Trust at the Frontier: Building the Evaluation Layer Together

Date: Thursday, September 24, 2026 Time: 6:00 to 9:00 pm Location: The Henri, Washington, DC Format: Private seated dinner Attendance: Invitation only. Space is limited. Private room: 15-20 people An intimate dinner for policymakers, AI leaders, and independent evaluators focused on making frontier AI evaluation credible, secure, and useful. AI evaluation has moved to the center of the national debate. Industry leaders are calling for stronger independent evaluation as policymakers consider what credible oversight, access, and accountability should look like. Vals AI is bringing together a small group of policymakers, government AI leaders, industry executives, and evaluators for dinner at The Henri. The conversation will focus on how independent evaluation can work in practice, from pre-deployment access and security safeguards to clear standards for independence and action. The goal is to identify practical areas of agreement and concrete next steps for industry, government, and evaluators. The dinner will be held under the Chatham House Rule. Agenda 6:00 pm Welcome reception 6:30 pm Dinner seating 6:40 pm Welcome remarks 6:45 pm Dinner and open conversation 7:20 pm Guided discussion 8:15 pm Dessert and informal conversation 8:45 pm Closing remarks 9:00 pm Dinner concludes Discussion focus What access do independent evaluators need? What safeguards and independence standards are essential? How should evaluation results inform decisions? What should industry, government, and evaluators each own? What practical steps can we take in the next 90 days? About Vals AI Vals AI is an independent, third party evaluator of frontier AI models, backed by Andreessen Horowitz. Our results are used by the major AI labs and by the US government, and we brief policymakers in the US and abroad on what current evaluations can and cannot show.