company that creates stunning 3D models of endangered sites and environments. In this episode, Brad and Yves take a boat trip through Venice, touring the subject of his most ambitious project: an AI-generated digital twin of one of the world’s most magnificent cities. Inspired by his grandfather’s work to restore war-damaged heritage sites in France, Yves shares how he is using AI to memorialize the world’s heritage in 3D and raising awareness of the effects of climate change on our planet.

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U.S. Ambassador Nate Fick: Choosing a radio over a rifle in combat Jan 08, 2024

As the United States’ first Ambassador-at-Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy, Nathaniel Fick is leading a tech-centered global diplomatic mission. Nate brings extraordinary depth to this important role in contemporary foreign policy – not as a career diplomat, but from a wide range of experiences: a Classics graduate from Dartmouth, a Marine leader in Afghanistan and Iraq, a venture capitalist, and a CEO for a cybersecurity firm.

As we kick off 2024, we discuss his priorities for the year ahead, why he'd always choose his radio over his rifle, the parallels between philosophy and AI policy, and an inspiring call for each of us to find time for national service.

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Ben Rhodes: The enduring power of language in the era of AI Nov 30, 2023

Ben Rhodes had a front-row seat to one of the great transformations of our time - how people consume and react to information on social media. From his post as Deputy National Security Advisor and speechwriter serving under Barack Obama, Ben watched, as this technology evolved from a democratizing force of the Arab Spring to a weapon used to spread disinformation and divide societies.

In this episode, the bestselling author and podcaster discusses the transformative technology of today, Artificial Intelligence. He shares his perspective on how we can develop and deploy AI to serve society and help solve some of society’s biggest challenges while staying clear-eyed so that we can anticipate risk and navigate new challenges.

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His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama: The journey from gaming to government Oct 04, 2023

As a young child, His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama developed his confidence and leadership skills through video games, which sparked his passion for history, strategy, and problem-solving.

Today, he’s putting these skills to use as the first in the world to hold a cabinet level position on AI as the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications in the United Arab Emirates.

In this episode of Tools & Weapons, H.E. Omar Sultan Al Olama highlights how the region’s rich history and its aspirations for the future shape its embrace of AI. He shares how the elements that make a great game apply to leading transformational change. And he emphasizes the importance of AI education programs for government decision-makers, not just school kids.

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U.S. Ambassador Meg Whitman: Leading with the right questions Sep 07, 2023

Throughout her impressive career leading businesses, nonprofits, and now as the U.S. Ambassador to Kenya, Meg Whitman has been driven by a simple question: "What are we going to do about it?" This relentless focus on action propelled her as she transformed eBay from a fledgling startup into a global e-commerce powerhouse and guided her as CEO navigating HP through a high-stakes corporate split. In this episode, she shares how her mother's experience becoming a certified airplane mechanic during WWII instilled in her the courage to take on big challenges, like building diplomatic bridges in Africa’s burgeoning Silicon Savanah.

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Kevin Scott: Putting AI into the hands of people everywhere Aug 03, 2023

Microsoft’s Chief Technology Officer, Kevin Scott, believes that for AI to benefit everyone, humans must be at the center of its development. His philosophy was shaped by his rural Virginia roots, where he belonged to a hardworking community that used creativity, perseverance, and curiosity to support each other and tackle practical challenges.

In this episode, we talk about how a culture grounded in human values can lead to safer products, how AI can increase access to critical services like education and medicine, and what Chopin’s G Minor Ballade can teach us about AI and human connection.

Click here to read the full transcript.

Click here to find out more about Kevin's book, Reprogramming the American Dream: From Rural America to Silicon Valley - Making AI Serve Us All.

First Vice President Nadia Calviño: Architecting Spain’s AI future Jun 21, 2023

Nadia Calviño is a world leader who has earned a reputation for getting things done. As Spain’s First Vice President and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, she created the first national agency for regulating AI. In this episode, she explains how she rearchitected Spain’s economy to embrace AI in every sector while protecting citizens’ digital privacy and safety. They discuss how she is ensuring that Spain’s digital transformation uplifts everyone, the importance of digital skilling for people of all ages and genders, and Spain’s groundbreaking charter on digital rights, which is becoming a blueprint not only across Europe and the Spanish-speaking world, but globally.

