2026 AI Symposium — Press
About the event
As AI moves from advising people to acting on their behalf, the symposium asks what it will take for that shift to expand economic opportunity rather than erode trust. Sessions span policy, markets, and practice.
- Policy after the midterms: members of the Senate and House on AI, cybersecurity, and openings for bipartisan legislation in 2027.
- Personal financial agents: what people already ask AI about their money, and the guardrails needed as agents start making decisions.
- Agentic commerce: keeping the consumer first when software shops and pays, and what it means for small businesses.
- Trust and security: identity, verification, fraud, and testing and evaluating AI agents.
- The AI economy: effects on productivity, employment, financial stability, monetary policy, and entrepreneurship.
- State oversight: New York’s approach to frontier AI as the RAISE Act nears implementation.
Live demos on both days feature startups working on personal financial management, identity, compliance, and risk management.
Agenda
The full program is posted on the AI Symposium website. Day 1 opens with Sen. Mike Rounds and closes with Neel Kashkari; Day 2 opens with Rep. Bill Foster and closes with Michael S. Barr.
Featured speakers
More than 50 speakers take part across the main program and demos. Main-stage speakers, alphabetical by last name:
| Name | Title | Organization |
|---|---|---|
| Kaitlin Asrow | Acting Superintendent | New York State Department of Financial Services |
| Mariel Beasley | Head of Product & Insights | SaverLife |
| Ethan Bloch | Product Lead, Personal Finance | OpenAI |
| Michael S. Barr | Member | Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System |
| Miranda Bogen | Chief Technologist | Center for Democracy & Technology |
| Brendan Bordelon | Senior Tech Reporter; Co-Author, Decoded | POLITICO |
| Henry Bradley | Member of Research Staff | Vals AI |
| Kelly Thompson Cochran | Chief Program Officer | FinRegLab |
| Celia Edwards Karam | President of Retail Bank | Capital One |
| Rep. Bill Foster | U.S. Representative, Illinois’s 11th District | U.S. House of Representatives |
| Dan Gorfine | Founder & CEO | Gattaca Horizons |
| Fiona Greig | Global Head of Investor Research and Policy | Vanguard |
| Paul Grewal | Chief Legal & Global Affairs Officer | Cognition AI |
| Megan Hannigan | Managing Principal | FS Vector |
| Michael Hsu | Co-Chair, Financial Services Working Group | MLCommons |
| Michele Jawando | CEO | Omidyar Network |
| Neel Kashkari | President and CEO | Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis |
| Ara Kharazian | Lead Economist | Ramp |
| Melissa Koide | Founder & CEO | FinRegLab |
| Kabir Kumar | Partner, Ecosystem | Flourish Ventures |
| Chris Lehane | Chief Global Affairs Officer | OpenAI |
| Dan Leininger | Director, Experimental Engineering | Consumer Reports |
| Max Levchin | Founder & CEO | Affirm |
| Terah Lyons | Global Head of AI & Data Policy | JPMorganChase |
| Sigal Mandelker | Ribbit Capital | |
| Andy Navarrete | EVP, Head of Global Enterprise Affairs | Capital One |
| Eileen O’Mara | Vice Chair | Stripe |
| Vikas Raj | Managing Partner | ResilienceVC |
| Catherine Rampell | Economics Editor | The Bulwark |
| Frank Rotman | Founding Partner | 37Maru |
| Sen. Mike Rounds | U.S. Senator for South Dakota | U.S. Senate |
| Leo Schwartz | Reporter | The Information |
| Rick Song | Co-Founder & CEO | Persona |
Demo participants: Alex Acree (Unit), Isha Bhatnagar (Beltic), Guy Assad (Clerkie), Jay Budzik (Fifth Third Bank), Léo Grinsztajn (Prior Labs), Oban MacTavish (Spade), Philippe Mallette (Flourish Ventures), Dan Murphy (Allon Advisors), Melissa Netram (Block), Emily Pierson (Casap), Shivani Poddar (Wajo AI), Kareem Saleh (FairPlay AI), Nicholas Schmidt (SolasAI), Haitham Shahin (LangChain), Josh Sirota (Eragon).
Media information
Credentialed press are welcome both days.
| Press registration | Register here before the end of the day November 16. Registration is required. |
| Attribution | All sessions are on the record unless noted. |
| Recording and photography | Please send a request for recording or photography to Elizabeth (below) for advance permission. |
| Livestream Link | Select sessions will be offered via livestream at https://aisymposium.finreglab.org/press |
| Interview requests | Please submit your request to Elizabeth (below). |
| Workspace | Roberto Clemente room on floor 2 is available for the media to sit throughout the day. |
Media contact: Elizabeth Vivirito, elizabeth.vivirito@finreglab.org, 773.332.2570. Text is preferred on the days of the event.
About FinRegLab
FinRegLab is a nonprofit, nonpartisan innovation center that tests new technologies and data to increase access to responsible financial services and drive long-term economic security for people and small businesses. It also convenes stakeholders across the financial ecosystem to inform public policy and market practices. Learn more at finreglab.org.