“The room was absolutely crackling with energy and possibility,” remarked one attendee at Washington AI Network’s second annual AI Honors, held June 3 at the Waldorf Astoria on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Washington’s only black-tie AI gala drew more than 400 leaders from government, tech, and academia last night to honor seven Americans shaping the future of artificial intelligence, with new polling showing that the technology is already reshaping how ordinary Americans make their most consequential decisions.

Here are the 2026 AI Honors Awardees

• Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and Sen. Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota) accepted the Bipartisan Leadership on AI Award presented by actor Michael Kelly
• Entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary—a.k.a. Shark Tank’s Mr. Wonderful—(video interview) received the AI Global Ambassador Award from Irish Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason
• NVIDIA co-founder Chris Malachowsky received the Founder’s Education Accelerator Award from CNN anchor Pamela Brown
• Omidyar CEO Michele Jawando (video interview) was presented the Civic Technology Leadership Award by DC Mayor Muriel Bowser
• Major General Patrick J. Ellis, commanding general of the 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson, received the AI Leadership Award from Army Secretary Dan Driscoll
• Dr. Katherine (Kathy) Yelick (video interview) received the Public Science Award from Dr. Darío Gil who serves as both the Under Secretary for Science at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Director of the Genesis Mission

The evening featured remarks by the newly appointed papal nuncio, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia; NVIDIA co-founder Chris Malachowsky; Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, and entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary.

“This gathering itself represents something that Pope Leo calls for in his recent encyclical entitled Magnifica Humanitas, a shared document involving many sectors of society. The future of this technology cannot be guided by one field alone. It needs science and policy, business and public service, ethics and faith,” said Archbishop Gabriele Caccia. “From the beginning, at every stage, the development and application of artificial intelligence must be guided by the dignity of the human person and by the common good of the human family.”

“Energy is what drives progress. It’s what drives innovation. It’s what lifts people’s standard of living up. We need to get our act together with electricity,” said Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “We’ve tripled our oil production, doubled our natural gas production — but energy in the form of electricity, we’ve barely grown in twenty years. We do not want to hold back this technology or push this technology overseas by not delivering the electricity.”

NVIDIA co-founder Chris Malachowsky said, “The AI era will give the next generation of students and workers the most powerful tools ever created to learn, build, and discover. And even beyond this, it will help reindustrialize America and shape our next 250 years. But to realize that future, we must empower all to reach their full potential. And it’ll take industry, government, and academia working together to get it right.”

Making the case that AI hesitation — not AI ambition — is the real threat, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll said, “The biggest risk to our national security is not moving too fast. It’s not moving fast enough.”

Entrepreneur and honoree Kevin O’Leary escalated his months-long fight over his proposed Utah data center, accusing China of funding a coordinated disinformation campaign against American energy and AI infrastructure projects — and vowing to press forward regardless. “I’m going to use my voice to fix this,” O’Leary said. “I’d never seen this before. It’s wrong. And as far as Box Elder County is — I’m going to build this data center. I’m going to build it as a shining example of what we can do here in America.”

“When the Secretary of the Army, a cofounder of NVIDIA, a serial entrepreneur, a National Lab director, and the Vatican’s representative to the United States are all on one stage, this is Washington at its best,” said Washington AI Network founder and CEO Tammy Haddad. “The Washington AI Network has been the catalyst for how Washington talks about AI, and last night, it was the moment for celebrating those leading Washington — and the world — into what comes next.”

During the AI Honors Gala, the Washington AI Network and Morning Consult released findings from a national poll of 1,501 U.S. adults examining how Americans use, trust, and want to govern artificial intelligence (AI). The survey, conducted May 27–30, 2026, comes as policymakers, industry, and the public face the rapid disruption and integration of AI into health, finance, work, and this year’s elections.

The poll surfaces three new insights: (1) about a quarter of Americans are turning to AI for high-stakes personal decisions on health, money, and legal questions — making AI a de facto doctor, accountant, and lawyer; (2) 70 percent of Americans across the political spectrum are concerned about AI’s role in the 2026 elections; and (3) views on AI are sharply divided between the nearly 20 percent of Americans who use AI daily and everyone else, who answer questions about trust, elections, and institutions 20 to 40 points apart.

The event, which was emceed by CNN anchor Pamela Brown, was aired on C-SPAN. Watch the entire AI Honors program on Washington AI Network’s YouTube.

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tagsadministrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; Secretary of Energy Chris Wrightand entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary.Archbishop Gabriele Caccia; NVIDIA co-founder Chris Malachowsky; Dr. Mehmet OzArtificial IntellgenceSen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and Sen. Mike Roundstechnological innovationWashington AI Network