What you need to know
- Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was interviewed by Bloomberg Television.
- The recent antitrust debates around Big Tech were discussed.
- Nadella mentioned Microsoft was able to avoid those debates, for the most part, by being on the "right side of history."
Major tech companies have been under increasing scrutiny in recent years, though Microsoft has seemingly walked between the raindrops compared to competitors such as Google and Apple. How has it accomplished this feat? That was the question Emily Chang posed to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella during the pair's Bloomberg Television interview.
Chang mentioned that Microsoft's opponents had told her Microsoft's ability to dodge the crosshairs of lawmakers came down to the company's lobbying capabilities. She then asked for Nadella's response to that claim.
"The fundamental thing that I think is being litigated," Nadella began, before expanding the scope of his comments. "Two sides to it: What technologies, as they scale — what are the unintended consequences for the broader society. [...] The second one is competition. Where is there rigorous competition or lack thereof."
He elaborated on the specifics of both items before circling back to how they intersect with Microsoft. "Frankly, on both those fronts, Microsoft is on the right side of history." Nadella then said that Microsoft invests in privacy, security, AI ethics, internet safety, and related topics.
He also highlighted that competitors are putting a lot of money into beating Microsoft, seemingly insinuating that if Microsoft was attempting to stifle competition, said competitors wouldn't be doing what they're doing.
It's not expected for a CEO to throw their own company under the bus and confirm something like supremely successful lobbying efforts regarding such sensitive topics, so Nadella's comments are par for the course. Still, it's worth watching the full Bloomberg Television interview to see how Nadella says the things he does. The interview touches on topics like the end of Google's and Microsoft's legal ceasefire and, though Nadella says what's expected of him, it's important to note his body language, pauses in speech, and other details about how he gives his responses.
This interview comes fresh off of Microsoft Inspire 2021, wherein the company announced its Windows 365 cloud OS service, which will allow users to put Windows 10 or Windows 11 onto just about any modern device they want.
