Topic 1.1: What AI Really Is (No Hype, No Myths)

– Clear definitions of AI, machine learning, and LLMs

– Where AI is already embedded in lobbying, business, and government

Topic 1.2: AI Governance Fundamentals

– Core frameworks: EU AI Act, NIST AI RMF, ISO/IEC 42001, OECD AI Principles

– Key U.S. documents: AI Bill of Rights, NIST Trustworthy AI Guidance

Practical Outcome: Be able to explain AI governance in plain English to a lawmaker or client

Topic 2.1: Research Acceleration with AI Tools

– Tracking legislation, sentiment, and stakeholders with AI-powered monitoring

Topic 2.2: Drafting and Messaging with AI

– Using AI for briefs, talking points, and persuasive scripts (with governance guardrails)

Topic 2.3: AI for Policy Intelligence

– Using AI to simulate counterarguments and anticipate opposition messaging

Practical Outcome: Run an AI-assisted legislative briefing on day one

Topic 3.1: Speaking the Business Language of AI

– Costs, compliance burdens, ROI, and productivity narratives

Topic 3.2: Industry-Specific AI Impacts

– Healthcare, finance, defense, education, energy, and tech sectors

Topic 3.3: Translating Corporate AI Risks into Policy Talking Points

– Privacy, liability, workforce displacement, ethical exposure

Practical Outcome: Build an industry-specific AI position paper aligned with a client’s interests

Topic 4A.1: Legislative AI Processes

– How Congress, EU Parliament, and agencies debate and shape AI law

– Committee dynamics and key staff relationships

Topic 4A.2: Regulatory Landscapes

– U.S. (FTC, FCC, NIST, White House), EU (AI Act enforcement), and global (OECD, UNESCO, G7 Hiroshima)

Topic 4A.3: Treaty and International Cooperation Leverage

– How treaties and global pacts influence domestic lobbying

Practical Outcome: Map where to intervene in the policy pipeline to create impact

Topic 4B.1: EU AI Act Operational Reality

– Applicability dates and enforcement timeline (2024-2027)

– GPAI provider duties and documentation requirements

– High-risk system obligations and conformity assessments

– One-page Hill briefer: “What EU AI Act means for US companies”

Topic 4B.2: U.S. Federal AI Requirements

– OMB M-24-10 mandates and agency implementation deadlines

– Agency AI inventories (reference: SBA, EXIM compliance plans)

– Rights-impacting AI determinations and appeal processes

– NIST AI RMF 1.0 adoption status by agency

– Procurement Checklist: Documents for CIO/CISO/CPO meetings

Topic 4B.3: NIST GenAI Profile Translation

– 10 controls staffers will actually ask about

– Translation Matrix: Control → One-liner → Memo paragraph

– Risk tolerance language that resonates with different agencies

– “Acceptable risk” framing for policy memos

Topic 4B.4: State & Emerging Requirements (CORRECTED)

– California: Civil Rights Council AI employment regulations (effective Oct 1, 2025)

– California Bot Disclosure Act (SB 1001, 2018) – limited scope

– Colorado AI Act (SB24-205): Implementation June 30, 2026

– NYC Local Law 144: Bias audits enforcement since July 5, 2023

– International standards (ISO/IEC 42001) as competitive advantage Digital Resources:

– Downloadable compliance timeline tracker

– Agency-specific talking points generator

– Interactive regulatory map with docket links

Practical Outcome: Create compliance one-pagers that convert regulatory requirements into persuasive talking points

Topic 5.1: The Innovation Narrative

– Framing AI as growth, jobs, and competitiveness

Topic 5.2: The Risk Narrative

– Bias, misinformation, job loss, national security

Topic 5.3: Winning the Middle Ground

– Positioning as pro-innovation and pro-safeguard

Practical Outcome: Deliver a 2-minute AI elevator pitch balancing opportunity and risk

Topic 6.1: Briefing Lawmakers & Committees

– How to turn complex AI issues into clear decision points

Topic 6.2: Coalition Building with AI Narratives

– Aligning trade associations, NGOs, and corporations around AI messaging

Topic 6.3: Countering Opposition with AI Simulations

– Using AI to anticipate and neutralize competing narratives

Practical Outcome: Conduct a mock congressional briefing using AI-prepared materials

