Tech Quotes

“Seemingly innocuous language like 'Oh, I'm flexible' or 'What do you want to do tonight?' has a dark computational underbelly that should make you think twice. It has the veneer of kindness about it, but it does two deeply alarming things. First, it passes the cognitive buck: 'Here's a problem, you handle it.' Second, by not stating your preferences, it invites the others to simulate or imagine them. And as we have seen, the simulation of the minds of others is one of the biggest computational challenges a mind (or machine) can ever face.”
― Brian Christian, Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions

“All media work us over completely.”
― Marshall McLuhan, The Medium is the Massage

“It's easier for a rich man to ride that camel through the eye of a needle directly into the Kingdom of Heaven, than for some of us to give up our cell phone.”
― Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

“With every passing time, technology moves one step forward.”
― Santosh Kalwar

“But that tech also led to nuclear power, cancer treatments and long-range space exploration, right? Tech can be good and bad.”
― Rick Riordan, Daughter of the Deep

“When you and I give technology our trust, we forget that its creators are the ones who profit from our surrender.”
― Timsux Wales

“Technology doesn’t just connect you and I to the world; it also disconnects us from the truth.”
― Timsux Wales

“The real danger of technology is not what it can do to you and I, but what it makes us do to each other.”
― Timsux Wales

“Privacy is not a luxury; it is the foundation of my dignity as a human, and without it, I'm merely a product to be sold.”
― Timsux Wales

“Data is not just information; it’s the thread that binds our identities to the hands that pull it.”
― Timsux Wales

“You and I live in a world where the price of privacy is measured in moments, and every click is a bargain.”
― Timsux Wales

“Every breach of security begins with a silent compromise of my trust.”
― Timsux Wales

“The more connected I become to technology, the more vulnerable I'm to being disconnected from myself.”
― Timsux Wales

“I trust in technology, but I trust it with a backup plan.”
― Timsux Wales

“The moment you put your life online, you're giving others the power to control it.”
― Timsux Wales

“Every new technology brings with it new risks, but the greatest risk of all is for me not to understand those risks.”
― Timsux Wales

“Privacy is not just about hiding things or keeping secret, it’s about controlling who has access to your life.”
― Timsux Wales

“In the digital world, the price of silence is often your freedom.”
― Timsux Wales

“The cost of convenience is often paid in the currency of privacy.”
― Timsux Wales

“The enemy is not just the hacker, but the system that lets them hack in the first place.”
― Timsux Wales

“Chapter 6: the end of the beginning (page 98)

I have always maintained that the people who ultimately succeed are the creative ones.”
― Kara Swisher, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story

“Chapter 7: the golden god (page 125)

In other words, I won't go changing to try and please you, which is a piece of advice I would think about for myself and my career many times after hearing it from him. Changing, for sure, but with certain values and mainstays that would never alter.”
― Kara Swisher

“Chapter 11: staying vertical (page 182)

"The people who love you are the only ones that count," he* said to me. Then, tearing up, he added, "Don't waste your time on anyone else."

*Steve Jobs”
― Kara Swisher, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story

“Chapter 11: staying vertical (page 182)

The speech had a key line: "Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything-all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure-these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.”
― Kara Swisher, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story

“Chapter 11: staying vertical (page 185)

"You've got to find what you love," Jobs told the graduating class. "And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle.”
― Kara Swisher, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story

“Chapter 11: staying vertical (page 194)

Like Jobs, I truly believe that you should push yourself in areas where you are passionate, and if you don't feel passion toward something, get out of it.”
― Kara Swisher, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story

“Chapter 12: good bones (page 210)

As famed management guru Peter Drucker said, "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it.”
― Kara Swisher, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story

“Chapter 15: pivoting (page 273)

The takeaway from the show-and Gray's overall point-was that everyone is interesting if you ask the right questions. This has always been my approach to interviewing.

While I have no particular secret, I approach every interview with these three goals: (1) to make it a conversation, (2) to not be afraid to ask the question everyone is thinking, and (3) to conduct each discussion as if I were never going to interview that person again.”
― Kara Swisher, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story

“When we give technology too much control, we risk losing control over ourselves.”
― Timsux Wales

“After all, our most valuable asset is our ability to protect ourselves, our rights, and our future in an increasingly data-driven world.”
― Timsux Wales