Tools and Weapons: The Promise and the Peril of the Digital Age
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- Create Date：2021-09-08 16:21:02
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Brad Smith
- ISBN：1984877739
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Umesh
，
It is a very topical book， but the perspective had been given from Microsoft perspective， I would love to hear it as from complete Eco -system players ， companies on all these hotly n heavily debated topics。
KomaHuman
，
Хоть в конце и авторы говорят что никогда не писали книг， во время прочтения кажется что они только этим и занимаются。Такие книги мне нравятся тем， что автор не писатель， а какой-то деятель， описывающий все что произошло с ним （в данном случае юрист майков）， когда автору есть что рассказать и он крутится на самом верху， это читать всегда интересно точка
Jesse
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Excellent book - great historical background and references and "boring" topics were presented with energy and enthusiasm。 Excellent book - great historical background and references and "boring" topics were presented with energy and enthusiasm。 。。。more
Homer David
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I wasn't expecting too much from this book， seeing as it's written by the president of Microsoft himself， but I was impressed by Smith's brief but useful survey of the ten or so big challenges that society faces now and in the near future。 Yes， he does paint Microsoft in a positive light， but that's understandable。 It was nice to see Smith suggest that all computer scientists should take a course in philosophy and ethics， and vice versa。 The most interesting argument Smith makes in the book is t I wasn't expecting too much from this book， seeing as it's written by the president of Microsoft himself， but I was impressed by Smith's brief but useful survey of the ten or so big challenges that society faces now and in the near future。 Yes， he does paint Microsoft in a positive light， but that's understandable。 It was nice to see Smith suggest that all computer scientists should take a course in philosophy and ethics， and vice versa。 The most interesting argument Smith makes in the book is the call for open data in order to avoid a few large data gatherers gaining network effects and monopolising the industry to the detriment of users and society in general。 He states that， （p。259） "Current laws were mostly written before AI developments began to accelerate， and there are tensions between current laws and open data that deserve serious consideration。 For example， European privacy laws focus on so-called purpose limitations that restrict the use of information only for the purpose specified when data was collected。 But many times new opportunities emerge to share data in ways that will advance societal goals—like curing cancer。 Fortunately， this law allows data to be repurposed when it is fair and compatible with the original purpose。 Now there will be critical questions about how to interpret this provision。"The argument that I didn't follow was in response to the question of， “Do our faces deserve the same protection as our phones？" （p。211） Smith says， "The answer is a resounding yes。 " But I show my face out on the street every day， and if a policeman wants to 'search my face' then all they have to do is wait outside my home and take a look at me。 It seems there are significant differences between searching my phone contents and searching my face。 Anyway， I thought it was a book worth reading， if only to get an insider's perspective on the tech explosion of the past 25 years。 。。。more
Madhav
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Very intriguing book which gives you valuable insights about how tech is shaping our world。 Brad was quite honest in mentioning the challenges posed by the very industry he is working in and it was brave of him to pitch for a more responsible and transparent role by tech companies and even advocating reasonable government regulation， instilling hope about the future and that the tech sector is in the hands of responsible leadership and thoughtful people。It was also interesting to know about the Very intriguing book which gives you valuable insights about how tech is shaping our world。 Brad was quite honest in mentioning the challenges posed by the very industry he is working in and it was brave of him to pitch for a more responsible and transparent role by tech companies and even advocating reasonable government regulation， instilling hope about the future and that the tech sector is in the hands of responsible leadership and thoughtful people。It was also interesting to know about the various initiatives and projects taken up by Microsoft in partnership with various government and private bodies around the globe。 A must read， in my opinion 。。。more
Huan
