Technology in Action
A Conversation with Brad Smith
Wed. April 27, 2022 5 p.m.
Husky Union Building, South Ballroom
When your technology changes the world, what responsibility do you bear to address the global issues that arise? This conversation with Microsoft President & Vice Chair Brad Smith, inspired by his book “Tools and Weapons,” explores issues of responsibility and risk in the technological space, especially in the spread of misinformation. Margaret O’Mara (Department of History) moderates this panel with insights from UW professors Kate Starbird (Human Centered Design & Engineering) and Jevin West (Information School) of UW’s Center for an Informed Public.
*4/8/2022 update: Please note the change in venue! Due to resounding interest in this event, we have moved to the Husky Union Building’s South Ballroom.
Meet the presenters
Brad Smith
President & Vice Chair, Microsoft
Brad Smith leads work on a wide range of issues involving the intersection between technology and society, including cybersecurity, privacy, human rights, immigration, philanthropy and environmental sustainability. His recent book, “Tools and Weapons: The Promise and Peril of the Digital Age” was a New York Times bestseller.
Smith joined Microsoft in 1993, first spending three years in Paris leading the legal and corporate affairs team in Europe. In 2002, he was named Microsoft’s general counsel and spent the following decade leading work to resolve the company’s antitrust controversies with governments around the world and companies across the tech sector. Over the past decade, Smith has spearheaded the company’s work to advance privacy protection for Microsoft customers and the rights of DREAMers and other immigrants, including bringing multiple lawsuits against the U.S. government on these issues.
Prior to joining Microsoft, Smith was an associate and then partner at the law firm of Covington and Burling, where he is still remembered as the first attorney in the long history of the firm to insist (in 1986) on having a personal computer on his desk as a condition for accepting a job offer. In addition to his work at Microsoft, Smith is active in several civic organizations and in the broader technology industry. He has served on the Netflix board of directors since 2015 and chairs the board of directors of both Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) and the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship program.
Smith grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin, where Green Bay was the big city next door. He attended Princeton University, where he met his wife, Kathy. He earned his J.D. from Columbia University Law School and studied international law and economics at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, Switzerland.
Margaret O’Mara
Professor, Department of History
Margaret O’Mara is a historian of modern America who writes and teaches about the connections between the technology industry and American politics. Her most recent book is “The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America.”
Kate Starbird
Associate Professor, Human Centered Design & Engineering
Kate Starbird is a co-founder and director of the Center for an Informed Public. She researches how technologies are used during crisis events, focusing on disinformation and how online rumors spread.
Jevin West
Associate Professor, Information School
Jevin West served as the inaugural director of the Center for an Informed Public. He is a co-founder of the DataLab, the nexus for research on Data Science and Analytics. His field of research includes misinformation in and about science.
Learn more
“Tools and Weapons: The Promise and Peril of the Digital Age”
University Book Store will be at the event with copies of Brad Smith’s New York Times bestselling book.
“In ‘Tools & Weapons,’ the longtime Microsoft executive and his co-author Carol Ann Browne tell the inside story of some of the biggest developments in tech and the world over the past decade — including Microsoft’s reaction to the Snowden revelations, its battle with Russian hackers in the leadup to the 2016 elections and its role in the ongoing debate over privacy and facial recognition technology.” — GeekWire
An infodemic runs amok
This recent UW Magazine article profiles the work of Center for an Informed Public, including insights from Kate Starbird.
“We can avoid becoming unwitting participants in making something larger and more insidious. We can learn to be better at consuming and sharing things we see online. Hit pause before you hit share—and think about where the information is coming from,” says Starbird.
Thank you to our partners
