The AI elite celebrated in Washington while the public pushes back against data centers and chatbots
Artificial Intelligence took center stage in Washington, and this time quite literally.
Amid red carpets, dancing humanoid robots, and drones delivering food, the American tech elite gathered on Wednesday evening to celebrate AI pioneers and the advances of a technology that is transforming the world. The setting looked like it was straight out of a Hollywood sci-fi premiere, but the characters were very real: billionaires, elected officials, lobbyists, scientists, and executives from major tech companies, all gathered in the same gilded ballroom, swapping business cards and chatting about the future of artificial intelligence.
But while the champagne flowed at the luxurious Waldorf Astoria, the former Trump International Hotel, just steps from the White House, outside the story was quite different. Recent polls show that most Americans still deeply distrust the technology, and public concerns about impacts on elections, the job market, data center construction, and privacy keep growing nonstop. That contrast is exactly what makes this event so interesting to analyze. On one side, a ballroom full of optimism and top-tier networking. On the other, a population that still does not feel part of the conversation. 🤔
What went down at the Washington AI Honors
The black-tie gala at the Washington AI Honors, held at the iconic Waldorf Astoria in Washington D.C., brought together heavyweights from the tech sector, government, and the American political world. The event was organized by the Washington AI Network, a group that regularly hosts informal conversations with top names and decision-makers in AI across Washington, and it had some serious backing: Anthropic, Microsoft, and Meta were among the sponsors, forming a true who’s who of tech and financial power.
The production team went all out on the details to make it clear that something grand was being celebrated. Neon-clad dancers on stilts circled among guests, a humanoid robot danced on the red carpet, a food delivery drone cruised through the ballroom, and hundreds of candles floated elegantly in water vessels. Illuminated panels and gold-leaf decor completed the scene. It was impossible to walk into that room and not feel like something big was happening — a curious blend of sincere hopes for collaborative AI development and the classic Washington public relations game.
Among those in attendance were high-ranking figures from the American government. Energy Secretary Chris Wright was one of the first to speak with the press as the evening kicked off. In a statement to NBC News, Wright was straightforward about his vision of the technology.
AI is a transformative technology that is going to enable so many advances, from health to engineering, from energy production to security, Wright said. I understand people’s concerns, but it is going to be overwhelmingly positive for our society. It’s a beautiful event.
Also in attendance were National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross and the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mehmet Oz. Senators, generals, and leaders of nonprofit organizations rounded out the eclectic mix of guests.
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Investor Kevin O’Leary and the dual narrative around AI
One of the most talked-about moments of the evening was the speech by investor and TV personality Kevin O’Leary, known for the show Shark Tank, as he accepted the Global AI Ambassador award. O’Leary did not shy away from the elephant in the room and addressed the growing public resistance to the technology head-on.
Unfortunately, there’s a dual narrative going on in America right now about the merits of AI, O’Leary said. In one camp, you have people who think AI is going to replace all jobs and then the robots are going to eat the babies.
And the other side is the merits of what AI as a tool can do to advance medical research, democratize everything we do in education, provide productivity to our economy, and advance what we do in defense, he added.
O’Leary emphasized that many Americans fear data centers because of what he called outdated information, and he made a plea for developers to build enough power generation capacity to help local communities and avoid spikes in energy rates. The remarks carried a certain irony given the investor’s personal context: O’Leary is currently trying to build one of the largest data centers in the country in Utah, but has been facing strong opposition from the local population. He himself admitted that the industry is behind the curve when it comes to communicating with the public.
I feel that as an industry, we’re behind the eight ball on the communication front, O’Leary acknowledged.
Numbers don’t lie: the public isn’t buying it
The contrast between the optimism inside the ballroom and public sentiment became even more striking when hard data was presented during the event itself. CNN anchor Pamela Brown, who hosted part of the program, hushed the noisy crowd with a lighthearted line: be quiet so I can tell you this secret. The secret was a new poll commissioned by the Washington AI Network and conducted by Morning Consult on how Americans view artificial intelligence.
The results were not exactly cause for celebration for those in the room. The online survey, conducted with about 1,500 American adults, revealed that AI lost every head-to-head trust matchup against other American institutions, including Congress — an institution that historically has rock-bottom approval ratings. On top of that, 70% of Americans expressed concern about AI’s impact on upcoming elections, with specific fears about deepfakes and the use of artificial intelligence to target personalized campaign ads.
