He’s also out with a new book. “Reprogramming
the American Dream” connects Scott’s rural
upbringing in Gladys, Virginia, to his optimistic
view that AI could help bridge the digital and
economic divide.
Scott spoke with The Associated Press about
the pandemic’s effects on his day-to-day
responsibilities. The interview has been edited
for clarity and length.
Q: Fewer than 20% of Americans live in rural
areas but you, and Microsoft generally, have
put a big emphasis on tech solutions for rural
America. Why?
A: You need to be able to have equitable
access to technology in order for communities
to be able to employ technology to build better
businesses, create more jobs and improve the
lives and livelihoods of the people in those
communities. You can’t even begin to have that
conversation unless the people who live in those
communities are connected to the internet.
There’s this really, really stark divide between
the haves and the have nots. If you don’t have
an internet connection at home right now and
you’re trying to do school virtually, you’re just
disconnected from your education altogether.
At Microsoft, many of us in leadership positions
have come from these rural places. We still have
friends and family there. My mom has really
great internet because she lives just sort of
fortuitously about 100 yards away from the local
telecommunications exchange. But my aunt,
who lives three miles away from my mom,
has very poor internet connectivity, which
makes it really hard for her to do things like
order stuff online.