Lt. Governor Spencer Cox opens FiRe conference in Park City, Utah

By Shelby Cate

The 14th Annual Future in Review (FiRe) conference opened today with a warm introduction by Lt. Governor Spencer Cox from conference organizer Sharon Anderson Morris. Morris spoke about Cox’s support for the conference and of technology in Utah. This is Cox’s second year opening the conference.

Cox began by addressing Utah’s successes in technology, saying that the Utah economy is “growing robustly, at twice the national average,” largely due to innovators and entrepreneurs like those present at this year’s conference.

Cox also touched on the current political problems, noting that it’s “easiest to talk about the problems,” while also striking a hopeful note about the ability of technology to transcend them. He touched on the importance of being charitable towards people who are left behind in a changing economy, and the responsibility industry should take for the environment it creates.

“Technology has the ability to change our world and change our lives and you are at the forefront for that,” Cox said. “But I also believe that technology has a responsibility, and it’s not just watching cat videos, although that is critical.”

Cox finished his speech by thanking the crowd for their hard work and future contributions.

“We need a lot of moon shots right now and we’re counting on you to do it,” he said.

To discover more or read other blogs from the conference, visit our Medium blog page.