As AI and other emerging technologies rapidly reshape industries and society, businesses and policymakers face risks that cannot always wait for comprehensive regulation. This panel will explore how standards, certifications, voluntary commitments, and independent accountability frameworks can work alongside government oversight to support responsible innovation. Panelists will examine which approaches can deliver meaningful accountability, where their limits lie, and what it will take for governance to keep pace with technological change. 

The fireside chat features Maya Hutchinson, founder and CEO of BattlegroundAI, an AI-powered advertising and campaign-generation platform that creates and governs ad content by building federal and state guidelines into the ad workflow and tailoring ads by regio. The discussion focuses on how advertisers can use AI responsibly in political advertising, gaining speed without losing control over accuracy, compliance, and consumer trust, through built-in safeguards, human oversight and accountability, stronger consumer privacy protections, and independent standards.

Transportation sectors are approaching safety, innovation, and accountability from very different starting points. In rail, longstanding industry standards and self-regulatory practices operate alongside federal oversight. For autonomous vehicles and other emerging technologies, the rules, standards, and accountability mechanisms are still taking shape. 

This panel will examine what established transportation models can teach emerging sectors and how regulation, industry standards, independent verification, and other governance tools can work together to advance safety without slowing innovation. Panelists will examine where government oversight is necessary, where industry-led approaches can add value, and what effective accountability could look like as increasingly autonomous technologies move toward widespread deployment. 

Voluntary standards depend on people and organizations choosing to participate—and continuing to do so. This presentation studies the role of awards in sustaining firms’ engagement with certification standards, drawing on B Lab’s recognition of high-performing B Corps and invites a discussion of how recognition, identity, and accountability can shape effective soft-law institutions. 

The creator economy is evolving faster than the regulatory and industry frameworks designed to govern it. As creators become an increasingly important part of the advertising ecosystem, how can industry establish meaningful standards that protect consumers, strengthen trust, and support continued growth? 

Bringing together academic, legal, and industry perspectives, the panel will use the creator economy as a real-world case study in how effective self-regulation takes shape. Drawing on research and the Institute for Responsible Influence’s work with creators, brands, and platforms, the discussion will explore how shared standards are developed, put into practice, and sustained in a rapidly evolving marketplace. 

Taking place shortly after the 2026 midterm elections, this closing roundtable will examine what shifting federal and state priorities may mean for regulation, industry standards, and collaborative governance. Using emerging debates around AI as a timely example, panelists will examine where government action may be likely, where industry can play a meaningful role, and how different approaches can work together to address complex policy challenges.