Tools and Weapons: The Promise and the Peril of the Digital Age
by Brad Smith, Carol Ann Browne
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The New York Times bestseller, now updated with new material on cyber attacks, digital sovereignty, and tech in a pandemic.
From Microsoft's president and one of the tech industry's broadest thinkers, a frank and thoughtful reckoning with how to balance enormous promise and existential risk as the digitization of everything accelerates.
"A colorful and insightful insiders' view of how technology is both empowering and threatening us. From privacy to cyberattacks, this timely book is a useful guide for how to navigate the digital future." --Walter Isaacson
Microsoft president Brad Smith operates by a simple core belief: When your technology changes the world, you bear a responsibility to help address the world you have helped create. In Tools and Weapons, Brad Smith and Carol Ann Browne bring us a captivating narrative from the top of Microsoft, as the company flies in the face of a tech sector long obsessed with disruption as an end in itself, and in doing so navigates some of the thorniest issues of our time--from privacy to cyberwar to the challenges for democracy, far and near.
As the tumultuous events of 2020 brought technology and Big Tech even further into the lives of almost all Americans, Smith and Browne updated the book throughout to reflect a changed world. With three new chapters on cybersecurity, technology and nation-states, and tech in the pandemic, Tools and Weapons is an invaluable resource from the cockpit of one of the world's largest tech companies.
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Book Details
- ISBN
- 9781984877734
- Authors
- Brad Smith, Carol Ann Browne
- Publisher
- Penguin Books
- Language
- English
- Physical Info
- 0.83 lb

True description excellent condition
Brad covers thorny issues Microsoft found itself in at the intersection of technology, government regulation, and society: Data privacy, use cases of AI/ML, ecological impacts of cloud computing, cybersecurity, …
Love them or hate them, Microsoft has been at the leading edge of technology since long before the dawn of the Internet era. Brad Smith has compiled a uniquely realistic take on our times here - a book filled with fear, dread, hope, inspiration, and a clear path forward if we're to survive the technological terrors we've unleashed on ourselves these past couple of decades. He's also keenly aware that our enemy is NOT technology, but rather our own destructive tendencies. I highly recommend this book for anyone curious about where we've been and where we're heading when it comes to the digital age.
I was looking forward to insight and analysis of the digital issues of our day. Alas, Mr. Smith delivers a travelogue and self congratulatory team high five for Microsoft's work in cyber and government affairs. When he begins to shed insight into a position regarding privacy or AI, it quickly turns light and fluffy. Too bad, he has great things to share.
The book provided interesting insight and perspective into key inflection points within the tech sector and especially Microsoft’s position. I enjoyed reading about the internal discussions and decision points that drove policy decisions and collaboration across departments and competing organizations. There are some very complex issues facing technology firms and this book shed some light on some the work we all have to do to get the most out of technological advances in the future.
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