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Tech and politics do mix at 2024 Miami Tech Summit, with eye on the future

Nancy Dahlberg
Nancy Dahlberg
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By Nancy Dahlberg and Riley Kaminer

Artificial intelligence, fintech, cybersecurity, the future of finance, and Miami’s role in all of that were on the agenda of the third annual Miami Tech Summit founded by Justin Sayfie and Jose Felix Diaz. The event on Wednesday promised to bring tech and policy leaders together for interesting conversations with a focus on the future. Mission accomplished.  

About 700 invited guests gathered at the Perez Art Museum Miami to hear from local leaders, the Milken Institute, executives from Kaseya, Robinhood, Arlington Capital, Citadel Securities, MoonPay, Republic and others. The event also featured a special fireside chat with Dan Marino. Here are a few highlights.

Miami mayors offer distinct visions of the future tech scene they want to build

City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez kicked off the event’s presentations – and in many ways, his techno-optimist viewpoint set the stage for the overall event. Beyond recounting the origins of this latest iteration of the Miami tech boom (“How can I help?”), Suarez shared his perspective on the future of #MiamiTech.

“We’re looking to bring truly innovative solutions to Miami,” Suarez said of his efforts to attract tech companies building platforms that have the potential to improve the lives of Miamians. Alleviating traffic was top of the list, with Suarez emphasizing the importance of solutions like eVTOLs and scooters (the former is still in the early stages of development; the shared versions of the latter have been banned by the City of Miami but are available in other parts of the county). 

Suarez derided BRT, Bus Rapid Transit, as an antiquated approach that won’t move the needle on our city’s needs. Yet in her separate talk, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniela Levine Cava cited precisely this form of transit, which her administration is currently building in South Dade, as a step forward for our county.

The two mayors also diverged slightly in their opinions on climate tech. Suarez broadly expressed his support: “for every dollar we spend now to prevent climate change, we save around $7 from having to deal with the future effects.” That said, he shared a concern that sustainability initiatives provide a way to pass unrelated, more politicized legislation. For her part, Levine Cava noted that climatetech has the potential to put Miami-Dade on the map, noting that the U.S. government has designated South Florida as one of 31 Tech Hubs, with focus on climate.

Amazon talks AI: policy, privacy, and an even smarter Alexa

Simon Morrison, Amazon’s senior public policy manager for artificial intelligence and privacy at, gave attendees the company’s perspective on the state of AI.

“We’ve been investing in AI for over 25 years,” Morrison said, noting that AI plays a major role in Amazon’s platform. For instance, the company leveraged AI to optimize their packaging selection – having already saved 2 million tons of packaging. You can find significant amounts of AI in Amazon’s factories, according to Morrison, enabling a safer and more efficient workplace. Amazon will also revamp its Alexa product, infusing a proprietary LLM into the software to make the smart connected device system more conversational (dare we say “smarter”). 

Much like its core platform, Amazon is taking a marketplace approach to AI – developing opportunities for third parties to share their products and services with Amazon’s user base. “Building an ecosystem is a rising tide that will lift all boats,” he asserted.

Of course, this increased use of AI requires an increased investment in privacy. Morrison urges policymakers to avoid one-size-fits-all solutions, rather opting for regulation that is specific to particular use cases. In his opinion, this will balance the natural urge for innovators to innovate while also keeping customers’ privacy top of mind.

Marino for the big play of the day

On being a leader on the field and off, it’s all about the preparation, Dan Marino told the crowd. “Visualize what you think is going to happen and go through the process. It’s always worked out well for me.” It’s also about being good at what you do so you can lead by example, he said, and it takes time. “They don’t believe in you right away, They have to see how you work and the things that you do, they their on board.”

He reminisced about arriving in Miam to play football, some of the games and challenges of the times and what he is proud of. Fans in the crowd got to see a clip of Marino’s fake spike against the Jets that won the game, considered by many as Marino’s greatest play.

Tech came into the conversation too. The Marino Foundation’s work in autism is globally known and South Florida is lucky to have the center providing for most of a family’s needs. In recent years, Miami’s Very Big Things has been involved in creating the Foundation’s tech that helps people on the autism spectrum with interviewing, for example.

For his contributions on the field and off, it’s no surprise this Miami Dolphin got a standing ovation.

Dan Marino with Jose Felix Diaz, Miami Tech Summit co-founder. Photo via Twitter.

READ MORE MIAMI TECH WEEK AND MONTH COVERAGE IN REFRESH MIAMI:

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