Vermont establishes AI Economic Taskforce to advise adoption

Per Executive Order EO-04-26, Gov. Phil Scott established the Vermont Artificial Intelligence Economic Taskforce, a state-level body charged with assessing AI's economic impacts and identifying adoption opportunities, according to the text of the order published by the State of Vermont and reporting by VTDigger and Vermont Business Magazine. The executive order directs the task force to provide up to five recommendations within 90 days on how state government could adopt AI to better serve the public, and to translate a sector-by-sector economic assessment into workforce, investment, and policy actions, per the executive order document. Vermont Business Magazine reports that Scott appointed Neale Lunderville as chair, and that secretaries from the Agency of Digital Services and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development will serve ex officio.

Editorial analysis - technical context: The sources describe early, practical AI use-cases already in Vermont government that are typical entry points for public-sector AI. The Agency of Digital Services website lists an invoice-processing tool and updated employee guidelines as operational examples. VTDigger reports staff using AI to draft internal communications and cites Lunderville pointing to time savings in drafting procurement documents; VTDigger also references consumer-facing models such as ChatGPT and Claude as examples of powerful off-the-shelf tools.

The executive order frames the task force as a response to broad economic change, saying AI is reshaping sectors from agriculture to healthcare and that Vermont needs a coordinated, sector-by-sector assessment to avoid a skills mismatch, per EO-04-26. The order notes Vermont already has an AI Council and a Division of Artificial Intelligence, and that the new task force will fill a distinct mandate to translate economic assessment into workforce and policy recommendations, per the executive order.

State-level AI bodies have proliferated; the executive order cites at least 27 states with AI-focused bodies, including Maine, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. For practitioners, state taskforces commonly focus on four areas: inventories of automated decision systems, workforce reskilling frameworks, procurement pilots that constrain risk, and public-private partnerships to scale capability. That pattern makes Vermont's emphasis on sector-by-sector economic assessment consistent with comparable statewide efforts.

For Vermont's public-sector IT and local businesses, the creation of a timed, cross-agency task force creates an institutional avenue to surface use cases, data governance needs, and workforce gaps. Reporting highlights rural and small-business impacts: Lunderville is quoted in Vermont Business Magazine saying AI "gives small Vermont employers the same tools the biggest companies use" and urging prompt, intentional action. The executive order frames the effort as aimed at competitiveness and workforce alignment rather than regulatory prohibition.

Track the task force's public workstreams, membership, and the up to five recommendations due within 90 days as specified by EO-04-26. Observers should note whether recommendations include:

• •AD inventories and risk classifications
• •pilot procurements for invoice/permits automation
• •workforce training investments
• •data-sharing agreements
• •vendor-contracting standards. Also watch for public comment opportunities and whether the task force coordinates with the existing AI Council and Division, both described on the Agency of Digital Services website