Vermont AI Council seeks more resources, outlines state AI pilots and public‑facing tools

The Vermont AI Council and Agency Digital Services (ADS) used a May 6 briefing to present their second annual report, describe ongoing AI pilots across state government and ask the Legislature to consider additional support to expand council capacity and oversight.

The council recommended an intermediate step before statewide regulation: serving as a clearinghouse of best practices for businesses and state agencies while the state builds staffing and technical capacity. For the record, Mark Holmes, chief technology officer of Agency Digital Services and cochair of the Vermont AI Council, told the committee, "For the record, I'm Mark Holmes. I'm the chief technology officer of the agency digital services as well as the cochair for the Vermont AI Council." Holmes said the council was established under Act 132 in 2022 and has already produced a code of ethics and guidance for state uses of AI.

Why it matters: Council leaders said Vermont is ahead of many states in publishing ethics and guidance, but that meaningful expansion of regulatory authority would require more staff and resources. The council and ADS described active pilots intended to improve internal productivity, public service search and disaster response, and said they are taking a cautious approach to public-facing generative tools to avoid publishing incorrect…