Businesses tell Mississippi task force high proof‑of‑concept costs slow AI adoption; sandbox and vendor incentives discussed

Industry representatives told the Mississippi Legislature’s AI task force that vendor proof‑of‑concept (POC) pricing and siloed procurement slow adoption, particularly for small businesses and local government.

Philip Amacker of Nissan Canton said vendors often expect customers to shoulder the cost of proof‑of‑concept work that is essentially vendor R&D. "Their proof of concept cost is astronomical," Amacker said, adding that expensive POCs and integration costs can drive potential adopters away.

Bridal Carpenter of C Spire recommended outcome‑based vendor arrangements and low‑cost pilots. "Proof of concept needs to be no cost to prove in," Carpenter said. "If it produces that type of benefit, then that vendor should be willing to go into your environment and demonstrate those outcomes."

Speakers recommended state support to lower barriers: an innovation sandbox, industry partnerships (companies already present in the state such as NVIDIA, AWS were cited), and use of the extension service to reach small farms and Main Street businesses with practical demonstrations. Colin Napier, director of the Mississippi AI network (Maine), said the state already has an AI innovation hub and could scale sandbox capacity to provide low‑cost experimentation and training.

Panelists also urged procurement practices that avoid siloed, one‑off solutions and instead evaluate whether systems could be reused across departments, lowering long‑term support costs. Several pointed to vendor cooperation and publicly available standards as ways to promote interoperability and reduce vendor lock‑in.

The task force did not adopt any procurement policy at the meeting but asked members to submit written input for a leadership report by the 19th.