GeekWire

Not only was Amazon's effort to back pro-business candidates for the Seattle City Council not effective, but its $1.45 million in contributions seems to have backfired on the company, energizing its opponents and leading to a new City Council that's collectively more to the left of the political spectrum than before.

It's the latest in a series of political and policy missteps and missed opportunities for the company, from HQ2 to JEDI. 

Also this week: Bill Gates and Elizabeth Warren are ready to talk about taxes; a Microsoft study shows the potential benefits of a shorter work week for productivity; a winning Seattle Sounders rap from a GeekWire reader; and Cortana is ready to "play" your email for you, but are you ready for her to do that?

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A lot has changed in the world, the tech industry, and Microsoft since Satya Nadella published his book, "Hit Refresh," two years ago. One of the changes: Microsoft reclaimed the title of world's most valuable company in 2018, two decades since it last held that status. But the company didn't celebrate the milestone.

"Success is important, but you have to remember that your success has to have come from some sense of purpose," the Microsoft CEO said in an interview with GeekWire this week. "In 2019, in particular as a tech company, I think that the excessive celebration of technology and tech companies is not what it's all about."

Instead, Nadella explained, "We as a world need to make sure that digital technology is helping us create more equitable growth in all communities, in all countries. And that means our success has to be based on success around us."

That is one of the core themes in Nadella's new afterword for the paperback edition of "Hit Refresh," to be released Nov. 5.

Speaking with GeekWire this week, Nadella went further on several key topics -- discussing Microsoft's approach to a growing wave of nationalism around the world, addressing employee concerns about their treatment inside the company, and explaining why Microsoft is betting on a new category of dual-screen devices.

He also offered his take on two recent victories: Microsoft winning the coveted JEDI contract from the U.S. Department of Defense, beating out Amazon for the $10 billion, $10-year Pentagon cloud deal; and Seattle Sounders FC making it to the MLS Cup. Nadella and his wife Anu are part of the new ownership group for the soccer team.

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Artificial intelligence might sound like a futuristic concept, and it may be true that we're years or decades away from a generalized form of AI that can match or exceed the capabilities of the human brain across a wide range of topics.

But the implications of machine learning, facial recognition and other early forms of the technology are already playing out for companies, governmental agencies and people around the world,. This is raising questions about everything from privacy to jobs to law enforcement to the future of humanity.

On this episode of the GeekWire Podcast, we hear several different takes from people grappling right now with AI and its implications for business, technology and society, recorded across different sessions at the recent GeekWire Summit in Seattle.

We hear from Microsoft President Brad Smith, co-author of the book Tools and Weapons; U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal, Seattle Police Department Chief Carmen Best; Luke Larson, president of Axon, the maker of Taser and body camera technology; and Dave Limp, the senior vice president in charge of Amazon's devices and services business.

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Amazon took a million-dollar gamble this week, betting a last-minute cash infusion will help elect a new Seattle City Council despite the inevitable backlash to the contribution. It's a risky move that has already emboldened Amazon's biggest critics in Seattle government. Whether the bet will pay off at the polls remains to be seen.

Also on this episode: 

• Andrew Yang’s Bing ding creates a debate of its own over Microsoft, Google and tech history
• An employee on Microsoft’s board? Shareholder proposal floats concept, board calls it ‘unnecessary’
• Benioff: Amazon’s Seattle tax fight stoked tech industry opposition to S.F. homeless initiative
• Breach the Bubble: Meet a Former Democrat Turned Trump Voter

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The Federal Trade Commission is ramping up its investigations into Big Tech, and one of the agency’s toughest enforcers visited Amazon’s backyard to discuss the state of competition in the industry with GeekWire's Monica Nickelsburg this week.

FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra spoke at the GeekWire Summit in Seattle on Tuesday in a wide-ranging interview that covered antitrust law, the investment landscape in tech, and lessons learned from his background regulating the financial sector. The interview — available as a video and edited Q&A below — provides a glimpse into how one of the enforcers charged with reining in the tech industry is thinking about competition and related economic dynamics.

