Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
BA, international policy studies, Dickinson College
Dickinson Center for European Studies, Bologna, Italy
Scholars
Nonresident Senior Fellow
Artificial intelligence (AI), AI applications to education, K–12 issues, Innovation policy
John Bailey is a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on artificial intelligence, education, workforce, and other innovation issues. He has served in government, philanthropy, and the private sector, where he worked on a range of issues including technology, immigration, the future of work, and economic mobility.
Mr. Bailey has spent his career working across sectors to leverage the benefits of emerging technologies while minimizing the risks. He serves as a member of Virginia’s Artificial Intelligence Taskforce for Governor Glenn Youngkin and regularly briefs members of Congress, state policymakers, and business leaders on AI’s impact and potential. He participates in early access and alignment initiatives for several leading generative AI model providers. Washingtonianhas named Mr. Bailey one of Washington’s most influential people in policy for three consecutive years (2022–24), including in the area of technology and AI policy.
His government service includes being special assistant to the president for domestic policy at the White House and deputy policy director to the US secretary of commerce, during which time he worked on policies related to American competitiveness and comprehensive immigration reform. Earlier, he served as director of educational technology at the US Department of Education and as vice president for policy for Governor Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education.
Mr. Bailey is a Pahara–Aspen Institute Fellow, a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, and an alumnus of the American Council on Germany Young Leaders Program. He serves on the boards of directors of Zearn Math, the Federation of American Scientists, American Policy Ventures, and U.S. Digital Response. He also serves on advisory boards for Trustible, XPRIZE, and the Tech Talent Project. He has also served as an adviser to four presidential campaigns.
Mr. Bailey has a BA from Dickinson College.
Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
BA, international policy studies, Dickinson College
Dickinson Center for European Studies, Bologna, Italy
Article
Stanford Social Innovation Review
The next era of public education will be judged less by the elegance of its ideas than by whether it responds, with humility and pragmatism, to the people it exists to serve.
Post
A week ago, I had the chance to attend Google I/O, which made one thing clear: the next phase of AI isn't about the extraordinary. It's about the everyday.
Post
This week exposed a real underlying gap: The government still lacks the systems, relationships, and technical capacity to see frontier capabilities coming. Until that changes, every Mythos moment will be a surprise.
Post
Which future we get with AI is not predetermined. It depends on the choices we make now about training, workflow redesign, and on-ramps that turn access into actual leverage.
Post
The Department of Education has outlined thoughtful priorities. But the technology is evolving faster than any priority document can keep up with, and school leaders are already wrestling with it in real time.
Post
AI works in education when it's used not to give answers but to orchestrate the conditions for productive struggle. The result is deeper engagement and stronger outcomes.
Article
Stanford Social Innovation Review
The next era of public education will be judged less by the elegance of its ideas than by whether it responds, with humility and pragmatism, to the people it exists to serve.
Post
A week ago, I had the chance to attend Google I/O, which made one thing clear: the next phase of AI isn't about the extraordinary. It's about the everyday.
Post
This week exposed a real underlying gap: The government still lacks the systems, relationships, and technical capacity to see frontier capabilities coming. Until that changes, every Mythos moment will be a surprise.
Post
Which future we get with AI is not predetermined. It depends on the choices we make now about training, workflow redesign, and on-ramps that turn access into actual leverage.
Post
The Department of Education has outlined thoughtful priorities. But the technology is evolving faster than any priority document can keep up with, and school leaders are already wrestling with it in real time.
Post
AI works in education when it's used not to give answers but to orchestrate the conditions for productive struggle. The result is deeper engagement and stronger outcomes.
Report
On education, as on so many issues, there is no political consensus—no agreement about what needs to be done and no effective left-right coalition in place to drive reform.
Special Feature
American Enterprise Institute
Voters want candidates with a vision, a thoughtful policy platform, and better, more compelling solutions to the problems facing American families and their children. That is why AEI’s Conservative Education Reform Network (CERN) has assembled this collection of 22 ideas that state leaders can champion to create a better, more responsive system of education. These ideas come from CERN reports and articles written by conservative education leaders—scholars, funders, advocates, and a college president—and cover a wide range of topics including teacher pay, education savings accounts, gifted education, and hybrid college. They encompass all levels of education, from early childhood to higher education.
Report
American Enterprise Institute
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided more than $65 billion to build out broadband networks, address affordability, and strengthen cybersecurity. The legislation’s ultimate success will depend on implementation at the state and local level, including engaging community stakeholders and anchor institutions.
Report
American Enterprise Institute
State and local governments should consider establishing education recovery benefits to provide low-income families with direct financial assistance to address the inequities exacerbated by closed schools and poor-quality remote learning.
Report
American Enterprise Institute
Executive Summary: By the end of March 2020, all public schools in the United States were closed to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. More than 50.8 million children stayed home as school...
Report
American Enterprise Institute
.post-type {display:none;} It has been a little over a month since we released initial data on parents’ opinions and concerns during an unprecedented pandemic and the economic crisis that followed. In the intervening month, Americans have been...
Event
Join us for a candid, forward-looking conversation at the crossroads of technology, empathy, and human connection. We will convene leading voices in research, education, and health care to unpack the promise and peril of AI empathy, exploring how we can harness its potential for good while guarding against its dangers.
Event
Join us as a panel of AI experts, industry leaders, and researchers will examine the plan’s potential impact on innovation, the economy, and society at large.
Event
In this web event, Kristen DiCerbo of Khan Academy, Scott Ellis of MasteryTrack, and Beth Rabbitt of The Learning Accelerator will join AEI’s John Bailey and Michael B. Horn of the Clayton Christensen Institute to discuss what it looks like to put into practice forms of teaching and learning that are aimed at meeting all students’ needs.
Event
Education technology has a history of overpromising and under-delivering. For decades, tools such as personalized learning, programs like One Laptop per Child, interactive whiteboards, and even “Zoom school” have found their way into the classroom.
Event
Join AEI scholars and a panel of experts for a discussion of the potential benefits of AI in the classroom, strategies for maximizing those benefits while minimizing AI’s risks and potential harms, and ways policymakers should respond.
Event
Please join AEI for a series of panels on how the experts’ findings can help us think more clearly about the future of our digital century.
Podcast
On this episode, John Bailey, who advises on AI and innovation at a number of organizations, including the American Enterprise Institute, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and more, joins Michael B. Horn and Diane Tavenner. They discuss...
Podcast
John P. Bailey joins Phoebe and Robert to discuss artificial intelligence, ChatGPT, and the future of technology. John is a nonresident senior fellow at AEI. His experience has spanned government, philanthropy, and the private sector...
Podcast
In this episode of TechEnabled, John is joined by Angie Cooper, Chief Program Officer of Heartland Forward, a “think and do tank” aiming to reframe the narrative about Middle America and improve economic performance in the center of the US. She joins the podcast to discuss the renaissance occurring in the heartland and how Heartland Forward is supporting the next generation of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Podcast
American Enterprise Institute
We are now entering the fourth school year that will be affected by COVID-19. What can we expect? What have we learned so far? And does anyone still care? What should we be keeping our...
Podcast
TechEnabled: Episode #14 The COVID-19 pandemic monumentally disrupted the American education system. The pandemic can be a catalyst for something better or it reinforce the status quo. On this episode of TechEnabled, John is joined by...
Podcast
TechEnabled: Episode #13 With students returning to the classroom, the toll the pandemic has taken on our education system has only become more apparent. Students have fallen behind academically and teachers are overstretched. But the pandemic...
@John_Bailey
Julia Torres
Send Email
301.974.7477