Relational Intelligence (RQ): Building Relational Futures in the Age of AI

About

Join the Tech Impact and Policy Center on November 10th from 12PM–1PM Pacific for a seminar with Isabelle Hau.

Stanford affiliates are invited to join us at 11:40 AM for lunch, prior to the seminar. The Fall Seminar Series continues through December; see our Fall Seminar Series page for speakers and topics. Sign up for our newsletter for announcements.

About the Seminar:

As AI reshapes how we learn, work, and connect, understanding and strengthening human relationships has become an urgent scientific and societal priority. This session invites researchers across disciplines to explore Relational Intelligence (RQ), our capacity to build trust, cultivate belonging, navigate differences, and form meaningful connections. Together, we will examine emerging scientific questions, identify opportunities for interdisciplinary research, and imagine new ways to measure, develop, and strengthen relational capacities. How might we build a future in which advances in artificial intelligence are matched by advances in human connection?

About the Speaker:

Isabelle C. Hau is the executive director of the Stanford Accelerator for Learning, where she brings together learning & brain science, technology, and innovation to advance effective, inclusive, and human-centered approaches to learning.

Previously an impact investor, Isabelle led the U.S. education practice at Omidyar Network and Imaginable Futures, investing in mission-driven organizations that have reached millions of learners. She is the author of Love to Learn and a pioneer of Relational Intelligence (RQ), a framework for understanding and strengthening the human capacities to flourish in an age of AI.

Isabelle serves on the boards of Design Tech High School and EDC, as well as the EdSAFE AI Alliance steering committee, the Brookings Institution Global AI Taskforce, and the World Economic Forum’s Education 4.0 Alliance. Her honors include recognition by Harvard Business School as one of its 100 most inspiring women, being named a 2026 World Education Medal finalist, and receiving the 2026 ASU+GSV Power of Women Award and the 2026 ISTE/ASCD Impact Award. She has also been recognized for her contributions to early childhood education and human-centered AI. She once co-starred with Grover of Sesame Street.

Isabelle earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and graduated from ESSEC and Sciences Po Paris. Her lifelong professional goal is simple: to bring the love of learning to each and every child.