Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, gave a speech at Stanford University. An important topic was privacy in times of digitization.
Cook warned that the loss of privacy can creep into our behavior.
We lose the freedom to be human.
He warned that everything you say and do, every mistake and every reckless action, every secret is at stake. As a result, you would censor yourself for something that could quickly find its way into other areas of life. It’s important to prevent this and it’s ironic that this development starts in Silicon Valley.
In a world without digital privacy, even if you have done nothing wrong other than think differently, you begin to censor yourself. Not entirely at first. Just a little, bit by bit. To risk less, to hope less, to imagine less, to dare less, to create less, to try less, to talk less, to think less. The chilling effect of digital surveillance is profound, and it touches everything.
Tim Cook’s speech took place at the same place where Steve Jobs addressed the students 14 years ago. If you don’t know his speech yet, you can find it here.
