Ancestral Intelligence Network: Echolocation is a web-based 3D project mapping forms of Ancestral Intelligence data. Drawing on six years of research, Jazsalyn defines ancestral intelligence as dynamic knowledge systems, philosophies, and traditions passed down across generations within indigenous groups and their diasporas.

Building on this work, Ancestral Intelligence Network (AIN) is a research program developing alternative information systems and technologies based on ancestral intelligence data, the earliest form of AI. AIN explores how intelligence models change when considering human and more-than-human life from their origins.

Echolocation draws on video game and GIS mapping technology to transform this data into an interactive map and living archive of alternative frameworks and knowledge systems. The multi-layered landscape is embedded with spatial audio and interviews with AIN contributors, introducing forms of ancestral intelligence across Africa and its diaspora. Presenting a network of thought and cultural conceptualization, each layer considers these systems across expanded dimensions.

Through interviews, conversations, and citations, the project brings together artists, technologists, environmentalists, researchers, healers, stewards and community leaders working across archival data and cultural practices to provide specific context, examples, and documentation on how ancestral intelligence plays a vital role in the expressions and livelihood of distinct African and diaspora regions. Ancestral Intelligence Network: Echolocation confronts urgent ecological and existential conditions, asking: Is humanity optional? What can humanity learn from our ancestors and marginalized communities? What is intelligence? How can we apply ancestral intelligence and alternative knowledge systems to better imagine (techno) ecological realities?

Ancestral Intelligence Network: Echolocation is created in partnership with the New Museum's NEW INC and EY Intelligent Realities Lab.

The Intelligent Realities Lab (IRL), part of EY Global Innovation, explores the intersection of AI-powered immersive technologies and human-centric design. IRL’s mission is to reimagine and shape the future by blending creative technology with experimentation. Their work spans across industries, focusing on how digital tools can amplify human strengths rather than replace them—always with a commitment to Responsible AI and the ethical design of intelligent systems, placing trust and human relationships at the center of everything they do.

For the past four years, IRL has partnered with NEW INC, the New Museum’s incubator for art, design, and technology, to sponsor a pioneering artist-in-residence initiative. This collaboration was designed to explore the intersection of emerging technologies and human-centric design through creative experimentation. The program has supported artists in developing immersive, socially impactful experiences aligned with IRL’s mission. Through technical exchange, public exhibitions, and conceptual research, the initiative has produced works that challenge conventional narratives around emerging technologies while keeping humanity at the center of innovation.