President Trump brought together a crack team of tech leaders on Monday to discuss plans for a large-scale modernization of the government’s IT systems. Trump hopes this “sweeping transformation” will save money and boost efficiency, and he’s probably right – many government systems are notoriously dated and in need of a major overhaul.
Though not part of an official council, Apple’s Tim Cook was in attendance alongside CEOs from other big tech companies including Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. All were there to offer their sage technological wisdom, though Cook also took the opportunity to pitch Trump an idea that Apple has been pushing for in recent years – namely, for coding to be made a mandatory part of the national curriculum.
He sees code-writing as an invaluable skill for future employability, and wants programming languages to be taught in schools from a young age. Apple has already made significant steps on this front without outside help – creating the Swift Playgrounds app for iPad, and even writing its own learning resources to give to schools – but of course, the government’s help could go a long way with this task. It’s unclear what President Trump’s response to this suggestion was.
It’s thought Cook also spoke up on other political issues, including immigration, encryption, and healthcare for veterans. The two figures don’t always agree, but in some regards they’re on the same page – as shown by Tim Cook’s latest interview.