2026 AI Summit

The administration’s roadmap and major initiatives like the AI Action Plan and the Genesis Mission are accelerating AI implementation across the federal government. This includes implications for governance, procurement, cybersecurity, infrastructure and more. Learn how these policies are translating to agency investments and what execution challenges remain.

AI agents are helping government agencies automate repetitive tasks, execute complex processes and make decisions faster. Panelists discuss where agencies see the biggest opportunities and challenges for agentic AI, and how they’re measuring value around efficiency goals.

Successful AI adoption depends on modern, scalable technology foundations that can support growing compute and data demands. This discussion explores how agencies are modernizing cloud environments, data architectures and high-performance computing to enable AI at scale.

Agencies are balancing AI innovation with security, transparency and accountability. This discussion explores how federal leaders are managing risk, establishing oversight and building governance processes to protect security and public trust.

In quick-hit presentations followed by live audience Q&A, agency leaders share AI initiatives that improve mission delivery, enhance decision-making and streamline operations. Hear what’s working, lessons learned and where agencies are scaling next.

The Energy Department-led Genesis Mission calls for integrating America’s supercomputers, national laboratories and secure datasets into a unified AI platform — an effort that aims to double the productivity of the U.S. research and development enterprise within a decade. Leadership shares the vision behind the initiative, its early progress and the investments, partnerships and policy changes expected to drive the next generation of AI.

The Flywheel Awards recognize leaders and their work in the federal government.

The flywheel — a critical component in a machine to increase its momentum — is also a critical symbol representing our publication’s goal to keep federal IT decision-makers informed on technology’s impact on government. This momentum is what fuels the constant need for transformers to innovate and drive efficiency in government.

Categories include: Rising Star, AI Talent Advocate, AI Innovator, AI Evangelist and CAIO of the Year.

Traditional procurement processes often struggle to keep pace with rapidly evolving AI technologies. Agency acquisition and technology leaders discuss how they’re accelerating procurement for AI, managing risk and creating strategies that keep pace with innovation.

As AI becomes embedded in mission systems and enterprise operations, agencies must rethink their cybersecurity strategies. This discussion examines how federal leaders are securing AI environments, mitigating threats, safeguarding sensitive data and balancing innovation with resilience across the AI ecosystem.

Federal AI leaders discuss where AI investments are headed next. The discussion explores enterprise deployment, workforce transformation, procurement and other developments shaping how they are strategizing the next phases of federal AI over the next year.