Vermont digital services chief outlines AI guardrails, cybersecurity work and IT modernization fund

Denise Riley Hughes, secretary of the Agency of Digital Services and Vermont's chief information officer, told a legislative committee the agency is expanding efforts to inventory and govern artificial intelligence, bolster cybersecurity for state and municipal systems, and use a recently created IT modernization fund to prioritize technology projects.

Hughes said the agency has adopted an "off by default" approach to AI, is maintaining an inventory of systems, and is working with an AI advisory council and a newly combined data-and-AI division to set ethics and use guidelines. "We have 37 AI systems that we're running through various departments," Hughes said, noting the number rose from about 21 last year.

The briefing framed why the work matters: the agency cited roughly $3,400,000 in savings and cost avoidance during the past year and a cumulative identified savings of about $5,000,000 from 2017 to 2020. Hughes also described a rapid Summer EBT deployment that delivered benefits to families: "First payments went out the July 1, and the last payment went out August," and she said about 40,000 children received benefits in the summer months.

Nut graf: The presentation combined program results and risk management. Hughes emphasized…