Archives for May 2026

A co-founder who helped build the infrastructure on which the AI revolution runs. A pair of senators who chose collaboration over partisanship when the stakes couldn’t be higher. An entrepreneur who turned his television stardom into a platform for AI advocacy. A commanding general preparing the United States Army for an AI-driven battlefield. A scientist who is making history at one of America’s great national laboratories. And a civic leader who has spent her career making sure these innovations serve everyone. 

On June 3, 2026, the Washington AI Network (WAIN) will honor these extraordinary individuals at the second annual AI Honors Gala, Washington’s only black-tie evening dedicated to American AI excellence at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, DC. ““The AI Honors bring together the business, policy, and scientific leaders shaping the future of artificial intelligence at the very moment its impact on our economy, security, and daily lives is becoming impossible to ignore,” said Tammy Haddad, the founder of the Washington AI Network.

The honorees include: 

AI GLOBAL AMBASSADOR AWARD

Kevin O’Leary

Known to millions as Shark Tank’s Mr. Wonderful, Kevin O’Leary has put his money — and his megaphone — behind the AI revolution. Honored for his investments in AI implementation, data centers, and the convergence of AI with blockchain and digital payments, O’Leary has also become one of the most visible advocates for AI literacy as the foundation of future job security.

BIPARTISAN LEADERSHIP ON AI AWARD

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) & Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD)

In a city often defined by division, Senators Warner and Rounds have chosen a different path. Recognized for their sustained, bipartisan leadership in advancing thoughtful AI policy, the two senators have worked across the aisle at a moment of enormous consequence for America’s national security and economic future.

FOUNDER’S EDUCATION ACCELERATOR AWARD

Chris Malachowsky, Co-Founder and Fellow, NVIDIA

NVIDIA co-founder Chris Malachowsky was there at the beginning — helping create the computing architecture that now powers the world’s most advanced AI systems. His landmark investment in AI education at the University of Florida ensures that the next generation won’t just use that infrastructure. They’ll build what comes next.

AI LEADERSHIP IN NATIONAL DEFENSE AWARD

Major General Patrick J. Ellis, Commanding General, 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson

Major General Patrick J. Ellis has been at the forefront of preparing the United States Army for an increasingly AI-driven world. Honored for his visionary leadership at the intersection of artificial intelligence, operational readiness, and national defense, General Ellis represents a new generation of military leaders who understand that technological advantage and human excellence are inseparable. The award will be presented by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.

PUBLIC SCIENCE AWARD

Dr. Katherine (Kathy) Yelick, Director, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Dr. Katherine Yelick has spent her career pushing the boundaries of high-performance computing and machine learning. Her historic appointment as the first computer scientist to lead Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in its 90-year history represents a turning point, a powerful signal that AI is no longer simply a tool of science, but central to how science itself gets done.

CIVIC TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP AWARD

Michele Jawando, CEO, Omidyar Network

Michele Jawando has spent her career at the intersection of technology, policy and civic engagement with a singular focus: making sure that innovation serves everyone. As CEO of Omidyar Network, she brings that vision to one of the world’s most influential impact-driven organizations.

The 2026 AI Honors builds on the success of last year’s sold-out inaugural gala, which brought together voices from Congress, U.S. national security, scientific institutions, the Vatican, and industry. Year two deepens that commitment: to convene the key leaders across party lines, sectors, and disciplines, at the moment AI’s consequences are impossible to ignore.

2026 GALA SPONSORS

Americans for Prosperity, Anthropic, Amazon, Bloomberg, Booking Holdings, Build American AI, Capital Power, Cohere, Constellation Energy, Flex Association, General Catalyst Institute, General Motors, GlobalWIN, IBM, JPMorganChase, LinkedIn, Microsoft, NobleReach Foundation, NVIDIA, Public Private Strategies Institute, Qualcomm, Salesforce, Scale AI, Silverado Policy Accelerator, Special Competitive Studies Project, TikTok, and Uber.

Honorees announced for 2026 AI Honors Gala

A co-founder who helped build the infrastructure on which the AI revolution runs. A pair of senators who chose collaboration over partisanship when the stakes couldn’t be higher. An entrepreneur who turned his television stardom into a platform for AI advocacy. A commanding general preparing the United States Army for an AI-driven battlefield. A scientist who is making history at one of America’s great national laboratories. And a civic leader who has spent her career making sure these innovations serve everyone. 

On June 3, 2026, the Washington AI Network (WAIN) will honor these extraordinary individuals at the second annual AI Honors Gala, Washington’s only black-tie evening dedicated to American AI excellence at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, DC. In an exclusive interview with Deadline, ““The AI Honors bring together the business, policy, and scientific leaders shaping the future of artificial intelligence at the very moment its impact on our economy, security, and daily lives is becoming impossible to ignore.” The honorees include: 

AI GLOBAL AMBASSADOR AWARD

Kevin O’Leary

Known to millions as Shark Tank’s Mr. Wonderful, Kevin O’Leary has put his money — and his megaphone — behind the AI revolution. Honored for his investments in AI implementation, data centers, and the convergence of AI with blockchain and digital payments, O’Leary has also become one of the most visible advocates for AI literacy as the foundation of future job security.

BIPARTISAN LEADERSHIP ON AI AWARD

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) & Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD)

In a city often defined by division, Senators Warner and Rounds have chosen a different path. Recognized for their sustained, bipartisan leadership in advancing thoughtful AI policy, the two senators have worked across the aisle at a moment of enormous consequence for America’s national security and economic future.

