House Energy committee receives training on AI, cybersecurity and information warfare

Members of the Vermont House Energy and Digital Infrastructure committee on May 14 held a training session on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and information warfare featuring presenters from Norwich University Applied Research Institutes and private-sector specialists.

The training, opened by Representative Kathleen James and led by Phil Sussman, president of Norwich University Applied Research Institutes, included a primer on AI and governance by Rachel Sickler, a senior developer and machine learning engineer at Nuare, a cybersecurity overview by Sussman and a discussion of information‑warfare concepts by John Kidder of the Applied Research Institute. The session was broadcast on YouTube and portioned into three instructional modules; the committee indicated it would enter executive session later for a confidential module.

Why it matters: committee members were briefed on technical, policy and operational issues that affect state government systems, municipalities, schools and small businesses. Presenters warned that rapid change in AI and an evolving threat environment in cyberspace raise governance, testing and resource questions for state and local…