Read a transcript of the discussion and see more coverage of the GeekWire Summit.

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Our GeekWire Summit just wrapped up, and one of our sessions in particular made national news: our conversation on stage with Jay Carney, the former White House press secretary who is now Amazon’s senior vice president of public affairs. We talked about a wide range of issues, including antitrust and competitive concerns, and what it’s like to work for Jeff Bezos.

We also asked for Carney’s take on current events in Washington, D.C., and his comments on the Trump administration were later covered by publications including Bloomberg News and CNBC, sparking a response from Donald Trump, Jr. Carney issued a tweet Thursday morning clarifying that he was speaking in his personal capacity and not as an Amazon representative. 

We’re making the entire conversation available in this podcast, and you can read a transcript on GeekWire.

Coming soon on the GeekWire Podcast, the other side of the antitrust issue -- an interview with FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra by GeekWire civic editor Monica Nickelsburg. Audio production for this episode by Jennie Cecil Moore. 

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Microsoft is back in the smartphone business with the unveiling of its new Surface Duo dual-screen folding device this week. It's a fascinating story all on its own, as the company finally goes public with a concept it has been experimenting with behind-the-scenes for much of the past decade. Surprise twist: It runs Android.

But combined with the larger Surface Neo dual-screen tablet/notebook, the story is much bigger. Microsoft is trying to take the lead in a new category of computing, while expanding its focus beyond Windows to focus on apps and experiences across a range of devices. We share our reactions to the news on this episode, and ask the all-important question, is Microsoft cool again?

Plus, a Seattle startup debuts a new pizza-making robot, and we nerd out on the new version of Flight Simulator, which is getting a boost from AI and the cloud, and modern satellite imagery.

We're keeping it short this week as we get ready for our big annual technology conference. Hope to see you next week at the GeekWire Summit!

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Amazon announced a series of new Echo and Alexa products and initiatives this week -- from smart glasses to wireless earbuds to a new neighborhood wireless initiative --  extending the reach of its devices and services well beyond the home, while attempting to address consumer concerns about privacy at the same time.

Here's our coverage from the week.

• Why Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos sees new opportunity in the yard, on the sidewalk, and beyond
• Everything Amazon announced at its devices event — Echo Buds, Echo Frames, Echo Studio, and more
• Bezos: Facial recognition ‘a perfect example’ of the need for regulation, and Amazon is working on it
• Amazon unveils new Alexa-powered Echo Buds, undercuts Apple’s AirPods with $129.99 price tag

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A new skyscraper in Seattle will bear the name Qualtrics Tower, after the technology company that will occupy more than a dozen floors in the building, with plans to quadruple its employee count in the region to more than 2000 people in the next several years. So what is Qualtrics, anyway? It’s an experience management company, with co-headquarters in Seattle and Provo Utah, that was acquired by enterprise technology giant SAP for $8 billion. We sat down for a conversation recently with Julie Larson Green, a former Microsoft Windows and Office leader who is now the chief experience officer at Qualtrics, to talk about fundamental economic shift that the company is betting on.

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The climate crisis surged to the top of the tech industry's agenda this week, encouraged by a groundswell of activity from workers at Amazon, Microsoft, Google and other big tech companies, as part of global efforts to bring attention to the issue. It's the latest example of rising activism inside the tech industry, as a new generation of workers pushes employers to speak out and take action on political, social and environmental issues.

We discuss the protests and the larger trend on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast, with highlights from the climate walkout at Amazon's Seattle campus, and Jeff Bezos announcing the company's new Climate Pledge earlier in the week.

In the second segment of the show, we discuss what the shutdown of LimePod says about the future of urban mobility in Seattle and around the world.

And on the Random Channel this week, the scourge of "microplastics", Amazon's Allbirds knock-offs, and the "Showdown at the Window Seat."

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