The North Star has always been the same, which for us, is about making insanely great products that really change the world in some way - enrich people's lives.
Tim CookRead
Our values are that we do think that people have a right to privacy. And that our customers are not our products.
Interpretation
Tim Cook emphasizes the importance of privacy and the ethical treatment of customers in business.
In this quote, Tim Cook asserts that the core values of a company should include a commitment to respecting people's right to privacy and acknowledging that customers should not be commodified or treated merely as products. He highlights a fundamental belief in the dignity and rights of individuals, especially in the context of technology and commerce, implying that ethical considerations should guide business practices.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about digital ethics during a tech conference.
The North Star has always been the same, which for us, is about making insanely great products that really change the world in some way - enrich people's lives.
There have been people that suggest that we should have a back door. But the reality is if you put a back door in, that back door's for everybody - for good guys and bad guys.
I don't subscribe to the view some people have in the industry that you should purposefully design products that do not last that long. I don't think it is good for anyone.
When technological advancement can go up so exponentially, I do think there's a risk of losing sight of the fact that tech should serve humanity, not the other way around.
Work takes on new meaning when you feel you are pointed in the right direction. Otherwise, it's just a job, and life is too short for that.
That has always been the objective of Apple: to do things that really enrich people's lives. That you look back on and you wonder, 'How did I live without this?'
The promise of artificial intelligence and computer science generally vastly outweighs the impact it could have on some jobs in the same way that, while the invention of the airplane negatively affected the railroad industry, it opened a much wider door to human progress.
Nevertheless, the number of farmers, small as well as large, who are adopting the new seeds and new technology is increasing very rapidly, and the increase in numbers during the past three years has been phenomenal.
I have seen women who are very interested in tech finish their graduate or undergraduate degrees, but then choose not to pursue a career in tech because they're not sure they want to spend the next 20-30 years in an industry that's very male dominated.
To turn really interesting ideas and fledgling technologies into a company that can continue to innovate for years, it requires a lot of disciplines.
Tomorrow there will be no division to Europe and Asia. These are old concepts that would remain only on maps. Everything will be united. Companies will be united. It is a process of structures growing due to the technological progress.
Certainly there's a phenomenon around open source. You know free software will be a vibrant area. There will be a lot of neat things that get done there.
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