0:04 Before our next speaker, I'm going to make one comment. A lot of people don't know
0:08 this. I'm not going to say which company. We have had the first company that is now
0:13 reincorporating in Utah because of what we're doing with SEDI. I'm not going to
0:17 say what state they're leaving from, but this is a valuable economic, it's a value
0:25 add. People will come to your state because they want privacy. People are
0:29 crazy. craving this type of freedom. So you can think about that. What is it that
0:33 this offers that other states or other countries can offer? And it really will be
0:37 an export, but it's going to attract people to your state. And I think for all
0:41 of you, the message is resounding. This is something people want. We just have to
0:44 work through and figure out how we're going to get there. All right. The last
0:47 comments we are going to hear from, I think this is probably the coolest person
0:51 we have in attendance today. So we have Scott Stornetta, a co-inventor of the
0:56 blockchain and mentioned in the Satoshi paper, for Bitcoin. Sorry, where do we
1:02 have Scott? Oh, right here in front.
1:09 I think Stuart, my co-inventor, is actually the coolest person here. I'm
1:17 Scott Stornetta and I speak for the trees. Actually not. I just for years wanted a
1:23 situation because I'm such a Dr. Seuss fan to be able to give that line, but
1:28 whatever. I am grateful for the opportunity to speak briefly.
1:36 By way of introduction, Dr. Haber and I began an effort more than 30 years ago at
1:41 Bell Communications Research, part of the old Bell Labs family. As research
1:46 scientists, we published an influential paper outlining a method to create
1:51 immutable digital records through widely witnessed public events through widely
1:58 witnessed events made public. This is what we now call a blockchain. While I don't
2:03 endorse any specific cryptocurrency or blockchain application, the data integrity
2:10 mechanisms that Stuart and I pioneered have proven reliable and they now
2:16 safeguard over $3 trillion in digital assets. That's trillion with a T. What
2:25 does this have to do with identity? Well, let me address it first philosophically
2:30 and then technically. Philosophically, the SEDI initiative holds that a person's
2:36 digital identity is an inherent human right in the digital age, created and
2:42 controlled by the individual. Yet, as Locke and Rousseau argued, individuals
2:50 choose to enter a social contract with a community governed by the state. This
2:56 creates a need to link personal identity with state requirements, hence the concept
3:01 of state-endorsed digital identity. Technically, this aligns very well with
3:08 the principles Stuart and I use to construct the blockchain. To build trust
3:13 in immutable records without relying on any single third party, we spread the
3:19 trust mechanism across the user community. This is what is now commonly described as
3:28 the principle of decentralization. Similarly, decentralizing digital
3:34 identity, keeping it under individual control, well reflects the inalienable
3:42 rights. You know, they wanted to correct Thomas Jefferson and call those
3:48 unalienable rights, but Virginia prevailed on that one. Inalienable rights
3:55 articulated in America's Declaration of Independence and echoed in many
3:59 declarations of human rights both in Europe and in varying degrees throughout
4:03 the world. I must emphasize that I did not participate in any of the work leading to
4:11 this summit. So I'm offering an outsider's perspective. Born in Maryland and a New
4:17 Jersey resident for over 30 years, my view is not Utah-centric. though I do confess
4:23 my wife is from Ogden and Dr. Haber similarly confesses that he has at least
4:29 flown over the state in route from New York to California many times. Okay. Point
4:36 is we've been entirely external to the process, the legislation and the technical
4:41 details. With that said, I endorse this effort. Not because I agree with every
4:49 part of the legislation or descriptions. because no initiative is perfect at birth.
4:55 And this one is evolving. I invite you to listen to a later speaker today, Scott
5:00 Kelly, who will talk about the word iterative. I'm a fan of it. But we
5:06 shouldn't let the perfect be the enemy to the good. And so I invite you, especially
5:11 those from other states, to join this call. Not because it's flawless, but
5:19 because your involvement can refine it. Not because you fully agree politics is
5:28 the art of the possible and it often requires compromise but not compromise of
5:34 principle. But because good people united at a good cause can achieve more together.
5:42 I close with a unifying phrase from late 17th century Europe originally in Latin
5:48 but I will spare you that part. in necessary things unity in undecided things
5:56 liberty and in all things charity if we're guided by this principle i'm confident
6:04 that we collectively can achieve something of value to many many people across