These numbers add to another poll mentioned in the context of the event. In March, an NBC News survey found that a strong majority of Americans believe the risks of AI outweigh its benefits. In that same poll, only the Democratic Party and Iran were viewed less favorably than artificial intelligence. To put that in perspective: the technology driving billions of dollars in investment is competing in popularity with a polarizing political party and a country under international sanctions. The public’s message is loud and clear. 😬
Diverse voices, but not all heard equally
The event tried to balance the celebratory tone with some more critical reflections, though those voices did not always get the attention they deserved. The Vatican’s ambassador to Washington, Gabriele Caccia, struggled to be heard during his opening remarks, competing with the clatter of silverware and side conversations that dominated the room.
At each stage, the development and application of artificial intelligence must be guided by the dignity of the human person, by the common good of the human family, Caccia said over the sound of spoons hitting plates and business cards being exchanged in the background.
One of the most powerful remarks of the evening came from Michele Jawando, CEO of the Omidyar Network, a nonprofit organization that works to make technology more inclusive and accessible. Jawando received one of the night’s awards and used her moment on stage to make a direct appeal to the executives and politicians in attendance.
Americans are worried about AI because they’re afraid of being left behind, Jawando said. I’m almost begging you to take a step back and ask: who is missing from your conversations, from your rooms, from your product launches? And what can you do to change that?
The challenge hit the mark. At an event where most attendees were already sitting at the top of tech’s power and influence chain, the question about who was left out carried enormous weight. Workers whose jobs are under threat, communities resisting data center construction, populations historically excluded from access to technology — none of these groups had a proportional voice in that ballroom.
AI in defense and the acceleration of the kill chain
Just minutes before Jawando’s speech about inclusion, United States Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll offered a radically different perspective on the use of artificial intelligence. Driscoll stated that AI is helping the American military exponentially accelerate the kill chain.
He added that the Army was eager to join forces with private-sector companies developing current AI systems, with the goal of building the tools that allow our soldiers to see farther, decide faster, and strike harder than any adversary anywhere on Earth at any time.
The statement shone a light on a dimension of the AI race that often takes a back seat in conversations about chatbots and corporate productivity. The military use of AI is one of the areas that most concerns ethics and international security experts, and hearing that kind of language at an event that also promoted the idea of AI for the common good perfectly illustrates the internal tensions running through the sector.
The honorees of the evening
The Washington AI Honors gala, now in its second edition, recognized a diverse lineup of figures representing different facets of the artificial intelligence ecosystem. In addition to Kevin O’Leary and Michele Jawando, the event honored Senators Mike Rounds, a Republican from South Dakota, and Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, recognized for their bipartisan work on AI policy in Congress.
Nvidia co-founder Chris Malachowsky also received honors, which makes total sense considering the company’s chips are the backbone of the infrastructure running virtually every major language model on the market today. Katherine Yelich, vice provost for research at the University of California, Berkeley, and Major General Patrick Ellis rounded out the list of honorees, representing the academic world and the military sector respectively.
The gap between those who build and those who are impacted
What makes events like this so revealing is not just who is in the room, but what happens between the official speeches. Attendees seemed determined to squeeze every last bit of networking out of the evening, often chatting with associates and tablemates during the speeches. The constant noise forced the emcees to ask for quiet repeatedly, and not always in a friendly way.
That dynamic says a lot about the nature of these gatherings. The real value of an event like the Washington AI Honors is not in the speeches or the awards — it is in the behind-the-scenes conversations that shape partnerships, funding, and strategic direction. The decisions made there, between one appetizer and the next, have real consequences for millions of people who will never set foot in a room like that.
And that is precisely the central point of this whole story. The rapid development of artificial intelligence puts a question on the table that has no simple answer: who gets to decide how this technology will be used? For now, the practical answer is that this decision is concentrated in the hands of a relatively small group of companies, investors, and governments that have enough access, capital, and influence to shape the direction of the technology.
Many speakers during the event lamented the growing public resistance to AI on issues ranging from data center construction to potential job market disruption. In their view, this reaction could unfairly overshadow the technology’s potential benefits. But perhaps the more productive question is not how to convince the public that AI is good, but rather how to ensure the benefits actually reach the people who need them most — and not just those who were already in the ballroom with a glass in hand.
The concerns surrounding the advance of AI are not science fiction or overblown alarmism. They are concrete risks — from algorithmic bias to disinformation generated by language models — that demand attention proportional to the speed at which the technology is advancing. And the more development is conducted transparently, with broad participation and real accountability mechanisms, the better the chances that the next party in Washington will have genuine reasons to raise a toast. 🚀
