Apple CEO Tim Cook: Privacy is “One of the Most Important Issues of the Century”

Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke this morning at the virtual conference Computers, Privacy and Data Protection, where he discussed Facebook’s business model and Apple’s future implementation of the transparency tracking application, and later explained some of his speeches in an interview with Fast company.

Cook said that privacy is “one of the top issues of the century” and that it is important to put “deep thought” into it to find out how to “leave something for the next generation that is much better than the current situation. Cook said privacy “should be weighted” like climate change, another huge issue facing the world.

On why people should take care of their privacy, even when there is nothing to hide, Cook said he is trying to get people to think about living in a world of constant surveillance, which Apple did this morning with the release of a document called “A Day in the Life of Your Data.” detailing how third-party companies track user data on websites and applications.

“What changes do you make in your own behavior then? What do you do less? What do you not do anymore? Why aren’t you just as curious if you know that every time you’re on the web, you look at different things, exploring different things, you’ll end up constraining – This kind of world is not a world that any of us should aspire to.

“And that’s how I think most people, when they think about it, like that … they start thinking quickly about ‘Well, what am I looking for? I’m looking for this and that. I don’t really want people to know that. ” I look at this and that, because I’m just curious about what it is “or whatever. So this behavior change that’s going on is one of the things I’m deeply worried about and I think everyone should worry.

Cook also pointed out that not all “Big Tech” companies are the same and said he worries about the “broad ranking” of giving major companies like Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Apple all a single label. “I try to encourage people to think at a deeper level than that and to think about the companies themselves and their business models and how they behave and so on and so forth – what their values ​​are. “, he said.

Cook was asked if he thinks artificial intelligence is a threat and how it ranks compared to confidentiality, and said “both” can be used negatively and “amplified by technology.” Cook said that ethical artificial intelligence and the confidentiality of ethical data and data collection are both important issues that “we need to address.”

Fast companyThe full interview with Cook also touches on technology and extremism, legislation and regulations on privacy and the future of privacy in technology and is worth reading.