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These are some of the wisest words I've ever heard from a tech executive:1。 "We were stewards of other people’s possessions， not the owners of this data ourselves。 And as good stewards， we needed to use this data in ways that served its owners， rather than thinking about only ourselves。"2。 "In times of a national crisis， trade-offs between individual freedoms and national security were nothing new。"3。 "People seek out online groups of like-minded people that replicate communities that have alway These are some of the wisest words I've ever heard from a tech executive:1。 "We were stewards of other people’s possessions， not the owners of this data ourselves。 And as good stewards， we needed to use this data in ways that served its owners， rather than thinking about only ourselves。"2。 "In times of a national crisis， trade-offs between individual freedoms and national security were nothing new。"3。 "People seek out online groups of like-minded people that replicate communities that have always characterized human society。 These groups in turn become more connected but less open， choosing their preferred channel and the people they want to interact with。 They share information based only on a single vantage point。 As in the real world， people can be quick to believe the worst about others， especially people they perceive as different from them。 People’s defence mechanisms start to kick in。 Idealism， in short， collides with human nature。" 4。 "I realize that the products are complex。 But so are contemporary commercial airplanes， automobiles， skyscrapers， pharmaceuticals， and even food products。 You don’t hear any serious suggestion that the Federal Aviation Administration should leave aircraft unregulated because they are too complicated for people in government to understand。"5。 "The industry， like most， often rushes forward with an innovation without helping people understand fully what it is or how it works。 This is coupled with what for too long was an almost theological belief that new technology will be entirely beneficial。"6。 "the fragile balance that free societies around the world now confront: protecting democracy in a social media age from the freedoms that can drive people apart。"7。 "we’ve come to appreciate that ethical views ultimately rest on broader human rights and philosophical foundations。 This makes it essential to connect these topics to an understanding of the world’s diverse cultures， as well as the varying laws and regulatory approaches this diversity creates。" 8。 "As we keep working to bring more technology to humanity， we also need to bring more humanity into technology。"9。 "Perhaps the most important was that well-intentioned students might not have all the right answers， but they might be asking the right questions。 And these questions could lead to a better path that had eluded experts and senior leaders alike。"10。 "As I often tried to remind people， no one elected us。 It seemed not just odd but undemocratic to want tech companies to police the government。 As a general principle， it seemed more sensible to ask an elected government to regulate companies than to ask unelected companies to regulate such a government。" 11。 "Digital technology has made the world smaller—and people more accessible—but it has also cast a deafening silence between people sitting next to each other。" 。。。more
Deborah
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Surprisingly candid， surprisingly frank， surprisingly hopeful。 Decades of insight from inside the machine。 Though I disagree with some of his conclusions， it’s genuinely heartening to hear how much the company and its leaders have grown in their conception of innovation， collaboration， inclusion， and ethics。
Ahmad Mozaffar
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It's great a book that shows you how things is going behind the scenes in terms of the privacy and how the world looks at the data right now， in addition to show the great efforts by the big companies and keep the data of the customers safe It's great a book that shows you how things is going behind the scenes in terms of the privacy and how the world looks at the data right now， in addition to show the great efforts by the big companies and keep the data of the customers safe 。。。more
Daniel
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Microsoft has learnt its lesson after its antitrust case。 Sure， it is now lobbying the government like other industries。 But it has also become the good guy。 Especially with Satya as it’s CEO。 Microsoft is no longer the startup， but a big company with social responsibilities。 It is fun to read this book alongside one’s own research on the issues on this brilliantly written apologetic。 1。 PRISM with NSA: Microsoft really didn’t know and had never helped。 Edward Snowden’s files said Microsoft help Microsoft has learnt its lesson after its antitrust case。 Sure， it is now lobbying the government like other industries。 But it has also become the good guy。 Especially with Satya as it’s CEO。 Microsoft is no longer the startup， but a big company with social responsibilities。 