Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith

Microsoft, Brad Smith

Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the world’s most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society. As a 30-year veteran of an industry driven by disruption, Brad Smith hosts candid conversations with his guests that examine, reframe, and explore potential solutions to the digital issues shaping our world today, including cybersecurity, privacy, digital inclusion, environmental sustainability, artificial intelligence, and human rights. read less

Our Editor's Take

Technology has vast power to help and to harm. Tools and Weapons, hosted by Microsoft president Brad Smith, examines technology from both angles. It also features feedback from technology, culture, and policy experts.

This podcast began with a book. Smith's New York Times bestseller with Carol Ann Browne, Tools and Weapons: The Promise and the Peril of the Digital Age, started the conversation. Now, this podcast continues the dialogue. Smith's goal is to help people use technology for their benefit.

Comedian-journalist Trevor Noah appeared on the podcast's first episode. Outspoken on misinformation in the media, Noah shares Smith's commitment to authentic journalism. They discussed Noah's belief that society needs an “agreed-upon reality.” Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner also has been a guest. He echoed the importance of independent journalism and discussed how it protects democracy.

Smith invites artificial intelligence experts like Kai-Fu Lee to Tools and Weapons. Lee is an AI enthusiast who explains how humans must adapt to avoid job displacement in the future. He recommends students focus on soft skills over rote skills like math.

Listeners can learn about tech breakthroughs and how to find trustworthy content. Smith's tone is hopeful and helpful—two feelings listeners need in the digital age.

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Coming Soon: Tools and Weapons

Coming Soon: Tools and Weapons

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.

Episodes

Steve Ballmer: Scaling the digital revolution

Steve Ballmer: Scaling the digital revolution

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s CEO from 2000 to 2014, was instrumental in scaling the company from a small 30-person startup to one of the most valuable companies on the planet. Ahead of Microsoft’s 50th anniversary, I had the chance to catch up with my former boss. We talked about the early days of Microsoft and the pitch that convinced him to take a chance on a small company in a new industry. We also discussed how three traits—irrational confidence, realism, and persistence—have helped him succeed at Microsoft and today as the owner of the LA Clippers.Click here for the episode transcript.

Bill Gates: Starting the Digital Revolution

Bill Gates: Starting the Digital Revolution

As Microsoft celebrates its 50th birthday, I had the chance to sit down with my friend and the company’s cofounder, Bill Gates. We discuss his memoir, Source Code: My Beginnings, Microsoft’s impact over the past 50 years, and how the next phase of the digital revolution is the most exciting one yet.Click here for the episode transcript.

Jeffrey Ding: AI and the Rise of Great Powers

Jeffrey Ding: AI and the Rise of Great Powers

What will it take for a great power today to remain one? Based on research from Jeffrey Ding, a professor at George Washington University, it’s probably not the flashy technology everyone is focused on. We discuss his recent book, Technology and the Rise of Great Powers, as he challenges conventional wisdom about how technology has shaped the rise of great powers like the United States.Click here for the episode transcript

Fei-Fei Li: Staying curious at the forefront of AI

Fei-Fei Li: Staying curious at the forefront of AI

Fei-Fei Li is a pioneering AI scientist breaking new ground in computer vision, a Stanford professor, and currently leading the innovative start-up World Labs. While her career is deeply rooted in technical expertise, Dr. Li's journey is driven by an insatiable curiosity. In this episode, Brad and Dr. Li reflect on poignant moments from her memoir, "The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI," highlighting the crucial role of keeping humanity at the center of AI development. They also explore how government-funded academic research, driven by curiosity rather than profits, can lead to unexpected and profound discoveries that propel innovation and economic opportunities.Click here for the episode transcript.

Norma Kamali: From canvas to code, redefining creativity with AI

Norma Kamali: From canvas to code, redefining creativity with AI

You may not know Norma Kamali by name, but you certainly know the designer’s fashions – from the iconic Sleeping Bag Coat, to dresses worn by celebrities like Jessica Biel. 57 years into her career, she’s added AI to her design toolbox and has never been more excited about what’s coming out of her studio. In this episode, Norma makes the case for AI as a valuable tool to enhance creativity for artists of all types, and walks Brad through her process for crafting a great AI prompt.Click here for the episode transcript

Maria Ressa: Turning crisis into opportunity

Maria Ressa: Turning crisis into opportunity

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. Click here for the full transcript

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

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

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

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber: The connection between AI and energy

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

Bill Anderson: Using AI to combat hunger

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.Click here for the full transcript

The New AI Economy

The New AI Economy

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.Click here for the full transcript.

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

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

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.Click here for the full transcript

U.S. Ambassador Nate Fick: Choosing a radio over a rifle in combat

U.S. Ambassador Nate Fick: Choosing a radio over a rifle in combat

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.Click here for the full transcript.

Ben Rhodes: The enduring power of language in the era of AI

Ben Rhodes: The enduring power of language in the era of AI

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. Click here for the episode transcript

His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama: The journey from gaming to government

His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama: The journey from gaming to government

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.Click here for the episode transcript.

U.S. Ambassador Meg Whitman: Leading with the right questions

U.S. Ambassador Meg Whitman: Leading with the right questions

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.Click here for the episode transcript.

Kevin Scott: Putting AI into the hands of people everywhere

Kevin Scott: Putting AI into the hands of people everywhere

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

First Vice President Nadia Calviño: Architecting Spain’s AI future

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.Click here for the episode transcript.

Governing AI: A blueprint for our future

Governing AI: A blueprint for our future

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.Click here for the episode transcript. Governing AI: A Blueprint for the FutureWatch 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

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

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. Click here to read the full transcript.

Carol Ann Browne: Turning the tables on Brad Smith

Carol Ann Browne: Turning the tables on Brad Smith

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