Governor Phil Scott Monday, May 18 signed Executive Order 01-26 establishing the Vermont Artificial Intelligence Economic Task to assess how artificial intelligence is reshaping Vermont’s economy sector by sector and deliver workforce, investment, and policy actions, beginning with priority opportunities identified within 90 days.

“The world of artificial intelligence is moving very quickly and is already changing how Vermont businesses operate and the types of skills employers need,” said Scott. “This Task Force will help identify areas of concern and ways AI can be used to grow our economy, especially in rural parts of Vermont where we’ve struggled for far too long.”

Scott appointed Neale Lunderville as chair. Secretary Denise Reilly-Hughes of the Agency of Digital Services and Secretary Lindsay Kurrle of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development will serve ex officio as co-chairs of the Task Force. 

Vermonters are encouraged to apply to join the Task Force or any of its working groups.

“AI is the first technology in a generation that gives small Vermont employers the same tools the biggest companies use,” said Lunderville. “New technology often widens the gap between big and small. This one can close it. We have a short window to make long-term decisions, and the choices we make in the next two years will compound over the next twenty. If we move with intent, AI gives Vermont the opportunity to grow and thrive on terms that match the state we want to be. If we wait, those choices get made for us by people who don’t have Vermont in mind.”

Lunderville has led complex statewide transitions across government, utilities, emergency response, and economic systems for more than two decades. He is president and CEO of Vermont Gas and previously held senior leadership roles in the Douglas, Shumlin, and Scott administrations.

“The employers and communities that may benefit most from AI are often the least likely to have the time, staff, or technical support to adopt it,” said Reilly-Hughes and Kurrle in a joint statement. “This Task Force will work to close that gap.”

The Task Force will operate three working groups, each built around a Vermont advantage the Scott administration says other states don’t have:

• Economic Acceleration will deliver Vermont’s AI readiness framework by year’s end — a timeline made possible by Vermont’s close-knit institutional networks.
• Small Business Competitiveness will deliver an AI adoption toolkit for Vermont’s small employers — tools that could help a local manufacturer respond to twice as many RFPs or give a small inn’s staff more time with guests — built and distributed in coordination with the regional development corporations, chambers, and sector associations they already know.
• Community Resilience will deliver a community AI guide and a map of AI’s impact on Vermont’s towns, drawing on the state’s civic infrastructure to bring local voices into the recommendations.

The first deliverable will arrive within 90 days. The Task Force will work with Secretary Reilly-Hughes to identify up to five priority opportunities where AI can help state employees deliver better outcomes for Vermonters and to design an education program for state agency leaders on the practical application of AI.

The Task Force complements the existing Council on Artificial Intelligence created by Act 132 of 2022, which governs AI use within state government.

Vermonters interested in serving on the Task Force or one of its working groups can apply here. The Governor’s Office will review applications on a rolling basis.

The full text of Executive Order 01-26 is available here.

This article is sourced from a statement by Gov. Scott’s office.