FOUNDER’S EDUCATION ACCELERATOR AWARD

Chris Malachowsky, Co-Founder and Fellow, NVIDIA

NVIDIA co-founder Chris Malachowsky was there at the beginning — helping create the computing architecture that now powers the world’s most advanced AI systems. His landmark investment in AI education at the University of Florida ensures that the next generation won’t just use that infrastructure. They’ll build what comes next.

AI LEADERSHIP IN NATIONAL DEFENSE AWARD

Major General Patrick J. Ellis

Commanding General, 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson

Major General Patrick J. Ellis has been at the forefront of preparing the United States Army for an increasingly AI-driven world. Honored for his visionary leadership at the intersection of artificial intelligence, operational readiness, and national defense, General Ellis represents a new generation of military leaders who understand that technological advantage and human excellence are inseparable. The award will be presented by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.

PUBLIC SCIENCE AWARD

Dr. Katherine (Kathy) Yelick, Director, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

Dr. Katherine Yelick has spent her career pushing the boundaries of high-performance computing and machine learning. Her historic appointment as the first computer scientist to lead Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in its 90-year history represents a turning point, a powerful signal that AI is no longer simply a tool of science, but central to how science itself gets done.

CIVIC TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP AWARD

Michele Jawando, CEO, Omidyar Network

Michele Jawando has spent her career at the intersection of technology, policy and civic engagement with a singular focus: making sure that innovation serves everyone. As CEO of Omidyar Network, she brings that vision to one of the world’s most influential impact-driven organizations.

Together, this year’s honorees represent the full arc of what AI leadership looks like in 2026. As Tammy Haddad, founder of WAIN said, “The AI Honors bring together the business, policy, and scientific leaders shaping the future of artificial intelligence at the very moment its impact on our economy, security, and daily lives is becoming impossible to ignore.”

The 2026 AI Honors builds on the success of last year’s sold-out inaugural gala, which brought together voices from Congress, U.S. national security, scientific institutions, the Vatican, and industry. Year two deepens that commitment: to convene the key leaders across party lines, sectors, and disciplines, at the moment AI’s consequences are impossible to ignore.

2026 GALA SPONSORS

——————

Americans for Prosperity, Anthropic, Amazon, Bloomberg, Booking Holdings, Build American AI, Capital Power, Cohere, Constellation Energy, Flex Association, General Catalyst Institute, General Motors, GlobalWIN, IBM, JPMorganChase, LinkedIn, Microsoft, NobleReach Foundation, NVIDIA, Public Private Strategies Institute, Qualcomm, Salesforce, Scale AI, Silverado Policy Accelerator, Special Competitive Studies Project, TikTok, and Uber.

Artificial intelligence is moving beyond chatbots and into systems capable of taking action — and according to NVIDIA engineers Nader Khalil and Carter Abdallah, that shift is happening faster than most people realize.

During the 75th episode of the Washington AI Network Podcast hosted by Tammy Haddad, Khalil and Abdallah explored the rapid evolution of AI agents, the importance of open-source models, and how everyday users can better understand the technology shaping the future.

The conversation, recorded live at PubKeyDC, brought together two engineers who helped build Brev, the developer platform acquired by NVIDIA in July 2024. Khalil co-founded the company, while Abdallah joined as a founding engineer.

Originally designed to simplify access to NVIDIA GPUs, Brev allowed developers to launch fully configured systems across multiple cloud providers in minutes.

“It focused on connecting a bunch of clouds all in one place,” Khalil explained. “So when we give it to you, it’s just ready to go.”

Abdallah reflected on the uncertainty of joining an early-stage startup.

“How do you know whether it’s going to succeed or not succeed?” he said. “The answer is you don’t.”

A major focus of the discussion centered on the role of open-source AI models and America’s position in the global AI race.

“If there’s a closed source project and you don’t like the direction it’s going, you don’t have a choice,” Khalil said. “If there’s an open source project and you think they’re making a bad decision, you can propose the change — and if that change gets rejected, you can clone it.”

Abdallah highlighted NVIDIA’s Nemotron family of open models, which provide not only model weights, but also training data and architecture, allowing businesses and governments to customize systems for their own needs.

Khalil emphasized the geopolitical significance of maintaining U.S. leadership in AI development.

“If you look at where all the standards have been set, without a doubt, America’s the leader,” he said. “That’s why it’s important that we remain the leader.”

The pair also broke down one of the industry’s buzziest concepts: AI agents.

“When you give an LLM tools, memory, and access to the browser, that ultimately is what an agent is,” Abdallah explained, comparing large language models to the human brain — powerful on their own, but far more capable when connected to systems that allow them to act.

Khalil shared a live example of an AI agent running on a personal NVIDIA DGX Spark system that successfully located and paid his outstanding parking tickets in San Francisco. The agent reportedly attempted 22 different methods to solve an internet CAPTCHA before succeeding, highlighting both the persistence and current limitations of agentic AI systems.

The discussion also touched on “harnesses,” the surrounding infrastructure that enables AI systems to operate more independently.

“The harnesses got so good that you can actually just use them rather than have to build your own agent from scratch,” Khalil said. “That’s why we’re hearing the word agent and the word harness so much.”

Despite the complexity of the technology, both engineers stressed that AI interaction is becoming increasingly intuitive for everyday users.

“Interacting with these models is a different pattern for a lot of people to understand,” Abdallah said. “If it doesn’t work the first time, ask it why. These are more of an iterative process.”

He added that communicating effectively with AI systems relies on a skill most people already have.

“We all speak natural language,” Abdallah said. “You can now use that same skill for these systems.”

The full episode of the Washington AI Network Podcast is available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast platforms.