Wired for Connection: Early Childhood and Relational Intelligence in the AI Era

Recorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this Early Childhood Education Summit session presented by Valhalla Foundation featured Isabelle Hau, Executive Director at the Stanford Accelerator for Learning.The session explored how early childhood education remained foundational in shaping human development, particularly in an AI era increasingly defined by technological acceleration. Isabelle Hau examined the importance of relational intelligence in young children’s growth, emphasizing how connection, human interaction, and developmental relationships serve as essential building blocks for learning, well-being, and future success.This conversation focused on how educators, families, and systems could center early childhood experiences that strengthened connection rather than allowing technology to erode it. The session highlighted the need to thoughtfully navigate the intersection of AI and early learning by prioritizing the human capacities—belonging, empathy, communication, and trust—that children need most in their formative years.At its core, this session examined how early childhood leaders could design environments that preserved and elevated relational development while preparing children for an AI-shaped future, reinforcing that technological progress must be balanced with the deeply human work of connection.