2017年6月9日，苹果公司首席执行官蒂姆·库克（Tim Cook）在美国麻省理工学院毕业典礼上发表演讲。
演讲中库克表达了自己十多年的追寻自己的目标的心路历程，当一个公司有明确且难以抗拒的目标的时候，个人也很容易找到自己的目标，与公司的契合度更高，个人也更有成就感。技术使人们生活更方便，并能成就伟大，但是技术本身没有意图，所以作为即将踏入社会的毕业生们，更要将技术注入更多的人文气息，帮助全人类，服务全人类。
以下是库克的演讲中文（有删减）：
麻省理工学院的同学们，你们好！
MIT和苹果有许多共同点。我们都喜欢攻克难题，追求新想法，尤其是喜欢找到能够改变世界的伟大创意。我知道，麻省理工拥有恶作剧的自豪传统，也就是你们所称的“黑”(hacks)。在麻省理工学院就读的这几年，你们肯定完成了不少非常棒的恶作剧。我永远想不明白你们是如何把火星漫游车送到演讲厅的。显然，你们也接管了总统的Twitter账号，因为在凌晨3点发布那么多推文只有你们才干得出来。
能够出席你们的毕业典礼，我由衷地感到高兴。今天是一个值得庆祝的日子，你们有许多值得骄傲的成就。当你离开这里，开启人生下一个篇章时，你会扪心自问，“下一步发展方向是什么？”、“目标是什么”、“自己的目标又是什么”。老实说，我问过自己相同的问题，花了近15年时间才找到答案。今天，通过分享我的人生旅程，我或许能够帮助你们节省一些寻找答案的时间。
我的困惑很早就已经出现。上高中时，当我以为能够回答那个老生常谈的问题——你长大了想做什么——时，我就找到了自己的人生目标。但其实不然。上大学时，我曾以为自己知道想学什么专业就找到了目标。也不完全如此。在我找到一份好工作，认为自己只需要几次晋升后，我又有了这样的想法，但都不对。
我不断安慰自己：谜团即将解开，就在不久之后。但这些都不奏效。这让我伤心欲绝。我把自己的一半精力放在了奋斗争取下一个成就上，另一半精力则在不断问自己，“一切就这样了吗？”。于是，我到杜克大学读研寻找答案。我尝试过冥想，从宗教中寻找指引，读了许多伟大哲学家和作家的书。在那个年少轻狂的年龄，我甚至还尝试过使用Windows PC，但显然它无法为我解惑。
经过了无数次迂回曲折后，我的这颗搜寻答案的心终于在20年前把我带到了苹果公司。那时，苹果濒临倒闭。史蒂夫·乔布斯(Steve Jobs)刚刚重返苹果，并推出了“非同凡想”广告宣传活动。他想驱动着那些疯狂者、厌世者、叛逆者、麻烦制造者做出最好的产品。乔布斯知道，只要我们能够做到这些，我们就能真正改变世界。
在加入苹果之前，我从未遇到过这么有激情的领导者，也没有碰到过一家公司有如此清晰并且难以抗拒的目标：为人性服务。就这么简单——为人性服务。就在那一刻，经过了15年的苦苦搜寻后，我恍然大悟。我终于找到了人生方向，那就是与一家把更高目标与具有挑战性、前沿工作融合在一起的公司共同奋斗，与一位相信新技术会改变未来世界的领导者并肩作战，追随自己的内心让世界变得更美好。
当然，那时的我还没有领悟一切，只是对移除这个心理负担感到高兴。但是回过头来看，一切变得明朗。如果我供职的公司没有一个清晰的目标，那么我也就不会找到自己的目标。乔布斯和苹果解放了我，让我全身心投入工作中，拥抱他们的使命，并把它当成我的使命。我该如何服务于人性？这是我一生中最大的一个课题，也是最重要的一个。当你向着一个比自身更有价值的目标奋斗时，你就会从中找到意义，找到目标。因此，我希望你们今天能够带上这个问题：该如何服务于人性？
好消息是，你们今天正处在一个非常好的发展轨道上。在麻省理工学院，你们已经了解到科技在推动世界发展上发挥了多大的作用。得益于在这里实现的发明成果，数十亿人的生活因此变得更健康，更具价值，也更有意义。如果我们要去解决当前世界面临的一些最为艰巨的挑战——从癌症、气候变化到教育不平等——科技会帮助我们实现这一目标。但是，科技本身不是解决问题的办法，有时甚至会演变成为问题的一部分。
