Technology may change in the wink of an eye, but the core values upon which a company is built can keep the turbulence of constant transformation manageable. Nokia, the Finland-based mobile technology company, is more familiar with that continuum than anyone: It just celebrated its 150th year in business. “We’re here to understand people and enable people, through technology,” says Barry French, Nokia’s Chief Marketing Officer. Recently we spoke with French about where he thinks the human-technology relationship is headed—not just at Nokia, but in our lives.

What excites you most about where technology is leading humankind?

This may sound a bit corny, but we are on the cusp of something special. We have a planet where resources are limited, and where the impact of our actions on the environment is pretty significant. We know that people around the world live in conditions that are not acceptable in a world that is collectively as rich as ours. Technology can provide big solutions to these problems. In the long-term, technology may actually enable humans to survive.

What worries you most about where technology is leading us?

The first is the issue of privacy, which is an issue of choice. Many people are willing to give up some privacy in order to get something for it. But when you choose not to give up that information and somebody gets it anyway—that’s worrying.

Another concern is when technology adds complexity to our lives, rather than simplifies it. In my house I’ve installed a network to control the lights and all that kind of stuff. I did it myself because I wanted to learn it. To be honest, it was really complex. It took a lot of time, and the benefits, frankly, were limited. Sometimes you start thinking: “Is this technology really enabling me, or is this making things more complicated?”

How is Nokia’s campaign to ‘Make Tech Human’ reflected in the company’s products and technologies?

We really want to make technology invisible and seamless, working for you in the background, and we’ve taken significant steps in that direction. One example is the Z Launcher that we ship with our Nokia N1. [Z Launcher changes the apps displayed on the home screen, depending on the time of day; it also allows users to find apps quickly by scribbling their names anywhere on the screen]. Z Launcher simplifies complexity. It’s predictive and thoughtful.

We’re also working on self-organizing networks, which automatically adapt to a customer’s needs. Networks are constantly evolving. They’re changing with the multitude of demands placed on it, so we’ve got services that predict where networks will fail. These networks are smart enough to put capacity where it’s needed when it needs to be there.

How are those values integrated into your employees?

Nokia has always been a company that’s had human interests in its DNA. Just think about Nokia’s role in connecting people. It’s very much who we are and aspire to be. Our employees understand that. We want to create technology that benefits real people.

How do you think mobile devices work for, or even against, this notion of humanizing society?

A little of both, actually. There’s no doubt that technology brings greater efficiency to our lives. So what do we do with that extra time? If it’s just devoted to more tapping on the screen of a smartphone, we’ve missed something. As a society we need to grapple with some of the tensions associated with all of this technology.

There’s a lot of research about the brain benefits of stillness and meditation. Maybe we should use that extra time not to spend more time on the smartphone playing more video games but to deeply connect with others and better understand ourselves.

Will this change for the next generation, which was raised in a tech-centric world?

That’s hard to predict, but I look at my own kids. In some ways they look at my generation and say, “You are all too structured and work too hard. We want more flexibility in our lives.” I would never have predicted that. I walk around with my smartphone and my email is always on. I’m checking it all the time. They can check their email and then set it aside for an hour or two and not feel stressed by it. There is an appreciation of what technology brings to them as well as an enjoyment of life without technology always on. That’s healthy.

Where is technology leading your profession, marketing?

Marketing is still scattershot, so I hope technology allows us to be a lot smarter in the way we connect with people. In order to connect you have to understand the needs of individuals—to be more human.

Few companies can claim to be 150 years old, and to have evolved as continually as Nokia. To what do you attribute such longevity?

I think part of it is luck, but I think there’s more than that. Some of it comes from our Finnish roots. The Finns use the word “sisu,” which means determination and grit. That drive to be pragmatic and get it done has served the company very well, even at times when Nokia has faced serious crises.

Do you think this longevity is the result of making tech more human as well?

I think so. Technology changes so fast, and business requirements change so fast that having something at your core which is created to serve people and enable people is important. That sounds like it should be obvious but it’s not, and it’s a powerful source of keeping the business grounded in what matters.