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Governing AI: A blueprint for our future May 30, 2023

AI may be the most consequential technology advance of our lifetime. Rapid advances are creating new opportunities, challenges, and questions that require the public and private sectors to come together to ensure that this technology serves the public good. In this special episode, recorded as part of an event hosted by Microsoft in Washington D.C., I share how AI is leading to new breakthroughs in research, healthcare, and productivity, the guardrails required to ensure accountability and transparency, and a five-point blueprint to help create AI Policy, Law, and Regulation.

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Governing AI: A Blueprint for the Future

Watch the video: https://www.linkedin.com/events/governingai-ablueprintforaipoli7066550853603639296/about/

Read the executive summary: https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2023/05/25/how-do-we-best-govern-ai/

Download the full report: https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RW14Gtw

Join the discussion: https://www.linkedin.com/events/governingai-ablueprintforaipoli7066550853603639296/comments/

Strive Masiyiwa: A vision to connect Africa’s greatest asset — its youth — to the world Mar 05, 2023

At a time when most Africans had not yet heard the sound of a ringing telephone, Strive Masiyiwa, an impatient young engineer, successfully challenged Zimbabwe’s state-run telecoms monopoly to get the licenses he needed to launch Econet Wireless. The court’s decision reverberated across Africa, clearing the way for private sector operators to enter this new mobile technology industry and connect people across the continent for the first time. Residing in South Africa and the UK since 2000, the successful tech tycoon, recognized as one of the “50 Most Influential People” and one of the “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders,” now drives his pan-African vision. Today, with the same persistence, he and his companies set their sights to ensure that all 1.3 billion+ Africans get access to digital infrastructure, close the digital skills gap, and invest in the continent’s young entrepreneurs to find innovative solutions for healthcare and food insecurity.

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Carol Ann Browne: Turning the tables on Brad Smith Feb 15, 2023

Brad and Carol Ann discovered that riding in an autonomous vehicle as it learns to navigate the streets of London can be a bit nerve-wracking. But these hands-on experiences are crucial to understanding the impact that AI's sudden surge has on everyday life at the intersection of technology and society. In this episode, Brad's co-author, chief of staff, and long-time colleague Carol Ann Browne puts him in the hot seat to discuss the tech issues and trends that they are witnessing together in real time. They discuss the war in Ukraine, the global economy, climate change, and why responsibility must be at the center of AI development.

Click here for the episode transcript.

You can read more about the initiatives discussed in the episode through the links below:

(04:28) Olena Zelenska Foundation

(07:28) Planet

(07:32) The Clooney Foundation for Justice

(11:52) Climeworks

(11:57) Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund

(15:31) OpenAI

(21:51) Responsible AI at Microsoft

(28:11) Wayve

(29:58) SEEDS

Father Paolo Benanti: Finding the heart and soul of AI Jan 31, 2023

As a young engineer, a simple question about life’s meaning directed Paulo Benanti’s journey to an unexpected destination – living in a monastery next to the Vatican. Now known as Father Benanti, he’s a Franciscan monk, but he’s also a technology and bioethics professor who advises Pope Francis on the ethics of artificial intelligence. In this episode, we discuss how the Rome Call for AI Ethics puts people at the center of AI development, how it provides faith leaders common ground with tech companies, and why the tango best illustrates Pope Francis’ passion for ensuring that AI serves all of humanity, including the world’s poorest.

Learn more about how you can get involved in the Rome Call for AI Ethics at RomeCall.org.

Click here for the episode transcript

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece: Digital transformation for the people, by the people Dec 14, 2022

As Greece’s Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis has put digital technology to work to drive economic resurgence, develop a vibrant tech sector, and transform the way everyday citizens interact with the government. In this episode, we cover Greece's ambition to be an energy hub for Europe, its efforts to digitally preserve ancient cultural sites, and what it takes to protect one of the oldest and best inventions that Greece has contributed - democracy itself.

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Satya Nadella: Earning the skeptics’ trust Nov 30, 2022

Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, says a multinational company’s license to do business is earned by creating “local surplus” wherever it operates. In this episode, Brad and Satya unpack what this means, how it connects to the company’s mission, the responsibility that companies have to create inclusive growth, and how software is one of the biggest deflationary forces during inflationary times.

