Government Technology/David Kidd
Edinger took on the state CIO role in November 2023 after serving as CIO for the consolidated city-county of Denver. At that time, he told Government Technology of his vision to advance digital equity, AI and accessibility in the state.
Last year was one of progress for the digital government experience in each of those areas in the state, the CIO said.
Leadership’s primary focus, he said, has been on improving the digital experience of everyone who interacts with the state government. In 2025, the state achieved higher customer satisfaction rates across both digital and contact center experiences — including improved digital completion rates and reduced hold times.
Part of the work to improve digital government is a coordinated effort with the Colorado Digital Service team (CDS), led by Director Sarah Tuneberg. CDS is focused on user-centered design and product management for areas like digital identity management and the myColorado app.
Improving digital identity management reduces friction for users and saves the state money, Edinger said. With multiple ways to log in to access benefits, each different login provider is being paid by the state — which can actually cost up to 50 times what it would to have a single login for these services, he said: “If there was ever a call to action, that’s it.”
The myColorado app has about 600,000 monthly users, and about 1.8 million accounts total, Edinger said. As the state continues to add new features to the app, like ID verification added in December, Edinger said he expects the number of users to continue growing.
This year, the state is celebrating its 150th anniversary of statehood with the Colorado Passport Program, an initiative that gamifies exploration of different parts of the state outside the Denver metro area, with exclusive discounts and badges. The program is leveraging the myColorado app to make participation more accessible.
The state is also in the process of transitioning from the digital driver’s license to a mobile driver’s license, a more specific digital ID type that is being adopted across the U.S. and is accepted by the Transportation Security Administration at various airports.
Accessibility continues to drive digital experience work. Officials last week expanded access to Aira, an accessibility app which improves the government experience for people with disabilities. The state’s prioritization of accessibility, Edinger said, shapes conversations with vendors, enabling partnerships where values align.
Digital equity has been “a wild ride lately,” Edinger said, as states grapple with the federal executive order threatening to withhold Congressionally approved broadband funding for states that enact AI laws. In any case, progress connecting Coloradans to Internet service continues, with only about 115,000 households lacking quality, high-speed Internet. Although funding uncertainty has added risk to digital equity work, he said the goal is to achieve 99 percent connectivity by June 2027: “That has to be — now more than ever — something we double down on, because we’re so close.”
ON AI: ADOPTION AND "FAILURE"
AI is one of many technology tools Colorado is implementing to deliver better services, although a risk-based approach guides adoption.
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment has leveraged AI for an unemployment insurance (UI) virtual assistant, which has reduced the percentage of callers asking to speak with an agent from 80 percent to 55 percent. It has also slashed the call center wait time by 50 percent. The virtual assistant is intended to help deliver better digital service and reduce the burden on call center staff to distribute basic information, such as UI claim status.
“I think that’s an example of a combination of call center technology and AI technology coming together to do something that actually just delivers great value and is pretty low risk,” Edinger said, emphasizing that human representatives remain available.
Another AI use case comes from the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, which is using it for audit review — saving auditors “three to four hours” a week.
In a risk-based approach, training plays a key role; thousands of the state’s Google users have completed InnovateUS’ training for responsible AI use in the public sector.
But risk is not Colorado’s only consideration factor in AI adoption; another key focus is the business value. The state is measuring return on investment in two primary ways: time saved and societal benefit. Edinger stressed that there needs to be more nuance in measuring AI returns, because for the public sector, freeing up staff to do more human-powered work adds value for the taxpayers.
Not every AI use case is successful. Of the approximately 155 approved AI use cases across the state, about 60 percent of them are not achieving the stated business goal. This speaks to a healthy ecosystem, the CIO said, as this is an emerging technology being tested in various contexts and providing insight into where it can deliver. In what he likened to the “wild west” era of AI’s rapid development, the state can test AI, and if it fails to achieve its intended purpose, he said officials can move on to other applications. That 60 percent, he said, is “indicative of the willingness to be innovative and accept failure if it's leading to overall success.”
NEW YEAR, ENDURING GOALS
In 2026, Edinger said digital government — with a focus on customer identity and access management and myColorado expansion — remains a key priority.
Accessibility work will continue, as leaders aim to bring attention to work being done through the Empathy Lab’s Lived Experiences Library.
AI use and governance will continue to advance this year; Edinger said Colorado plans to train more workers to use the technology responsibly. In addition to the InnovateUS training, the state is advancing another voluntary AI education initiative for the workforce; with it, 83 percent of early participants showed an average of 30 percent growth in their awareness of responsible AI use.
“There’s a real hunger for this,” said Edinger.
