The emergence of new technologies has had profound effects on societies. The arrival of powerful artificial intelligence (AI) systems is the latest pivotal development in the evolving technological landscape, with generative, predictive and agentic AI anticipated to revolutionize areas such as healthcare, transportation, education and communication. The data processing and generative capacities of new AI systems have the potential to supercharge digitalization in areas where technology is being into government.

While some of the opportunities and challenges of AI apply to governments across the board, federal and multilevel governance models arguably face additional layers of complexity. Questions concerning who governs and manages AI become increasingly important in systems in which constituent units have autonomy to regulate in their areas of jurisdiction. Furthermore, this raises the question of the extent of alignment – between federal government and other constituent units – and the impact this has on the ability of governments to manage and harness AI for the public good.

The unprecedented speed of AI development enhances the need for practical knowledge of the regulation, management and deployment of AI systems in federations, as well as the specific dynamics stakeholders operating in federal systems may encounter.

In this context, the Forum of Federations and Publius: The Journal of Federalism are convening an international comparative research workshop to explore this pressing governance topic. The workshop will be held on 7-8 May 2026 at the Les Aspin Center for Government in Washington DC.

Participation in this workshop is by invitation only.

Workshop Objective

The research workshop will assemble academics, officials and practitioners from Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Switzerland, the United States to discuss and identify comparative trends in AI governance in governance in federal countries around the world.

Drawing on empirical evidence from practice in federations, the discussions will provide the basis for a comparative research framework and the development of practical knowledge products for stakeholders.

Partners

This workshop is organized by the Forum of Federations in partnership with Publius: The Journal of Federalism and Marquette University’s Les Aspin Center for Government. The event is supported by the James Madison Charitable Trust.