It is fun to read this book alongside one’s own research on the issues on this brilliantly written apologetic。 1。 PRISM with NSA: Microsoft really didn’t know and had never helped。 Edward Snowden’s files said Microsoft helped NSA circumvent its own encryption， providing access to its cloud SkyDrive and Skype， on top of Outlook and Hotmail。 Well what can any company do if the NSA asked for this under Bush’s Protect America Act that has been reauthorised by Congress multiple times？ 2。 Anyway by 2020 even NSA has changed its approach by alerting Microsoft about a major flaw it has discovered， aka Eternalblue。 Unfortunately even after Microsoft had released a patch for the latest Windows systems， it was leaked and became the Wannacry ransom ware。 It infected millions of computers still running XP。 Microsoft had then been giving free upgrades from XP to Windows 10 but a lot of people and companies still had not done it。 And they have paid the price。 Microsoft then did the unprecedented: it provided free patch for its orphaned XP system。 3。 From 2013， Microsoft showed it really takes user privacy seriously by suing the US government for its warrant asking for data stored in an Ireland server。 It lost but appealed all the way until Congress passed the CLOUD act and due process is now required for this to happen。 4。 Rural broadband: Microsoft is working to use under-utilised TV wave spectrum （Airband） to help rural America finally connect to fast internet。 5。 The Talent Gap: it sued the US government to protect its Dreamer employees who might have been forced to ‘go back’ to their parents’ country。 It won。 6。 Employee activism: it’s employees are against ICE。 However it still had to work with the US government。 This is going to be tricky indeed。 7。 AI: don’t be scared of AI。 Control what it can do。 Facial recognition is special and our faces must be more protected。 8。 China and international competition: America must remain open and work with talents from all countries， races， gender etc。 He disagree with Kai-Fu Lee’s assessment of China being the future data superpower。 Data without analysis is useless， and he proposed that we standardised and shared anonymized data to win this battle。 。。。more
Bart Thanhauser
，
All in all， this is a pretty ok book。 There were a few chapters that felt useful and where I learned a lot。 My favorite chapters were those focused on privacy and AI—specifically Chapter 2 （technology and public safety）， Chapter 3 （privacy as a human right）， Chapter 8 （consumer privacy）， Chapter 12 （AI and facial recognition）。 On privacy， I was really interested to better understand how cloud providers （like Microsoft’s Azure） balance privacy， national security， and commercial competitiveness， a All in all， this is a pretty ok book。 There were a few chapters that felt useful and where I learned a lot。 My favorite chapters were those focused on privacy and AI—specifically Chapter 2 （technology and public safety）， Chapter 3 （privacy as a human right）， Chapter 8 （consumer privacy）， Chapter 12 （AI and facial recognition）。 On privacy， I was really interested to better understand how cloud providers （like Microsoft’s Azure） balance privacy， national security， and commercial competitiveness， and Smith provides some good insights。 I also found the background information he offers in these chapters to be useful—ranging from the immense size data centers to existing legislation in the U。S。 and Europe （ECPA， GDPR， CLOUD）。 If anything， I was kind of frustrated that these chapters weren’t longer and more detailed; I still had plenty of questions at the end of these chapters。I could have passed on a few of the chapters in this book。 At times， Smith writes sort of like a politician， which I guess this makes sense。 As the president of Microsoft， what he writes attracts plenty of attention and can influence how Congress and consumers approach his company。 Still， I could have done without some of the platitudes （most chapters seem to end with Smith stressing the importance of cooperation）， the strenuous effort to appear non-partisan （I get it dude）， and anecdotes meant to bring the issues “to life。” Parts of this book read sort of like a CSR brochure or an SAT reading comp section too; when I met X， a small business owner working at the nexus at blahblahblah， we could see the important thinking Americans are doing in this critical space。As for Smith’s pitch—that government needs to do more to “manage new technology” （129） and regulate the tech sector—I found it fairly compelling though by now familiar。 Smith credits the tough lessons learned from Microsoft’s antitrust cases in the 90s as forming his views， but his message seems pretty consistent with what other tech companies are saying these days。 In that sense， Smith’s pitch is less the brave stand and more the reasonable explanation of why industry views more U。S。 government regulation as in their （and society at large’s） interest。 I approached some of this pitch with cynicism （e。g。， it seems easy for Microsoft to call for greater content moderation by social media companies…）， but in other areas （e。g。， on privacy—where he calls Europe “quite possibly the world’s best hope for privacy’s future”—and his call for greater multilateralism） it felt meaningful。 。。。more
