This Nova Campfire, “Relational Intelligence in an AI World: Shaping the Future of Human Connection” on Thursday, June 18 explored the concept of relational intelligence—the deeply human capacity to create meaning with others and navigate complexity with ingenuity, care, and love.
We find ourselves at a pivotal moment as artificial intelligence increasingly shapes education, work, health, and social life. While we have never been more technologically connected, this is contributing to a deeper crisis of human connection. As machines continue to advance in their ability to analyze, predict, and even simulate aspects of empathy, the capacity for relational awareness and meaningful connection becomes more important than ever. Without this, there is a risk that we become more productive, yet less perceptive—more efficient, yet less aware.
Our discussion centered on the need for a relational renaissance—recognizing that the qualities most essential to human flourishing are not technological, but relational. As AI begins to fill relational gaps, it raises important questions about how we preserve and cultivate the distinctly human capacities that cannot be automated. It also invites a more conscious awareness of our interconnectedness and the relationships that sustain both human and planetary well-being.
In this context, relational intelligence (RQ) becomes foundational, supported by deeper capacities such as self-awareness, systems thinking, and the ability to learn and adapt in a changing world. This is especially important in early life, when relational capacities and worldviews are shaped. RQ extends beyond traditional measures such as IQ and even emotional intelligence, and will be a vital dimension in addressing our mounting social and ecological challenges.
This event is hosted by the Center for Planetary Consciousness and Global Flourishing. As with all Nova Campfires, this was an interactive and transdisciplinary gathering, with short reflections to open the conversation and space for shared inquiry and emergence.
Program and Panelists
An introduction from Susan Prescott, director of the Center for Planetary Consciousness and Global Flourishing, and Brian Berman, president and founder of the Nova Institute for Health, followed a general welcome and brief meditation from Rick Scott. Panelists presented for approximately seven minutes, weaving their narrative threads to provide the fabric for discussion that all attendees were invited to contribute to.
Welcome
Professor Brian Berman, MD, is the president and founder of the Nova Institute for Health and professor emeritus at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where he was director of the Center for Integrative Medicine. He is one of the most highly funded National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers in the field of integrative and complementary medicine. A pioneer in the field and founder of the first U.S. academic medical center-based program for integrative medicine in 1991, he received two Bravewell Collaborative awards in leadership and service. He continues to conduct NIH-funded research at University of Maryland and promote a broad vision of health through leadership at Nova Institute for Health.
Relational Intelligence in an AI World: Shaping the Future of Human Connection
Susan Prescott is director of the Center for Planetary Consciousness and Global Flourishing at the Nova Institute for Health, as well as director of the Nova Network. She is a professor of planetary health at University of Western Australia, editor-in-chief of Challenges—Journal of Planetary Health, and a Scholar at the Nova Institute for Health in Baltimore. She is a pediatrician, immunologist, artist, and award-winning author, internationally recognized for cutting-edge research into early environmental determinants of health and disease. Her global work promotes awareness of the interconnections between personal and planetary health in ways that inspire creative, integrated, and wise approaches, grounded in reciprocity, for social and ecological justice and flourishing futures.
Toward a Relational Renaissance: Supporting Early Foundations for Human Connection in an AI World
Isabelle C. Hau is a visionary leader dedicated to transforming the way we nurture and educate children. As the executive director of the Stanford Accelerator for Learning, she has an interest in relational intelligence and spearheads initiatives that leverage brain science and technology to develop innovative, inclusive learning solutions for learners worldwide. Prior, Isabelle led the U.S. education practice at Omidyar Network and Imaginable Futures, where she invested in mission-driven organizations. Her work has empowered millions of learners, educators, and communities with the tools to thrive in an evolving world.
Isabelle has received prestigious recognitions, including being named one of the 100 Most Inspiring Harvard Business School Women. She has been honored by GlobalMindED for her work in early childhood education and by ASU GSV for her contributions in human-centered artificial intelligence. She is the author of the book, Love to Learn: The Transformative Power of Care and Connection in Early Education. Raised in rural southern France, she holds degrees from Sciences Po Paris, ESSEC, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. A mother of two, she co-starred with Grover from Sesame Street on early childhood innovation. Her lifelong mission is to ensure every child experiences the love of learning from the earliest years.
Mastering Human Meta-Skills Needed for the AI Age: Self-Awareness, Systems Thinking, and Learning How to Learn
Calvin Niles is a creative communicator and strategic storyteller working at the intersection of technology and human transformation. He engages global audiences within the technology sector, exploring how inner and systemic change can shape more human-centered futures in the age of AI. His work integrates storytelling, deep listening, and mindfulness to support more conscious leadership and organizational transformation. He is the author of Mindful Storytelling, as well as the novel The Sun Rises in Eastmoor and the poetry collection Breathe Between the Lines. Calvin is also the founder of CAISCEN, an initiative exploring cooperative enterprise, AI, and the circular economy. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and co-host of the Mindful Conversations Podcast, he connects with changemakers worldwide to support more connected and thoughtful futures.
In Tech We Trust: Can We Restore Technology as a Servant to What is Human, Relational, and Conducive to Life
Sylvie ‘Shiwei’ Barbier is a French-Taiwanese artist and co-founder of Life Itself, an organization dedicated to practical actions for a radically wiser, more well world. She is coauthor of the Second Renaissance white paper “In Tech We Trust: The Godlike Authority of Technology in the Modern Age and What It Means to Set a Wiser Course.” Her work synthesizes Eastern and Western philosophies and aesthetics. Her performance art pieces are contemporary rituals, where the audience is invited to take an active and interactive role.
Living with Uncertainty: Consciousness, Technology, and the Future of Being Human
Faheem Nusrat has spent more than 30 years working in the tech industry as both a builder and a critic of what it is becoming. He has also been exploring Eastern culture and practice for over 30 years— and it’s the tension between these worlds that drives his current work. While he continues consulting through Meta-you, his work now is oriented toward the philosophy of living together and what it means to be human in a time when almost every assumption about that is being renegotiated. His previous global technical consulting across the wider tech industry included Helios Towers helping to bring internet connectivity to sub-Saharan Africa, and Shopify working to make commerce better for everyone. A long-standing collaborator with 3rd Space, he is interested in how we can think more deeply without needing a doctrine to do it.
What This Looks Like in Real Life: Navigating Connection and Meaning in an AI World
David Nelson is an entrepreneur, polymath, and dedicated advocate of complexity thinking and planetary health. He has a passion for connecting data, problems, people, and resources to emerging solutions. He contributes to the transdisciplinary global community by providing evidence, inspiration, and advocacy for the health and flourishing of all people, places, and planet. David is part of the emerging field of generalism which encourages a broad knowledge base, an ability to synthesize information from various domains, and a desire to provide unique perspectives to emerging solutions. Specifically a nonspecialist, he uses relativism and perspective as tools to make new and novel connections. His colorful lived experiences include being a magician, mathematician, computer scientist, minister, entrepreneur, financial planner, personal trainer, graphic designer, wellness advocate, and invited columnist, to name a few. Only upon discovering planetary health did David find a permanent home for his curiosity and generalist mind.
