Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella: Returning To Our Roots Has Given Us Purpose

Quantum Computing is “something the world needs Microsoft to do” because it can relieve so many constraints on existing computation. Only this week, Microsoft released a programming language for quantum computing.

AI is something just about every technology company says their working on. Whether its adding smart layers to existing software or creating robots, everyone is talking about it. Some believe AI is a threat to safety and to jobs.

Nadella doesn’t subscribe to this, arguing that it’s an issue of control. Microsoft even has an internal ethics committee to make sure there is no bias in its AI

“I think with new technologies, we have to be smart to take advantage of them so we can [fulfil] all the good examples of empowerment, but keep an eye on the negative consequences.

“What if AI became more intelligent than us and we couldn’t control it? That would obviously be a big challenge. It is up to us. How do we approach this with a set of design principles to control what AI we create?”

“To have these AIs behave properly is our accountability and not to lose control.”

Industry issues and politics

On a human level, Nadella accepts the technology industry has a “long way to go” in terms of gender diversity and the sector in general has been a vocal critic of plans for stricter immigration policies.

Nadella has attended industry meetings with US President Donald Trump to discuss Microsoft’s priorities. He says his communications with the President have been similar to those made with previous administrations and governments around the world, including the UK.

“In both those occasions, [he met with Trump] I talked primarily for the reform of our immigration policy but more importantly to remind us all of the uniqueness of the United States in terms of the strength and competitiveness it gives us. I’m a product of that.

“I also stressed the need for investment in infrastructure. We need to make sure taxpayer’s money is spent sensibly.”

Only this week, Apple reported a rise in the number of data requests it has received from the US government. Microsoft accepts it has a duty to help law enforcement agencies in issues of national security, but says this demand must be balanced by the need to protect the privacy of law abiding citizens.

“Our call is for a new framework of law and transparency that addresses that balance,” he argues. “We cannot break trust and our societies do not want to break trust. We cannot deny the need for national security.

“Our framework of laws were created for a very different era, not the digital era. What constitutes a national boundary is [vague].”

The future of technology… and cricket

But Nadella is unsurprisingly optimistic about the future. He’s already looking at how Blockchain could join the list of transformation technologies he has earmarked and believes the exponential increase of computing is the most surprising trend of his career at Microsoft.

As for his views on cricket, they are very much partisan. When asked which legendary batsman was better, India’s Sachin Tendulkar or the West Indies’ Brian Lara, he picks his compatriot and when asked if England could defeat Australia in this winter’s Ashes, he says he hopes England will win – much to the delight of those at Lord’s.

But how much has he enjoyed being the CEO for the past three years?

“It is unlike anything I ever imagined it to be,” he remarks.

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