Time USA - 16.09.2019

38 Time September 16, 2019

Microsoft’s Brad Smith

is trying to restore

public faith in Big Tech

By Romesh Ratnesar/

Redmond, Wash.

inside a sunny conference room on The

Microsoft campus in Redmond, Wash., a small team

of employees is describing how technology can save

the world. From technology. Microsoft’s Digital Di-

plomacy unit consists of two dozen policy experts

who work on everything from the ethical use of arti-

ficial intelligence to protecting the 2020 presidential

election from foreign cyber interference. Brad Smith,

Microsoft’s president, sits in the middle of the table,

sipping coffee from a mug bearing the name of his

hometown, Appleton, Wis.

The group updates Smith on a tech-industry initia-

tive co-founded by Microsoft to combat terrorist mes-

saging on the Internet. Smith pushes for more ideas.

“We need something that will create a new mold,” he

says. A few minutes later, he gets a demo of Election-

Guard, a new encrypted voting system developed by

Microsoft’s engineers. “How close are we to getting

a state to pilot this?” When he’s told the technology

may be tested in local elections early next year, Smith

pounds his fist and leaps out of his chair in excitement.

>

Smith has assumed

the role of unofficial

global ambassador

for the tech industry

T RUST

Technology

PHOTOGRAPH BY

IAN ALLEN FOR TIME