Markos
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Excellent thought provoking book。 Particularly chapters on ethics as applied to cutting edge technology。 Well researched （with copious end matter references） and written with an insider's view on technology over the last 10-15 years。 Many references to historic similarities which assisted me in engaging with current technology trends and historic events。 I suspect that much of this book within 10-20 years will become out dated， but there are many general principles that are worthwhile。 Excellent thought provoking book。 Particularly chapters on ethics as applied to cutting edge technology。 Well researched （with copious end matter references） and written with an insider's view on technology over the last 10-15 years。 Many references to historic similarities which assisted me in engaging with current technology trends and historic events。 I suspect that much of this book within 10-20 years will become out dated， but there are many general principles that are worthwhile。 。。。more
Megan Ng Kah Poh
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A good primer on the world of tech and its accompanying issues。 Book is infused with history lessons and case studies that makes me feel a little more woke。
Jamie Pawlikowski
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All those in Tech， Business， Academia， and Government should read this book。 The ethical framework that Brad employees as the President of Microsoft is on full display here。 I find the most useful books about a specific topic， tech and the potential dangers of that tech in the 21st century， to be most impactful when told be a leader and includes how they worked through specific examples。 This book is expertly crafted。 Great read。
Alexander
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Misleading at best， vapid apologetics at worst。
Jeeva Bharathi Hariharan
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If this book had been published two or three decades ago it would have been categorised as science fiction。 This book brings into perspective the staggering progress of technology and the role each of us has to play as a member of the society on how technology should be implemented and used in the future。
Mehrad Karamlou
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An interesting look into the future through the lens of the past！
Shawn Liu
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Well-written， stories well told， and with perspective that's informative。 A good read for people who realize that society's managing technological innovation is as important as spurring it。 Well-written， stories well told， and with perspective that's informative。 A good read for people who realize that society's managing technological innovation is as important as spurring it。 。。。more
Sergio Barbosa
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As developer I found it interesting to understand how lawyers see the world tech world and came with ideas about how to regulate in order to protect people from tech perils also helping in increase the adoption。
Dmitry Kuriakov
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（The English review is placed beneath the Russian one） Книга шла с ярлыком AI。 Однако прочтя почти половину книги， никакого AI я там не обнаружил。 Более того， ничего существенного， а также нового， я в книге не нашёл。 Да и книгой эти страницы текста я назвать не могу。 Это типичная бюрократическая писанина， включающая в себя пустые слова， постоянные повторения одного и того же и информацию которую можно найти в любом современном СМИ。 И в целом， книга больше напоминает брошюру， в которой много сло （The English review is placed beneath the Russian one） Книга шла с ярлыком AI。 Однако прочтя почти половину книги， никакого AI я там не обнаружил。 Более того， ничего существенного， а также нового， я в книге не нашёл。 Да и книгой эти страницы текста я назвать не могу。 Это типичная бюрократическая писанина， включающая в себя пустые слова， постоянные повторения одного и того же и информацию которую можно найти в любом современном СМИ。 И в целом， книга больше напоминает брошюру， в которой много слов， но мало ценных мыслей。 Автор посвящает много времени вопросам кибербезопасности/преступлениям в киберсреде。 Однако всё это описано настолько поверхностно， что любая статья в СМИ даст фору этой， так называемой， книге， по глубине затрагиваемого вопроса。Второй большой минус книги， это фактически то， что она является PR продуктом компании Microsoft。 Хоть я и испытываю симпатию к этой корпорации， но читать информацию как Microsoft виртуозно решала проблемы， мне вовсе не хочется。 В какой-то момент， после того как человек прочитывает множество разнообразных нехудожественных книг， он начинает определять， где настоящая книга， а где рекламная брошюра созданная под видом книги。 