Topic 7.1: Personal Branding in the AI Governance Space

– Publishing, panels, and leveraging AI reports for credibility

Topic 7.2: Continuous AI Monitoring

– Setting up dashboards and feeds for live updates

Topic 7.3: Trusted Expert Protocols

– Being the go-to resource for legislators, agencies, and business executives

Practical Outcome: Create a personal AI lobbying action plan (brand + monitoring + positioning)

Topic 8.1: Stakeholder Persona Simulation

– Creating prompts to simulate specific lawmakers’ positions and concerns

– Building AI models of committee members’ voting patterns

– Prompt techniques for anticipating individual stakeholder objections

– Persona development for different political and ideological perspectives

Topic 8.2: Argument Stress-Testing & Debate Preparation

– Multi-agent debate simulations (having AI argue both sides)

– Prompt chains for finding logical weaknesses in policy positions

– Red team/blue team prompt strategies

– Creating “devil’s advocate” AI sessions to bulletproof arguments

– Real-time debate support systems and rapid rebuttal generation

Topic 8.3: Message Optimization Through AI

– A/B testing messaging through AI audience simulation

– Prompt engineering for different audience segments (technical, business, public)

– Cultural and regional message adaptation using AI

– Emotional resonance testing through sentiment analysis prompts

– Framing optimization for maximum persuasive impact

Topic 8.4: Opposition Research Automation

– Prompts for analyzing opponent’s historical positions for contradictions

– Building comprehensive opposition vulnerability assessments

– Creating “opposition persona” AIs to practice against

– Automated talking point generation against predicted arguments

Practical Outcome: Build a comprehensive prompt library and conduct a live AI-assisted debate simulation

Topic 9.1: Quantitative Impact Assessment

– Economic modeling of AI regulation costs and benefits

– ROI calculations for AI implementation vs. compliance

– Cost-benefit analysis frameworks for policy proposals

Topic 9.2: Labor Market & Innovation Economics

– Job displacement and creation modeling

– Innovation impact assessments

– Productivity gain quantification

– Economic competitiveness narratives

Topic 9.3: Sector-Specific Economic Analysis

– Industry-specific compliance cost modeling

– Market advantage calculations

– International competitiveness impacts

Practical Outcome: Create an economic impact report with quantifiable metrics for an AI policy proposal

Topic 10.1: AI Incident Response Protocols

– Rapid response frameworks for AI failures or harms

– Client crisis communication strategies

– Managing AI-related scandals and controversies

Topic 10.2: Media Management for AI Issues

– Soundbite optimization for complex AI topics

– Handling hostile interviews about AI risks

– Social media response strategies for AI controversies

Topic 10.3: Coalition Defense & Reputation Management

– Protecting client interests during AI backlash

– Building defensive coalitions

– Narrative recovery strategies

Practical Outcome: Complete a crisis simulation exercise with real-time media response

Topic 11.1: Mapping AI Influence Networks

– Identifying key AI policy influencers in government

– Building relationships with technical staff and advisors

– Understanding informal power structures in AI governance

Topic 11.2: Technical Credibility Building

– Engaging with AI researchers and technical experts

– Building technical advisory networks

– Converting skeptics through informed dialogue

Topic 11.3: International & Geopolitical Dimensions

– U.S.-China AI competition dynamics

– Export controls and national security narratives

– Allied coordination (AUKUS, Five Eyes, EU-US cooperation)

– Regulatory arbitrage opportunities

Practical Outcome: Develop a comprehensive stakeholder map and engagement strategy

Topic 12.1: AI Liability Frameworks

– Product liability for AI systems

– Section 230 implications for AI platforms

– Tort law evolution for autonomous systems

Topic 12.2: Regulatory Compliance Architecture

– Cross-jurisdictional compliance strategies

– Sector-specific regulations (FDA, SEC, DOT)

– Privacy law intersections (GDPR, CCPA)

Topic 12.3: Intellectual Property & AI

– AI-generated content rights

– Training data liability

– Patent strategies for AI innovations

Practical Outcome: Draft a liability risk assessment and mitigation strategy for a client’s AI deployment