去年，我有幸见到了教皇，这是我一生中最难忘的一次会面。他花在贫民窟慰问不幸之人的时间，超过了与国家元首会面的时间。这可能让你们感到惊讶，他对科技的了解到了令人难以置信的程度。对我来说，有一点很明显，那就是教皇对科技有过深层次的思考——无论是它的机遇和风险，还是道德层面的东西。在那次会面中，他告诉我，他一直在宣扬一个我们苹果非常关心的话题。但他从一种深远的新视角来表达我们共同的关切：人类对科技的掌控力从未如现在这般大，但没有任何东西能确保科技会得到明智地使用。
今天，科技已经融入我们日常生活的方方面面，而且大部分时间都是一种积极的推动力量。但是，科技的潜在负面效应正在更为快速地扩散，也变得越来越具威胁。它对安全、隐私、新闻和社交媒体的威胁不利于社会发展。有时，科技可以在不同的人之间建立起联系，可以完成一些伟大的事情，但它并不想要去实现这种目标，不想做任何事情。科技的负面效应对我们所有人都构成威胁，夺去了我们的价值以及我们对家庭、邻居和社会的承诺，夺去了我们的爱美之心，夺去了我们对所有信仰都存在相互联系的笃信，夺去了我们的尊严和友善。
我不担心人工智能让计算机像人类一样思考问题，我更担心的是人类像计算机那样思考问题——摒弃同情心和价值观，并且不计后果。在这种情况下，我们希望你们可以帮助我们预防这样的事情发生。因为如果科技走入黑暗角落的时候，人类就是照亮黑暗的蜡烛，让我们看清自己身处何方以及前面的危险。
史蒂夫曾经说过，光有科技是不够的，科技要与人文和人性结合，才能产生让我们的心为之歌唱的结果。当你让人处于你所做一切事情的中心位置时，就可以产生巨大的影响。这意味着，iPhone可以让盲人参加马拉松比赛，让Apple Watch可以在患者心脏病发作前捕捉到异常情况，让iPad帮助自闭症儿童重新建立与世界的联系。简而言之，这意味着科技必须与价值观相融合，给每个人带来积极的进展。
无论你们一生当中做什么，无论我们在苹果做什么，我们都必须把它与我们每个人与生俱来的人性融为一体。这是一份巨大的责任，但机遇同样也是巨大的。我之所以充满乐观，是因为我相信你们这一代人，相信你们的热情以及你们服务人类的旅程。我们如今都在指望着你们。外面的世界有那么多东西会让你们变得愤世嫉俗。互联网赋予了我们太多的能力，让我们能做很多事情，但是它恐怕还是一个基本的行为准则被无视、褊狭和消极情绪滋生的地方。
不要让那种不和谐的声音扰乱你们的正常轨道。不要陷入琐碎的生活不可自拔。不要任凭巨魔的摆布，看在上帝的份上，你们千万不要成为那样的人。衡量你们对人类社会的贡献大小，不在于你们多受欢迎，而在于你们所触及的生活；不在于你们的地位高低，而在于你们服务的人群。我发现，只有在自己不再总是纠结于别人对我的看法的时候，我的生活才更有意义。你会发现你自己也是如此。始终专注于真正重要的东西。有的时候，你服务人类社会的决心会受到考验，要有心理准备。有些人会想要让你相信，为了事业的发展，你不应该去做到感同身受。不要接受这种错误的观点。
在几年前的一次股东大会上，有人对苹果在环境方面的投资和专注提出了质疑。他想要我做出某种承诺，苹果只会去投资那些投资回报率高的绿色项目。我努力以得体的方式做出回答。我告诉他，苹果做了很多不以投资回报率（ROI）为衡量标准的事情，比如向残疾人提供辅助功能。我们之所以做这样的事情，是因为这些都是合适的，保护环境就是一个典型例证。但他仍然抓住这个问题不放，我马上火冒三丈。我告诉他，“如果你无法认同我们的立场，就不该持有苹果股票。”
当你们相信自己的事业是有益社会的，就要有勇气去维护这种立场。如果你们看到什么问题或是不公平的事情，要知道除了你之外，没有任何人能解决。正如你们今天所做的，要用你们的思想、双手和心灵去创建比你们自己更强大的东西。你们始终要牢记，没有比这更宏伟的想法了。正如马丁·路德·金（Martin Luther King）所说，“所有生命都是相互联系的。我们被绑在一起，同命运共呼吸。”如果你们把这个想法放在自己所做一切事情的最前面，如果你选择在科技和服务人群之间的交汇点过自己的生活，如果你努力去创造最好的东西，给予最好的东西，为每个人而不是某些人提供最好的服务，那么今天人类对未来也就有了更多的期许。
谢谢大家，祝贺2017届毕业生！
英文全文如下：
Hello, MIT!
