The Architecture of Belonging: Ancient Intelligence in an AI Age
The closing of #ASAE26 in Indianapolis provided more than a departure point; it offered a thesis for the future of our industry. Van Jones, in a keynote that shifted between radical candor and disarming warmth, challenged the “Creative Class” of association leaders to recognize the provenance of their work.
His argument was clear: Associations are not merely membership organizations; they are the Noah’s Ark of human civilization. As politics, media, and technology orchestrate our fragmentation, associations remain the final convene for collective wisdom.
The Delta: Artificial vs. Ancient Intelligence
Jones drew a sharp distinction between two types of AI. While the world is obsessed with Artificial Intelligence—an abundance of data with a deficit of wisdom—associations trade in Ancient Intelligence (or Ancestral Intelligence).
Wisdom is not found in the cloud or a satellite; it is found at the “campfire.” It is the intelligence born of shared heartbreaks, shared stories, and the tactile reality of human connection. In a world where technology makes people “miserable every day,” the association’s mission is to be the friend that civilization needs to look up and find.
The Four Vectors of Impact
Jones shared four lessons from his journey—from a rural gravel road in the South to the Yale Law halls and the White House—that serve as a blueprint for high-leverage leadership:
Reject the Hype of the “Other”: Never believe the negative hype about a group you are not a part of. Jones recounted his experience leading a march for coal miners with black lung disease. Despite their ideological differences, he found a shared humanity in their physical struggle to remain upright. Leadership requires us to look past the label to the person pulling their own oxygen tank.
Linguistic Finesse: Let People Agree in Their Own Language. We often fail because we demand that others adopt our vocabulary. Jones’ work on criminal justice reform only gained momentum when he stopped using “liberal” terms and began speaking Newt Gingrich’s language: fiscal conservatism, libertarianism, and Christian redemption. To orchestrate change, we must allow others to arrive at our conclusion using their own provenance.
The Secret to Multiplying Friends: The current culture is obsessed with the question: “Are you like me?” This is a vector for isolation. The superior question—the one that passed the First Step Act and liberated 50,000 people—is: “Do you like me?” Do you see me as a human being? If you can find the “one” thing you agree on among ninety-nine disagreements, you have the foundation for a miracle.
The Energy is in the Synergy: Impact is found at the crossroads. Jones illustrated this through his “Green Jobs, Not Jails” initiative, which bridged the ecological hope of Marin County with the workforce needs of Oakland. When we convene disparate energies, we move from linear progress to exponential miracles.
The FY 2027 Mandate
As we transition our focus toward the coming year, the mission is getting bigger even as the traditional metrics might feel smaller. The urgency of our work has never been higher. The directive is simple but demanding. When the world makes it harder to love, we must love harder. We must outwork, outstudy, and out-hope the fragmentation. We are the keepers of the ancient intelligence that technology cannot replicate.
Let’s get to work.