И вот в данном случаи， это было настолько очевидно， что， даже не дойдя до середины этой книги， мой интерес полностью угас。 Ибо， с одной стороны， мы имеем откровенный PR текст， а с другой – абсолютную поверхностность книги。 Да и 100500 обсуждение темы вмешательства России в американские выборы 2016 года， уже довольно так поднадоело。 Но даже если кому-то и не надоело， автор всё равно не предлагает ничего нового， чего бы не было сказано ранее различными СМИ。 The book came with the label AI。 However， after reading almost half of the book， I did not find any AI there。 Moreover， I found nothing substantial or new in the book。 Moreover， I can't name these pages of text as a book。 This is typical bureaucratic writing， including empty words， repetition of the same things， and information that can be found in any mass media today。 And overall， the book is more like a brochure， with lots of words but few valuable thoughts。The author devotes a lot of space to cybersecurity/crime issues in the cyber environment。 However， all this is described so superficially that any article in the media would beat this so-called book in terms of the depth of the issue involved。The second big disadvantage of the book is that it is actually a PR project of Microsoft。 Although I have a liking for the corporation， I don't want to read information about how Microsoft has masterfully solved problems。 At some point， after one has read a variety of nonfiction books， he begins to identify which is a real book and which is an advertising brochure created under the guise of a book。 And in this case， it was so obvious that before I even reached the middle of the book， my interest completely faded。 Because on the one hand， we have a blatant PR text， and on the other - the absolute superficiality of the book。 And it's getting pretty tiresome to talk about Russian interference in the 2016 U。S。 election 100，500 times。 But even if someone is not bored with it， the author does not offer anything new that has not been saying before by the various media。 。。。more
Mauricio Coindreau
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3。5 rating。 The book was a pleasant surprise to what I was expecting。 Definitely a very interesting way to look at technology， politics and the future of humanity through the lens of the behemoth that is Microsoft。 I've always been a fan of Brad Smith corporate work and really appreciate how the book went to on to illustrate not only how Microsoft has changed， but also how it been able to increasingly take strong position in worldwide discussions。The book can get a bit tedious at time as it stru 3。5 rating。 The book was a pleasant surprise to what I was expecting。 Definitely a very interesting way to look at technology， politics and the future of humanity through the lens of the behemoth that is Microsoft。 I've always been a fan of Brad Smith corporate work and really appreciate how the book went to on to illustrate not only how Microsoft has changed， but also how it been able to increasingly take strong position in worldwide discussions。The book can get a bit tedious at time as it struggles to find the right balance between Microsoft accolades， comparative analogies and it's vision for the future。 But overall it is a worthy read for anyone interested in the future of technology， our dependency in these global companies， and what will the be the questions we have to be asking about our personal future。 。。。more
Vishal Choudhary
，
Brilliant perspective on technology trends and how to manage while continue doing innovation。 Key trends to look out for are AI， cybersecurity， data ， privacy and surveillance。
Skyler Jokiel
，
Aside for the technical insights， Brad offers a unique view into the workings and wide impact of one of the largest Global corporations in the world。
Max Lapin
，
Брэд Смит — главный юрист Микрософта， а предисловие к книге написал Билли Гейтс。 В принципе， Билл сразу признается， что до середины девяностых он отрицал необходимость представительства корпорации в Вашингтоне， чтобы отстаивать права Микрософта в столице。 Пока антимонопольный иск не пришел， грозящий разделением компании на части。Брэд Смит рассказывает тот угол про диджитал корпорации， про который еще не пишут。 Это юридическая сторона того， что ваши данные хранятся у компаний， а их приватность по Брэд Смит — главный юрист Микрософта， а предисловие к книге написал Билли Гейтс。 В принципе， Билл сразу признается， что до середины девяностых он отрицал необходимость представительства корпорации в Вашингтоне， чтобы отстаивать права Микрософта в столице。 Пока антимонопольный иск не пришел， грозящий разделением компании на части。Брэд Смит рассказывает тот угол про диджитал корпорации， про который еще не пишут。 Это юридическая сторона того， что ваши данные хранятся у компаний， а их приватность подвергается атакам со всех сторон。 От требований государства и перепродажи компаниями до кибербезопасности и мошенничества。 Все это юристам надо решать。 https://maxlapin。com/2020/07/31/b270/ 。。。more