Topic 13.1: Cross-Partisan Value Framing

– Conservative frame: Liberty, tradition, limited government

– Progressive frame: Equity, justice, protection

– Moderate frame: Balance, pragmatism, evidence

– Universal frames: Child safety, national security

Topic 13.2: Script Templates by Audience

– Same AI issue, five different value propositions

– Pre-written templates for common ethics concerns

– Bipartisan coalition building through shared values

– Converting genuine concerns into policy momentum

Topic 13.3: Ethics Risk Management

– Identifying ethical vulnerabilities before opponents do

– Building authentic ethical positions that withstand scrutiny

– Avoiding hypocrisy traps and gotcha moments

– Long-term reputation management

Practical Outcome: Develop cross-partisan ethics toolkit with tested messaging for different audiences

Topic 14.1: Making AI Human

– Storytelling with affected individuals

– Creating viral moments from complex issues

– Simplification without dumbing down

– Emotional hooks that drive engagement

Topic 14.2: Media Relationship Architecture

– Building your journalist network

– Becoming the quoted expert

– Creating media moments, not just releases

– Opposition research and narrative defense

Topic 14.3: Digital Grassroots Leverage

– Twitter storms and social media campaigns

– Constituent pressure at scale

– Online to offline mobilization

– Coalition amplification strategies

Practical Outcome: Design and execute a multi-channel public influence campaign

Topic 15.1: The CIO/CPO/CISO Conversation Pack

– OMB M-24-10 aligned talking points

– AI RMF documentation to bring to meetings

– “Acceptable risk” language for different agencies

– Vendor differentiation within compliance frameworks

Topic 15.2: Staffer-Level Mastery

– Building relationships with Chiefs of Staff

– Legislative Directors as gatekeepers and allies

– Committee staff influence strategies

– The power of the scheduling request

Topic 15.3: Procurement Process Navigation

– RFI/RFP influence points and timing

– Shaping evaluation criteria pre-solicitation

– Building incumbent advantage or disrupting it

– Protest strategies and when to use them

Topic 15.4: Implementation Politics

– Using pilot programs to build momentum

– Performance metrics as political tools

– Budget narratives for appropriators

– Converting technical wins to political capital

Practical Outcome: Create agency-specific influence strategy with compliance documentation package

Topic 16.1: The China Card

– When and how to deploy competitiveness arguments

– Making AI a national security imperative

– Building hawkish coalitions

– Economic security as national security

Topic 16.2: The Protection Frame

– Critical infrastructure narratives

– Protecting elections and democracy

– Child safety and AI

– Healthcare system vulnerabilities

Topic 16.3: Cyber Fear as Political Capital

– Using breach stories strategically

– Making technical risks politically relevant

– Building security-based coalitions

– Converting fear into funding

Practical Outcome: Develop a security-based argument that moves policy without technical details

Topic 17.1: Jobs Narratives That Work

– “Jobs of the future” vs. “jobs at risk”

– Making retraining sound exciting

– Union partnership strategies

– Geographic coalition building

Topic 17.2: Economic Winner/Loser Frames

– Making your client the job creator

– Competitor as job destroyer narratives

– Innovation economy messaging

– Main Street vs. Wall Street positioning

Topic 17.3: Safety Net Politics

– Bipartisan workforce development

– Making training sound conservative

– Making support sound progressive

– Building unusual coalitions

Practical Outcome: Create an economic impact narrative that wins in both red and blue districts

Topic 18.1: Campaign Finance Intelligence (FEC-Compliant)

– Mapping donor networks within legal boundaries

– FEC Bundling Compliance: Form 3L, disclosure thresholds, annual adjustments

– PAC strategy optimization with data analytics

– Legal coordination vs. illegal coordination guidelines

Topic 18.2: The Revolving Door Playbook (18 U.S.C. § 207 Compliant)

– Post-Employment Restrictions: What’s allowed, cooling-off periods

– Strategic hiring within legal frameworks – Building long-term access networks legally

– Ethics opinion processes and safe harbors

Topic 18.3: Internal Corporate Alignment

– CEO and board education strategies

– Legal department collaboration tactics

– Engineering team translation services

– Crisis-proofing internal communications

Topic 18.4: APA-Compliant Regulatory Participation

– Notice-and-Comment Strategy (5 U.S.C. § 553)

