With great power comes great responsibility....

With great power comes great responsibility....

*These opinions are my own, not Microsoft’s. As I roll up my sleeves and go to work every day, I see things. Things make me think. I’m just another guy with an opinion.

If you follow me on social media, you will notice trends and themes in my posts. I am currently hot and heavy on these 5 things:

1)     The current intersection between humanity and technology

2)     Technology augmenting humans versus replacing them

3)     The conundrum and paradigm shift that is “digital transformation”

4)     Things the business community should think about as they seek out DT partners. 

5)     Microsoft’s unique position in terms of partnering with the business community on digital transformation

Today I got the chance to participate in a webcast where our leadership presented to all Microsoft employees about the state of the business. One of the speakers inspired me to write this blog. He commented on the fact that while we have had plenty of success over the years at Microsoft, our customers’ expectations of us at this very moment are higher than they have ever been. 

I have a 4-year-old son who loves Spiderman. It’s what he wants to be when he grows up. I wish him the best on that journey, but we have a deal about radioactive spiders in the house and scaling tall buildings. I’ve read him 30 or so different Spider man related books more times than I care to count. If he wants Daddy to read, Daddy reads. If you are familiar with Peter Parker, you know that being bit by a radioactive spider and acquiring super human powers taught him that “with great power comes great responsibility”. His powers put him in a cocky place for some time until that cockiness ultimately cost him his dear uncle Ben, who was killed by a burglar that Peter had the chance to stop but didn’t. Peter Parker vowed that from that day on he would use his powers for the greater good rather than for himself. 

Microsoft did not get bit by a radioactive spider (as far as I am aware) and may or may not have super human powers, but to frame out the analogy, I personally believe Microsoft has recognized it has been somewhat cocky and misguided in some cases. I also believe that under the leadership of Satya Nadella, Microsoft has vowed to use its “super human powers” to serve the greater good through its commitment to engineering ethical AI and other modern technology to augment humans versus replacing them.  RIP Uncle Ben. Your death wasn’t pointless. 

How would you characterize “the greater good” in 2018?  

Lucas Dowd