Thank you. Congratulations class of ’17. I especially want to thank Chairman Millard, President Reif, distinguished faculty, trustees, and the members of the class of 1967. It is a privilege to be here today with your families and your friends on such on amazing and important day.
MIT and Apple share so much. We both love hard problems. We love the search for new ideas, and we especially love finding those ideas, the really big ones, the ones that can change the world. I know MIT has a proud tradition of pranks or as you would call them, hacks. And you have have pulled off some pretty great ones over the years. I’ll never figure out how MIT students sent that Mars rover to the Kresge Oval, or put a propeller beanie on the great dome, or how you’ve obviously taken over the president’s Twitter account. I can tell college students are behind because most of the Tweets happen at 3:00 a.m.
I’m really happy to be here. Today is about celebration. And you have so much to be proud of. As you leave here to start the next leg of your journey in life, there will be days where you ask yourself, ‘Where is this all going?’ ‘What is the purpose?’ ‘What is my purpose?’ I will be honest, I asked myself that same question and it took nearly 15 years to answer it. Maybe by talking about my journey today, I can save you some time.
The struggle for me started early on. In high school, I thought I discovered my life’s purpose when I could answer that age-old question, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ Nope. In college I thought I’d discover it when I could answer, ‘What’s your major?’ Not quite. I thought that maybe I’d discovered it when I found a good job. Then I thought I just needed to get a few promotions. That didn’t work either.
I kept convincing myself that it was just over the horizon, around the next corner. Nothing worked. And it was really tearing me apart. Part of me kept pushing ahead to the next achievement. And the other part kept asking, ‘Is this all there is?’ I went to grad school at Duke looking for the answer. I tried meditation. I sought guidance in religion. I read great philosophers and authors. And in a moment of youthful indiscretion, I might even have experimented with a Windows PC, and obviously that didn’t work.
After countless twists and turns, at last, 20 years ago, my search brought me to Apple. At the time, the company was struggling to survive. Steve Jobs had just returned to Apple, and had launched the ‘Think Different’ campaign. He wanted to empower the crazy ones—the misfits, the rebels and the troublemakers, the round pegs, and the square holes—to do the best work. If we could just do that, Steve knew we could really change the world.
Before that moment, I had never met a leader with such passion or encountered a company with such a clear and compelling purpose: to serve humanity. It was just that simple. Serve humanity. And it was in that moment, after 15 years of searching, something clicked. I finally felt aligned. Aligned with a company that brought together challenging, cutting edge work with a higher purpose. Aligned with a leader who believed that technology which didn’t exist yet could reinvent tomorrow’s world. Aligned with myself and my own deep need to serve something greater.
Of course, at that moment I don’t know all of that. I was just grateful to have psychological burden lifted. But with the help of hindsight, my breakthrough makes a lot more sense. I was never going to find my purpose working some place without a clear sense of purpose of its own. Steve and Apple freed me to throw my whole self into my work, to embrace their mission and make it my own. How can I serve humanity? This is life’s biggest and most important question. When you work towards something greater than yourself, you find meaning, you find purpose. So the question I hope you will carry forward from here is how will you serve humanity?