– Maximizing impact in public comment periods

– Coalition comment coordination (legal methods)

– Ex parte communication rules and opportunities

– Administrative record building techniques

Digital Resources:

– FEC compliance checklist generator

– Post-employment restriction calculator

– Model comment templates by agency

– Coalition coordination protocols

Practical Outcome: Develop legally-compliant influence architecture with documented safeguards

Topic 19.1: AI-Powered Opposition Scenarios

– Advanced chatbot opponents calibrated to real stakeholder profiles

– Recorded mock hearings with AI committee members

– Crisis simulations with real-time social media feeds

– Automated scoring and feedback systems

Topic 19.2: Failure Analysis Workshops (Self-Paced)

– Video case studies of actual policy losses

– Interactive failure point identification exercises

– Recovery strategy development tools

– Lessons learned database access

Topic 19.3: Human Factor Simulations

– Personality-based negotiation scenarios

– Irrational actor response training

– Coalition betrayal simulations

– Last-minute deal change protocols

Digital Resources:

– Simulation sandbox environment

– Recorded “war stories” from veteran lobbyists

– Failure recovery playbooks

– Stress inoculation exercises

Practical Outcome: Complete 10 high-pressure simulations with performance metrics

Topic 20.1: Strategic Narrative Seeding (Legal Methods)

– Think tank engagement and white paper placement

– Academic research funding and framing

– Long-term media relationship cultivation

– Creating intellectual infrastructure for future fights

Topic 20.2: Digital Ecosystem Management

– Authentic grassroots cultivation (not astroturfing)

– Coalition authenticity verification protocols

– Narrative amplification through legitimate channels

– Detecting and countering synthetic opposition

Topic 20.3: Information Environment Shaping

– Wikipedia and knowledge graph influence

– SEO and information discovery optimization

– Podcast and influencer engagement strategies

– Documentary and entertainment media integration

Topic 20.4: Ethical Boundaries & Legal Limits

– FARA registration requirements and triggers

– Grassroots vs. astroturf legal definitions

– Disclosure requirements across platforms

– Reputation risk management

Digital Resources:

– Narrative planning templates

– Media relationship tracker

– Coalition vetting checklist

– Long-game strategy simulator

Practical Outcome: Develop 3-year narrative strategy with implementation roadmap

Topic 21.1: Protecting Client Intelligence

– Corporate espionage detection methods

– Information security for policy campaigns

– Leak prevention and compartmentalization

– Digital hygiene for sensitive operations

Topic 21.2: Coalition Security

– Vetting partners for reliability and alignment

– Identifying potential double agents

– Managing information flow in coalitions

– Trust-building vs. verification protocols

Topic 21.3: Opposition Research Defense

– Vulnerability assessments for clients

– Preemptive disclosure strategies

– Crisis prevention through proactive cleanup

– Media training for scandal survival

Topic 21.4: Counter-Narrative Operations

– Detecting coordinated inauthentic behavior

– Identifying foreign influence campaigns

– Rapid response team protocols

– Fact-checking and prebunking strategies

Digital Resources:

– Security assessment tools

– Partner vetting framework

– Vulnerability audit checklist

– Counter-ops playbook

Practical Outcome: Create comprehensive defensive plan for high-stakes campaign

Topic 22.1: Social Capital Mapping

– Private clubs and exclusive venues that matter

– Charity boards as influence platforms

– University networks and alumni power

– Religious and cultural community leverage

Topic 22.2: The Spouse and Family Dimension

– Understanding family influences on decision-makers

– Social events and relationship cultivation

– Children’s schools and activity networks

– Vacation and leisure intersection points

Topic 22.3: The Money Behind the Money

– Family offices and private wealth influence

– Foundation boards and grant-making power

– Investment committee dynamics

– Economic club and CEO peer networks

Topic 22.4: Building Your Social Position

– Strategic board appointments

– Philanthropic positioning for access

– Social secretary relationships

– Event sponsorship for relationship building

Digital Resources:

– Power mapping visualization tools

– Event calendar and targeting system

– Relationship cultivation tracker

– Social capital assessment framework

Practical Outcome: Develop personal 18-month social positioning strategy