Apply for the AI Innovation & Security Policy Workshop

Applications are open for the 2026 AI Innovation & Security Policy Workshop, a three-day event in Washington, DC for people exploring careers in AI policy. The workshop runs August 21-23, and is co-hosted by the Horizon Institute for Public Service and the Foundation for American Innovation.

Applications close on Sunday, June 21, 2026 at 11:59 PM EDT.

The event helps participants clarify whether and how to pursue a career in AI policy. Over the course of the workshop, participants will meet senior AI policy practitioners in the administration, on Capitol Hill, and at leading think tanks; explore the substance of AI policy through panels, breakouts, and Q&As; and build relationships with peers considering similar career transitions. All travel and accommodation costs are covered.

What past participants took away

Last year’s workshop brought 42 participants to DC for three days of sessions, dinners, and networking. Nearly 90% of attendees reported being more excited about pursuing a policy career afterward, and many credited the event with shaping concrete next steps.

Horizon workshop participants have said:

• “Horizon gave me the confidence to change my career and move to DC to work in government. I also gained a new network of friends and learned about emerging tech.”
• “It was really invigorating getting to interact with so many smart, thoughtful people who want to make change in the AI space.”
• “I doubt I would have made the transition into policy without the Horizon workshop.”

Attendees from last year’s workshop are now working at or affiliated with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Center for AI Standards and Innovation, the House Select Committee on the CCP, the American Enterprise Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the Foundation for American Innovation, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and other leading institutions in AI policy and industry.

Who should apply

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and experience levels interested in AI policy careers in and around the U.S. federal government. No prior policy experience is required.

At past events, participants have included:

• Engineers at major tech companies, AI labs, and hardware startups
• PhD students in machine learning, international relations, life sciences, economics, and other fields
• US military personnel
• Analysts at trading firms and consultancies
• Technology-focused law students and associates at law firms
• Mid-career professionals exploring pivots into AI policy from adjacent fields
• Exceptional undergraduates from universities around the country

What you can expect

The workshop will cover the central issues of AI innovation and security policy, including but not limited to:

• Federal R&D funding, innovation policy, and other market-shaping tools
• National security applications and implications of AI
• Global technological competition, export controls, and China’s AI ecosystem
• AI and cybersecurity
• Government use of AI and federal policymaking
• The labor market impacts of AI
• AI’s impact on free speech and child protection online

Programming will include panels, Q&As, and small-group breakouts led by AI policy practitioners. Outside the formal sessions, participants will have time to meet hiring managers, hear about open roles in the field, and connect with others making similar career transitions. Many past participants have gone on to join other Horizon and FAI programs after attending the workshop, including FAI’s Conservative AI Policy Fellowship, the Horizon Fellowship, and the Horizon AI policy Career Accelerator.

Speakers

Speaker	Bio
Dean Ball, Foundation for American Innovation	Dean Woodley Ball is a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation. He most recently served as senior policy advisor for Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and strategic advisor for AI at the National Science Foundation. Previously he was a research fellow in the Artificial Intelligence & Progress Project at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center and a policy fellow at Fathom. Dean is the author of Hyperdimensional. His work focuses on emerging technologies and the future of governance, spanning artificial intelligence, manufacturing innovation, neural technology, bioengineering, technology policy, political theory, public finance, urban infrastructure, and criminal justice reform. Outside of FAI, his scholarship has been published by the Mercatus Center, the Hoover Institution, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Federation of American Scientists, the Manhattan Institute, and American Compass.
Neil Chilson, Abundance Institute	Neil Chilson is the Head of AI Policy at the Abundance Institute, where his work focuses on creating a policy and cultural environment where emerging technologies including AI can develop and thrive in order to perpetually expand widespread human prosperity. He is a lawyer, computer scientist, and author of the book Getting Out of Control: Emergent Leadership in a Complex World. Previously, Chilson was a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Growth and Opportunity, worked at the major philanthropic community Stand Together, and served as the Chief Technologist at the Federal Trade Commission advising Acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen on privacy, blockchain, and related telecommunications issues.
Abigail Ball, American Compass	Abigail Ball is executive director of American Compass, a Washington-based think tank working to restore an economic consensus that emphasizes the importance of family, community, and industry to the nation’s liberty and prosperity. American Compass has been an influential voice on the right-of-center since its founding in 2020, shaping conservative debates across industrial policy, trade, labor, family, and technology, and publishing the magazine Commonplace as a home for new-right economic and cultural thought. She has helped lead American Compass since its founding in 2020, first as communications director and stepping into the executive director role in 2024, before which she worked in communications at prominent think tanks in New York, including the Manhattan Institute. Her commentary on workers, industry, and the political economy of AI has appeared in outlets including the New York Post and The American Conservative, and she has spoken on industrial strategy, AI’s economic impact, and tech policy at venues including Anthropic’s Economic Futures Symposium at Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy.
Joel Thayer, America First Policy Institute	Joel Thayer is President of the Digital Progress Institute, a Senior Fellow for AI and Emerging Technology Policy at the America First Policy Institute, a Senior Fellow at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, and a tech and telecom attorney. Mr. Thayer previously was an associate at Phillips Lytle LLP. Before that, he served as Policy Counsel for ACT | The App Association, where he advised on legal and policy issues related to antitrust, telecommunications, privacy, cybersecurity, and intellectual property. His experience also includes working as a legal clerk for FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and FTC Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen and as a congressional staffer for the Hon. Lee Terry and the Hon. Mary Bono. He has testified before both the Senate Judiciary Committee on advancing a national privacy framework and the House Energy and Commerce Committee on protecting children online. His works have been featured in the American University Intellectual Property Brief, Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, Yale Journal on Regulation, Stanford Technology Law Review, the Journal of American Affairs, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, The Hill, The National Review, and The Federalist Society.

Participants will receive a full agenda and complete list of speakers prior to arrival in DC.

Application process

The initial application takes about 15 minutes to complete and closes on Sunday, June 21, 2026. We may follow up to request a brief interview, and we plan to communicate admission decisions in mid-July. 

Can’t make it to this workshop? Fill out our career support form to stay up to date on other opportunities in emerging technology policy. Horizon programs include career coaching, in-person workshops, online seminar series, fellowships, and more.

About Horizon

The Horizon Institute for Public Service is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that helps the US government navigate our era of rapid technological change by supporting the next generation of emerging technology policy talent. In service of this mission, Horizon runs a number of programs, including workshops and events, a policy careers guide, career advising services, and a fellowship program.

About FAI

The Foundation for American Innovation (FAI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit think tank working to develop technology, talent, and ideas that support a better, freer, and more abundant future. FAI’s work spans technology and statecraft, artificial intelligence, science and innovation, governance and state capacity, energy and infrastructure, and education.