DC AI Guide
Your guide to DC's AI policy community
Find the events, communities, and resources for getting involved in AI policy, governance, and civic technology in Washington, DC.
New to the space? Start here.
- 1Go to an event — AI Discussion Club walks are beginner-friendly and free.
- 2Join a community — Civic Tech DC connects builders and policy advocates.
- 3Follow a newsletter — Beltway Bits covers DC tech and AI events.
Learn About AI
Courses, newsletters, and blogs to build your understanding of artificial intelligence — from the basics to the cutting edge.
Mitigate Risks
Resources for understanding and reducing the potential harms of AI — from concentration of power to misuse and misalignment.
Maximize Benefits
Communities and programs applying AI for social good — in health, climate, civic life, and economic opportunity.
Career Guides
Overviews, FAQs, and roadmaps for breaking into AI policy — from entry-level to mid-career pivots.
Fellowships & Programs
Paid fellowships and cohort programs placing people in AI policy roles across government, think tanks, and industry.
Upcoming Events
In-person and virtual gatherings in DC where you can learn, connect, and get involved.
2026 Data Summit
A full-day convening from the Data Foundation bringing together researchers, policymakers, industry leaders, and data practitioners to explore public data as strategic infrastructure — with sessions on AI applications, public health, fraud prevention, and environmental risk management.
Presented by Data Foundation
Pandora's Prompt: AI and the Biological Threat
A Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense meeting at the Atlantic Council examining how advanced AI models and biological design tools may accelerate biological weapons development — and what defensive countermeasures look like beyond DNA synthesis screening. In-person only; photo ID required.
Presented by Atlantic Council
Outdoor Discussion Walk: WALL-E and the Future of AI
A walking discussion using WALL-E as a lens for talking through the long-run trajectory of AI, autonomy, and human flourishing. Meets at Open Road Rosslyn.
Presented by AI Discussion Club
STATION DC AI Open Roundtable
A morning roundtable at STATION DC for people building, deploying, or shaping applied AI in startups or government. Discussion from 10–11 followed by networking; topics span production ML and infrastructure, public-sector applications, and AI governance.
Presented by Station DC
Side Projects and Networking: DSDC Meetup
An evening of data-science side-project lightning talks and networking at 2112 Pennsylvania Ave NW, featuring presenters from a 12-week DSDC mentorship cohort. Open to anyone deep into a side project, just getting started, or curious.
Presented by Data Community DC
Annual DC Privacy Forum
The Future of Privacy Forum's annual gathering convening business leaders, government officials, and academic and civil-society experts for panel discussions on AI, privacy, and digital governance. Topics include global data sovereignty, AI in workforce management, U.S. privacy regulation, and chatbot regulation for youth. In-person only.
Presented by Future of Privacy Forum
Civic Tech DC Project Night
An evening of collaborative problem-solving on civic tech projects at Taoti Creative. Participants brainstorm, research, write, code, or analyze data across civic tech initiatives. All skill levels welcome; laptops optional. Food provided.
Presented by Civic Tech DC
FAS AI Trust and Fairness Happy Hour
An informal reception hosted by the Federation of American Scientists celebrating the publication of their 'Source Code: Building an AI Trust and Fairness Policy Agenda' memos. Brings together senior AI policy leaders, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers focused on fairness, trust, accountability, and the public-interest implications of AI systems. Held in tandem with a Hill Briefing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building (3–5 PM).
Presented by Federation of American Scientists
DCA - Startups & AI Walks - June Edition
Casual outdoor networking walk for the DC AI and startup community in Arlington. Meet at Gute Leute for a ~2-hour walking route with founders, AI researchers, and small business owners, followed by lunch at Himalayan Wild Yak.
Presented by Aggregate Intellect
Civic Builders: Pitch & Demo Night
An evening of short pitches and live demos from people building solutions for public problems — with a focus on the intersection of AI and civic tech — followed by open breakout conversations. Co-hosted by Civic Tech DC and Learning Journey AI at 2112 Pennsylvania Ave NW.
Presented by Civic Tech DC
DC AI Security Forum 2026
The 2nd annual DC AI Security Forum convenes ~200 people who set AI security policy, build the systems, and find the vulnerabilities — including security engineers, policymakers, and national security professionals. Panels and workshops led by expert leads cover hardware and software security, securing compute infrastructure, safeguarding model weights, AI-augmented cyber capabilities, and public-private threat intelligence sharing. At the Conrad Washington, DC. Invite-only; applications reviewed on a rolling basis.
Presented by AI Security Forum
The Future of Our Realities: The Future of Work and Truth
A full-day conference confronting a shared problem: AI is reshaping both work and truth at the same time. Scientists, technologists, artists, and policymakers come together for interactive panels, hands-on workshops on real-world challenges in emerging tech, and collaborative problem-solving sessions designed to move beyond theory. Supported by Johns Hopkins and Princeton. Closes with a sunset reception and art walk (6:30–8 PM) on the terrace at 555 Pennsylvania Ave NW.
Presented by Future Realities
Defense Tech DC 016
Monthly social connecting defense tech founders, technologists, policymakers, and government stakeholders. June edition at Butterworth's on Capitol Hill.
Presented by Defense Tech DC
Agentic Software Engineering Meetup
A meetup for software engineers and IT professionals who build with AI coding agents like Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Gemini CLI, and Kilo.ai. Features networking, live demos, discussion of what's working (and what isn't), and best practices for building real software with agents.
Presented by Data Community DC
Civic Tech DC Project Night at Prefect
An evening of collaborative civic-tech problem-solving, hosted at Prefect on Pennsylvania Avenue. Open to designers, engineers, data analysts, and anyone who wants to contribute to public-interest projects. Food provided; laptops recommended but optional.
Presented by Civic Tech DC
AWS Summit Washington, D.C. 2026
A free two-day conference at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center featuring 350+ sessions on agentic AI, cloud modernization, and public-sector innovation. Keynote from AWS VP of Worldwide Public Sector on deploying secure cloud and AI for government workloads.
Presented by Amazon Web Services
Defense Tech DC 017
Monthly social connecting defense tech founders, technologists, policymakers, and government stakeholders. July edition at Pubkey in Penn Quarter. No pitches, no asks — just community.
Presented by Defense Tech DC
AI Innovation & Security Policy Workshop
A three-day career exploration program for people interested in AI policy roles in the U.S. federal government. Programming includes panels, Q&As, and small-group breakouts with current AI policy practitioners. All travel and accommodation costs are covered for accepted participants. Co-hosted with the Foundation for American Innovation. Application deadline: June 21, 2026.
Presented by Horizon Institute for Public Service
Join the Community
Ongoing groups and channels where you can connect with others working on AI policy, governance, and civic tech in DC.
Public AI Slack
An open Slack community exploring how publicly-owned AI infrastructure can strengthen democracy and serve the public interest.
AI Discussion Club
Hosts outdoor discussion walks and meetups exploring AI's impact on work, society, and the future. DC-based and welcoming to newcomers.
Civic Tech DC
A community of technologists, designers, and policy advocates building technology for civic good in DC.
The Upskilling Labs
Open learning pods applying AI to health, climate, and civics — join anytime, no gatekeeping. Anchored in libraries and community spaces, serving underserved populations.
Claude Builder Club at UMD
An inclusive student community at the University of Maryland for exploring AI development, building projects, and learning about AI's benefits and risks. Open to all majors and skill levels.
Claude Builder Club at Georgetown
A Georgetown University student club for building with AI — workshops, hackathons, Anthropic-led panels, and hands-on projects. Open to students of all experience levels.