Forum Global conferences in Washington, D.C. Signal a New Era for AI and Quantum Leadership

Back-to-back Forum Global conferences in Washington, D.C. highlighted a coordinated U.S. effort to accelerate artificial intelligence and quantum technologies while strengthening the infrastructure, security, and partnerships needed to remain globally competitive.

Held on June 17 & 18, 2026, the USA AI Summit 2026 and Quantum USA 2026 brought together senior policymakers, federal and state government officials, industry leaders, and researchers to discuss the next phase of America's technology strategy. While AI and quantum remain distinct fields, both conferences underscored how closely their futures are becoming connected.

From AI Policy to AI Deployment

The USA AI Summit reflected a clear shift from debating AI regulation to enabling large-scale deployment. Discussions focused on building a national AI framework that balances federal consistency with state flexibility while supporting innovation and public trust.

Infrastructure emerged as a central priority, with speakers identifying energy, data centers, permitting reform, and connectivity as critical to sustaining AI growth. Participants also emphasized the importance of trusted AI through stronger standards, evaluation, and assurance, alongside continued investment in semiconductor supply chains and international partnerships.

Quantum Becomes a National Priority

At Quantum USA 2026, discussions centered on maintaining U.S. leadership as quantum computing, sensing, and communications move toward commercialization. Speakers called for renewed investment in workforce development, supply chains, and better coordination across government, industry, and academia.

Quantum sensing was highlighted as the technology with the greatest near-term commercial potential, while fault-tolerant quantum computing remains a longer-term goal.

Cybersecurity emerged as one of the conference's strongest areas of consensus. Speakers stressed that organizations should begin planning now for the transition to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) to address the long-term risks posed by "harvest now, decrypt later" attacks. Successful migration will require not only new cryptographic standards but also stronger governance, crypto agility, and organizational readiness.

A Shared Technology Agenda

Across both conferences, common themes emerged: resilient infrastructure, secure supply chains, skilled workforces, trusted governance, and international cooperation. Speakers also highlighted the growing relationship between AI and quantum technologies, with each expected to accelerate advances in the other.

Together, the USA AI Summit 2026  and Quantum USA 2026 demonstrated that U.S. technology policy has entered a new phase. The focus has shifted from exploring what's possible to executing at scale - and America's future leadership will depend on how quickly government, industry, and academia can translate innovation into trusted, competitive capabilities.

To stay informed about these events, please sign up to our event updates here.

To discuss involvement in the 2027 editions of these events, please contact anne-lise.simon@forum-global.com.