Chris Gwilliams
，
Super interesting breakdown of scandals in the past decade or so and how they were handled by Microsoft from a non technical perspective。 Does not try to whitewash Microsoft or shift blame for any mistakes; although there is a （maybe justified？） love of the company that is pushed a little too often for my liking。 Summary of the book: work with governments and do not screw up AI。Bonus: stay through the acknowledgements for an Ode to Microsoft Word。
☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣
，
Superficial material that could've been read in a newspaper。 Some of the stories covered in detail but never in enough of it to be worthwhile。 Some 'Russian hackers'， some 'Chinese hackers'， bits and pieces of this and that。 Never in any significant detail。 Never any deep insights。 The overall rating is closer to 1 than 2。 Superficial material that could've been read in a newspaper。 Some of the stories covered in detail but never in enough of it to be worthwhile。 Some 'Russian hackers'， some 'Chinese hackers'， bits and pieces of this and that。 Never in any significant detail。 Never any deep insights。 The overall rating is closer to 1 than 2。 。。。more
Nils
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He works for Microsoft， so obviously it reads much like a sponsored add for Microsoft at times。 Putting that aside （and the fact that Schrems seems to have had the last laugh since this book was published）， Smith touches on a lot of really important topics， like regulation of IT， ethics for AI， global collaboration etc。 Good read， once you're clear Microsoft is maybe portrayed a little rosier than they possibly should。 He works for Microsoft， so obviously it reads much like a sponsored add for Microsoft at times。 Putting that aside （and the fact that Schrems seems to have had the last laugh since this book was published）， Smith touches on a lot of really important topics， like regulation of IT， ethics for AI， global collaboration etc。 Good read， once you're clear Microsoft is maybe portrayed a little rosier than they possibly should。 。。。more
Eddie Chua
，
Technology and Data， today's unavoidable 2 big topics of this digital age。 As I read through the book， there are 3 matters that was repeated in which to take closer attention to; privacy， security and regulation。 In our daily life， we create more data about ourselves that we know consciously know about。 The tech that is on and around us， sites （both physical and digital） that we visit， are all ways to collect information about us （the users）。 It was stunning to read how much information tech com Technology and Data， today's unavoidable 2 big topics of this digital age。 As I read through the book， there are 3 matters that was repeated in which to take closer attention to; privacy， security and regulation。 In our daily life， we create more data about ourselves that we know consciously know about。 The tech that is on and around us， sites （both physical and digital） that we visit， are all ways to collect information about us （the users）。 It was stunning to read how much information tech companies have about a single person。 Reading this at the same time of watching the documentary "The Social Dilemma）， screen time is the new currency that is to capitalize on humans。 My only sigh of temporary relief， is reading that 2 world's biggest tech countries， and down to individual countries do not share database with each other， only for the relief to be short lived as I am aware that even without sharing， individually they know enough about me。I am appreciative to the content to this book， as to the openness of author， Brad Smith， willingness to disclose some details from the tech sector， using simple words and reference。 He made things easy to comprehend， as show that something complicated need not have to be explained in a complicated manner。 He would be able to raise the awareness of readers， to the very simply fact， digital advancement will not slow down， while waiting for regulations to come in。 。。。more
Hamilton Apolinario
，
This book talks about technology and its impact in the everyday life of people， companies and government。 The authors discuss about privacy， cybersecurity， social media， artificial intelligence， and other subjects using recent facts that happened in the last few years。 It´s interesting to remember the recent facts from a perspective of a technology company leaders。 This is a great book and strongly recommended for those who want to understand the technology and it impact in our life。
Wendy He
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Privacy， cybersecurity， ethics - important and we need to start working on regulations NOWWork on regulations using the MVP concept - small， iterative stepsIt’s all about collaboration - among teams， companies and governments from different countries。 Put more time to that。 Bring people together to find solutions。 Open source - should be encouraged more。 Saves money and time， fosters collaboration。 Similar to the API first principle
Carolina Jiménez
，