Satya Nadella is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft. Before being named CEO in February 2014, Nadella held leadership roles in both enterprise and consumer businesses across the company. Joining Microsoft in 1992, he quickly became known as a leader who could span a breadth of technologies and businesses to transform some of Microsoft’s biggest product offerings. Most recently, Nadella was executive vice president of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group. In this role he led the transformation to the cloud infrastructure and services business, which outperformed the market and took share from competition. Previously, Nadella led R&D for the Online Services Division and was vice president of the Microsoft Business Division. Before joining Microsoft, Nadella was a member of the technology staff at Sun Microsystems. Originally from Hyderabad, India, Nadella lives in Bellevue, Washington, with his family. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Mangalore University, a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago. Nadella serves on the board of trustees to his alma mater the University of Chicago, as well as the Starbucks board of directors.

Click here for the episode transcript.

Kara Swisher: It’s time for tech to mature Aug 03, 2022

When it comes to reporting on the tech industry, nothing escapes Kara Swisher. For four decades, the influential journalist has used the power of her pen and microphone to not only report the news, but influence the events of the day. Sharing insights from her career, they explore patterns that help her see what’s coming in tech before others, the attributes of tech leaders that succeed, the adaptability of leading companies, and the need for regulation on an industry that has accrued a lot of power.

Kara Swisher wrote her first technology story in 1980, for Georgetown University’s school paper – the subject was pay phones. As one of the first reporters to cover the internet while at the Wall Street Journal, Kara Swisher’s early career-making coverage of the rise of Big Tech earned her the reputation of “Silicon Vally’s most feared and well-liked journalist.” Since then, Swisher’s impact on the tech and media space has been undeniable: she’s produced the country’s premier tech and media conference, executive-edited a major news website, and co-hosts the podcast Pivot for New York Magazine. Throughout her career she’s interviewed major players in tech, politics and culture including Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Rupert Murdoch, Kim Kardashian, and President Barack Obama.

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Mathias Döpfner: Can democracy survive without independent journalism? Jul 27, 2022

Why does the head of a global media powerhouse still give his occupation as “journalist?” Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Axel Springer SE, is driven by deep convictions about journalism’s role in safeguarding democracy – a perspective forged in his youth after viewing the American miniseries Holocaust.

In this episode, Brad and Mathias dive into the worrying trends developing in democracies around the world and how technology can reduce – or amplify – the danger. They discuss how new business models can strengthen digital journalism, their shared belief in the power of truth, and what he believes is the one precondition for great quality journalism.

Dr. Mathias Döpfner is the CEO of Axel Springer SE, the largest publishing house in Europe. He started his career as a journalist in 1982 and has been with the company since 1998, initially as editor-in-chief of Axel Springer’s flagship daily newspaper, Die Welt (The World). Döpfner became a member of the Executive Board in 2000 and has been CEO since January 2002. Since Döpfner became CEO, Axel Springer’s revenues from its digital initiatives have increased twenty-fold, and its worldwide digital audience expanded to more than 400 million users. An active public speaker, Döpfner is engaged in efforts to preserve freedom and the free press for democratic societies. He is also a member of the board of directors of Netflix and Warner Music.

Click here for the episode transcript.

Kai-Fu Lee: How AI teaches us what it means to be human Jul 20, 2022

In 2017, leading AI expert Kai-Fu Lee shared a dire prediction: half of all jobs – both blue collar and white collar – could be automated within ten years, replacing the workforce with solutions built on artificial intelligence. Brad and Kai-Fu discuss what this coming change means for national economies and for people who care about their work. Kai-Fu lays out practical steps policy makers can take today to prepare, the three areas he believes human intelligence will continue to lead, and why he remains an AI optimist.

Dr. Kai-Fu Lee has driven innovation in AI research and development for over three decades. He is the Chairman and CEO of Sinovation Ventures and President of Sinovation Venture’s Artificial Intelligence Institute. Prior to founding Sinovation in 2009, Dr. Lee was the President of Google China, and a senior executive at Microsoft, SGI, and Apple. In the field of AI, Dr. Lee built one of the first game playing programs to defeat a world champion, as well as the world’s first large-vocabulary, speaker-independent continuous speech recognition system. His bestselling book AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order discusses US-China co-leadership in the age of AI, as well as the greater societal impacts wrought by the AI technology revolution. His new co-authored book AI 2041 explores how AI will change our world over the next 20 years.

