Tim Cook is doing good round for Europe. Just look at his Twitter account: BBC interviews, Oktoberfest toasts… and lo and behold, the Apple CEO gave a speech afterwards. receive an honorary degree from the University of Naples Federico II.
It takes innovation, innovation and more innovation
In the speech, which you can see in the video above from minute 1:10:00, Cook reiterates the need to see the future with optimism. The executive admits that few people see the years to come like this, and that there is instead pessimism and resignation. But for the successor to Steve Jobs, it takes effort and hope, which he himself has when he sees the students:
I know the future looks uncertain today, but I can’t help but be optimistic. Everywhere I look I see potential. […] I see it in you. Yes, our world is complex and every day it is more so, but it was precisely an Italian mathematician who said: “when things get too complicated, it makes sense to stop and ask yourself if I have asked the right question.” Today, it is not enough to ask how people can improve technology: we must ask ourselves how technology can improve us.
Cook also values the innovation potential enabled by technology to fight climate change, recalling that Apple has been carbon neutral for two years now and is on track to extend it to all its suppliers by 2030.
After the speech, Tim Cook received applause from the whole room. Receiving an Honoris Causa isn’t something that happens every day, and Cook can already boast of having one as a result of all the hard work put into Apple during his years as CEO. Like Jobs, Tim Cook’s legacy will be far-reaching.
