Bernie Buzz

Located in Pittsford, the VSFA hosts live exercises that are overseen by seasoned firefighters from every corner of the state. Cadets receive a crash course on the art of firefighting and learn to work together with strangers that quickly become friends. Some cadets are already involved with their local departments, others come to see if they have what it takes. Many come from generations of firefighters and seek to follow in the footsteps of those who went before. All have the desire to protect their towns and make them great and safe places in which to live.

Here is the story of a young Vermont couple, Donald and Jessica Muller. They grew up in northern Vermont, have recently started a farm in Franklin based on regenerative agriculture principles and are working hard to produce good quality food for their neighbors.

In November, Vermonters will make their voices heard about Proposal 3 — an amendment to the Vermont Constitution that would recognize the constitutional right of employees to organize, join labor unions and bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, consistent with existing law. I encourage every Vermonter to learn about this proposal and other issues on the ballot and to participate in our democracy.

Let me thank the over 1,000 Vermonters who attended our annual senior town meetings — celebrations this year were held in Barre, Bennington, Castleton, Burlington, Brattleboro, St. Johnsbury, Newport and Morrisville. I very much enjoyed the opportunity to talk directly with Vermont seniors and hear what was on their minds.

On Monday we sent a Bernie Buzz addressing the issue of artificial intelligence, the most transformational technology in human history. We asked Vermonters to share their thoughts about how we as a nation should respond to AI. The response we received was overwhelming, with over 400 comments — most of them extremely thoughtful.

AI and robotics are the most transformative technologies in the history of humanity and will impact every man, woman and child in our country. These technologies, developed and pushed by some of the wealthiest people in the world — Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg, Ellison, et al. — are advancing extremely rapidly. The Big Tech companies are reporting major breakthroughs almost every week.