GovAI U.S. AI Policy Program

About the Team

GovAI was founded at Yale University in 2016, and was one of the first academic groups to study the policy implications of AI progress. Our first research agenda, published in 2018, helped define and shape the nascent field of AI governance. GovAI became a non-profit in 2021. Our mission has stayed the same throughout: to help decision-makers navigate the transition to a world with advanced AI.

GovAI has alumni, affiliates, and staff with experience working in U.S. government bodies including the National Security Council, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the Senate, Department of Commerce, and Department of Homeland Security; think tanks including the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), Center for a New American Security (CNAS), RAND, the Heritage Foundation, and the Foundation for American Innovation (FAI); government bodies in other jurisdictions including the UK AI Security Institute and EU AI Office; top AI companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind; and universities including Yale, Stanford, and MIT. GovAI researchers have provided expert input to decision-makers in government, industry, and civil society. Our researchers have also published in top peer-reviewed journals and conferences, including Science, FAccT, and NeurIPS.‍

About the Program

The GovAI U.S. AI Policy Program is structured around guided discussion sessions relating to artificial intelligence and the policy issues it poses, with an emphasis on issues associated with general-purpose AI. Topics covered include, but are not limited to:

• how general-purpose AI systems are developed; 

• the inputs to AI development, including energy, chips, and data centers; 

• how AI may affect productivity, scientific discovery, and economic growth;

• how AI may impact national security and great power competition; 

• corporate self-governance efforts; 

• AI regulations in other jurisdictions; and 

• federal and state AI regulatory proposals in the U.S. 

In addition to guided discussion sessions, participants will also be presented with weekly opportunities to ask questions of world-leading experts about AI development, policy, and governance. Prior guest speakers have included White House Office of Science and Technology Policy staffers; former employees of frontier AI development companies; and experts who have helped draft U.S. state- and federal-level AI policy proposals.

The program will run from early September to early December 2026, with a break for the week of Thanksgiving. The time commitment is approximately five hours per week, broken up as follows:

• Two hours per week for synchronous sessions. These sessions will be scheduled after working hours on a weekday evening (EST). Participants can either join the synchronous sessions in-person at GovAI’s D.C. office near DuPont Circle or attend remotely. Remote participants will be asked to join with their cameras on. In-person participants will be served dinner.* 

• Three hours per week to prepare for synchronous sessions by reading assigned content and/or listening to assigned podcast episodes. The assigned material will be circulated via syllabus before the program begins. The materials are all free to access.

To list program completion on their resume, participants will need to: (1) attend 9 of 12 sessions; (2) write a short policy memo or op-ed; and (3) pass an interview-based exam related to program materials.

*Note: It is the responsibility of each participant to verify with their organization’s ethics office whether they are permitted to accept dinner. We plan to keep the value of the meal at or below $20 per person; participants will also be permitted to decline the meal, or pay their own way.

Who Can Apply 

Eligible participants include legislative and executive branch staff at the federal level and state level (including fellows, interns, and detailees), and policy researchers at think tanks. We will purposefully select participants at a range of seniority levels, and welcome applications from promising junior staff. We will preferentially select people in the D.C. metropolitan area.

Participants do not have to currently cover AI as part of their portfolio, but should aspire to a career in U.S. tech or national security policy.

GovAI is committed to intellectual diversity and bipartisanship. Our program brings together fellows with a range of perspectives and political backgrounds to work on the shared AI policy challenges facing the United States, and we are dedicated to fostering good-faith engagement across political lines. 

How to Apply and What to Expect

Application Process

The selection process has two stages:

1. Candidates apply online by answering six brief biographical questions; uploading a resume; answering two verbal reasoning questions; and uploading an approximately 7 minute video explaining their interest in the program.
2. Selected candidates will be invited for a 30 min interview in July. 

We expect to make final decisions and notify selected participants in early August. If you need a decision communicated by a particular date, please contact maryclare.mcmahon@governance.ai.