Tim Cook Discusses Privacy, Regulation, U.S. Manufacturing, And Education

In an interview recorded for an MSNBC special airing on April 6, the Apple CEO shared his opinion on a variety of hot topics.

- Jason Cross

On the morning following Apple’s education event in Chicago, CEO Tim Cook sat down with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes and Recode’s Kara Swisher to talk about a variety of Apple-related topics. The interview was filmed in front of a live audience, and portions of Cook’s responses were released (go.macworld.com/tcin) before the interview aired on April 6 at 8 p.m. EDT as part of MSNBC and Recode’s “Revolution” series.

Here are some highlights.

ON EDUCATION

“Our view is education is the great â€‹equalizer of people,” Cook said. “If you look at many of the issues in society today, you can find the root in people don’t have access to quality education today.”

Cook placed a big emphasis on learning to code, too. “I want America to be strong. First and foremost. And one base for that is that everyone needs to learn to code. Coding is a way to express yourself. It’s a language.”

However, he doesn’t expect everyone to suddenly get jobs making iPhone apps.

“It’s not our expectation that everyone becomes a software programmer,” he said. “It’s important that people learn the basics of coding.”

It’s clear Cook believes education is not just for kids in school. Continuing education is going to be important for everyone, he believes, and it will become the backbone of our jobs market as automation becomes more commonplace.