The good news is since you are here today you are on a great track. At MIT you have learned how much power that science and technology have to change the world for the better. Thanks to discoveries made right here, billions of people are leading healthier, more productive and more fulfilling lives. And if we’re ever going to solve some of the hardest problems facing the world today, everything from cancer to climate change to educational inequality, then technology will help us to do it. But technology alone isn’t the solution. And sometimes it’s even part of the problem.
Last year I had the chance to meet with Pope Francis. It was the most incredible meeting of my life. This is a man who has spent more time comforting the inflicted in slums than with heads of state. This may surprise you, but he knew an unbelievable amount about technology. It was obvious to me that he had thought deeply about it. Its opportunity. Its risks. Its morality. What he said to me at that meeting, what he preached, really, was on a topic that we care a lot about at Apple. But he expressed a shared concern in a powerful new way: Never has humanity had such power over itself, yet nothing ensures it will be used wisely, he has said.
Technology today is integral to almost all aspects of our lives and most of the time it’s a force for good. And yet the potential adverse consequences are spreading faster and cutting deeper. The threats to security, threats to privacy, fake news, and social media that becomes antisocial. Sometimes the very technology that is meant to connect us divides us. Technology is capable of doing great things. But it doesn’t want to do great things. It doesn’t want anything. That part takes all of us. It takes our values and our commitment to our families and our neighbors and our communities, our love of beauty and belief that all of our faiths are interconnected, our decency, our kindness.
I’m not worried about artificial intelligence giving computers the ability to think like humans. I’m more concerned about people thinking like computers without values or compassion, without concern for consequences. That is what we need you to help us guard against. Because if science is a search in the darkness, then the humanities are a candle that shows us where we’ve been and the danger that lies ahead.
As Steve once said, technology alone is not enough. It is technology married with the liberal arts married with the humanities that make our hearts sing. When you keep people at the center of what you do, it can have an enormous impact. It means an iPhone that allows the blind person to run a marathon. It means an Apple Watch that catches a heart condition before it becomes a heart attack. It means an iPad that helps a child with autism connect with his or her world. In short, it means technology infused with your values, making progress possible for everyone.
Whatever you do in your life, and whatever we do at Apple, we must infuse it with the humanity that each of us is born with. That responsibility is immense, but so is the opportunity. I’m optimistic because I believe in your generation, your passion, your journey to serve humanity. We are all counting on you. There is so much out there conspiring to make you cynical. The internet has enabled so much and empowered so many, but it can also be a place where basic rules of decency are suspended and pettiness and negativity thrive.
Don’t let that noise knock you off course. Don’t get caught up in the trivial aspects of life. Don’t listen to trolls and for God’s sake don’t become one. Measure your impact in humanity not in the likes, but the lives you touch; not in popularity, but in the people you serve. I found that my life got bigger when I stopped carrying about what other people thought about me. You will find yours will too. Stay focused on what really matters. There will be times when your resolve to serve humanity will be tested. Be prepared. People will try to convince you that you should keep your empathy out of your career. Don’t accept this false premise.
At a shareholders meeting a few years back, someone questioned Apple’s investment and focus on the environment. He asked me to pledge that Apple would only invest in green initiatives that could be justified with a return on investment. I tried to be diplomatic. I pointed out that Apple does many things, like accessibility features for those with disabilities that don’t rely on an ROI. We do the things because they are the right thing to d, and protecting the environment is a critical example. He wouldn’t let it go and I got my blood up. So I told him, “If you can’t accept our position, you shouldn’t own Apple stock.”
When you are convinced that your cause is right, have the courage to take a stand. If you see a problem or an injustice, recognize that no one will fix it but you. As you go forward today, use your minds and hands and your hearts to build something bigger than yourselves. Always remember there is no idea bigger than this. As Dr. Martin Luther King said, “All life is interrelated. We are all bound together into a single garment of destiny.” If you keep that idea at the forefront of all that you do, if you choose to live your lives at that intersection between technology and the people it serves, if you strive to create the best, give the best, do the best for everyone, not just for some, then today all of humanity has good cause for hope.
Thank you very much and congratulations class of 2017!