Click here for the episode transcript.

Thomas Friedman: It's not what we know, but how well we listen Jul 13, 2022

Thomas Friedman believes if you want to understand human nature, live with people in extreme situations. And if you want to know the future, hang around people inventing it. As a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Thomas Friedman has spent a career reporting from a civil war in Beirut, observing some of the world’s leading companies from the inside, and discovering that the key to understanding globalization is studying the only system that mirrors it in complexity – nature. In this episode Brad and Thomas explore how our biggest challenges in society are tied to the environment and the economy, and how the key to our future hinges not on what we know, but on how well we listen.

Thomas Friedman is an internationally renowned author, reporter, and columnist. He is the recipient of three Pulitzer Prizes—two for international reporting from the Middle East and a third for his columns written about 9/11. He started his journalism career with United Press International in 1978. After serving as a Beirut reporter for UPI for two years, Friedman was hired by the New York Times in 1981, where he served as the Beirut bureau chief, Jerusalem bureau chief, chief diplomatic correspondent, international economics correspondent and, since 1995, its foreign affairs columnist. He is the author of seven New York Times bestsellers — From Beirut to Jerusalem; The Lexus and the Olive Tree; Longitudes and Attitudes; The World Is Flat; Hot, Flat, and Crowded; That Used to Be Us (with Michael Mandelbaum); and, most recently, Thank You For Being Late.

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Trevor Noah: Who do you trust (when you don’t trust the news)? Jul 06, 2022

Since his first night anchoring The Daily Show in 2015, Trevor Noah has used comedy to connect the dots between local events and global issues. In this episode, Brad and Trevor discuss the intersection of the news of the day and technology. Focusing on the rise of disinformation, they explore how we become susceptible to it, the threat of ”cybertribes” that dehumanize and pit groups of people against each other, and how automobile regulation in the U.S. could hold answers to fixing the bugs that lead to disinformation’s viral spread.

Trevor Noah is Africa’s most successful comedian and is the host of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, where he uses incisive humor to address some of today’s thorniest issues, from race to politics and climate change. Born in Apartheid-era Johannesburg to parents of different races, Noah was, as the title of his autobiographical book reflects, Born a Crime. Noah began his career in South Africa in 2002 and took over hosting duties of The Daily Show in 2015. In 2020, Noah received a Grammy nomination for Best Comedy Album for Trevor Noah: Son of Patricia. In 2019, The Daily Show received two Primetime Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Variety Talk Series and Outstanding Interactive Program. In 2018, Time Magazine named Noah one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Click here for the episode transcript.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern: Can we work together to end violent extremism online? Jul 06, 2022

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is determined to stop the spread of extremism and radicalization online. In the aftermath of the 2019 terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, she saw the livestream of the tragedy go viral across social media feeds, including her own. In response, she led the creation of the Christchurch Call, a commitment by governments and tech companies to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. In this episode, Brad and Prime Minister Ardern discuss the Christchurch Call, how algorithms fan the flames of extremism and the need to address misinformation to create a stronger, more connected society.

Since being elected Prime Minister of New Zealand in 2017, Jacinda Ardern has placed wellbeing at heart of her Government’s work. Along with holding the Child Poverty Reduction portfolio, she has championed efforts to tackle long-term challenges like climate change, social inequality, and unaffordable housing. She entered Parliament in 2008 as a list MP, and was later elected to represent the Mount Albert electorate. During this time, she was responsible for a wide range of policy areas, including Social Development, Arts, Culture and Heritage, Children, Justice, and Small Business. Throughout her career, she has been a strong advocate for children, women, and the right to meaningful work.

Click here for the episode transcript.

Coming Soon: Tools and Weapons Jun 30, 2022

With things heating up around the world—environmentally, socially, and politically, now is the time to discuss the role technology plays – for good and bad – as we work together to solve our biggest challenges. 

Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the world’s most critical issues at the intersection of technology and society.

Brad Smith is Microsoft's vice chair and president, leads a team of more than 1,900 business, legal and corporate affairs professionals working in 56 countries. He plays a key role in spearheading the company’s work to advance trust, inclusion, fundamental human rights, and environmental sustainability.
The Australian Financial Review has described Smith as "one of the technology industry's most respected figures," and the  New York Times has called him "a de facto ambassador for the technology industry at large." Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Click here for the episode transcript.

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