Upgrading Humanity: Lessons from Necker Island
Jun 03, 2025Since 2016, I’ve had the honor of participating in an invitation-only convening on Necker Island, Sir Richard Branson’s private island in the British Virgin Islands. A place where futurists, entrepreneurs, and visionaries gather not to grind, but to rest, reflect, and radically reimagine the future of humanity.
Necker Island isn’t about hustle culture. It’s about clarity. It’s where bold ideas meet big questions, and where people who care deeply about the future of our planet—and each other—come to think expansively. It’s strategy with sunshine.
This year’s focus: the future of artificial intelligence and humanity.
And what I discovered there changed me.
AI is no longer a distant, abstract concept. It’s here—reshaping our relationships, our institutions, our sense of self. In the next five years, we’ll either design a world where AI supports our collective thriving, or we’ll stumble into a reality pulled from every cautionary sci-fi movie we’ve ever feared.
I left Necker convinced of one thing:
The social sector must lead the charge in redefining what it means to be human.
Right now, AI is being shaped by engineers, tech companies, and venture capitalists. And while their innovations are breathtaking, they often lack something essential: human wisdom. The kind that nonprofit leaders, community organizers, and foundation professionals hold in abundance.
We know how to build trust. We know how to center equity. We understand that dignity is not an algorithm—it’s a value. And those values must be built into the future, or they’ll be lost.
That’s why I’m inviting you to join me for a webinar where I’ll share insights from Necker Island’s restful think tank—and make the case that our sector is not only relevant to the AI conversation… we’re essential to it.
The future is being shaped in real time. And we can either show up and shape it—or be shaped by it.
Let’s make sure it’s a future rooted in justice, humanity, and hope.
Register for the Webinar: Upgrading Humanity: Lessons from Necker Island
Date: Thursday July 10
Time: 2pm ET/11am PT
