Archetypal Intelligence (AQ) can be used in AI-proofing our future. My approach is grounded in the idea that AQ is humanity’s original intelligence. It’s our built-in symbolic and pattern-based inner guidance system. AQ is a term I’ve coined for developing and evolving our archetypal awareness. It’s the ability to recognise and decode the patterns of behaviour that shape human experience. I’ve captured the skillful application of archetypal awareness by using the term “Archetypal Intelligence.” It’s a conscious engagement with archetypes to navigate life with insight, humanity, and intentionality.

1. AQ develops and deepens self-awareness. This is a foundation AI cannot replicate. While AI can mimic behaviour, it lacks self-awareness and soul context. AQ helps humans:

• Recognise inner drives, fears, and motivations through archetypes (e.g., Victim, Prostitute, Warrior).
• Understand why we react, choose, or resist, and not just what we do.
• Build emotional and narrative intelligence that goes beyond data.

This first AI-proof skill demonstrates high level self-awareness and inner literacy. For example, a coach or leader who knows how their Saboteur archetype shows up can pivot with integrity and lead from there, something no machine can fully model.

2. AQ teaches pattern recognition across the human experience. Just as AI learns from data patterns, AQ teaches humans to:

• Recognise symbolic patterns across time, relationships, and personal narratives.
• Map cycles of behaviour, for example: “I always shrink when I enter new stages” (Prostitute archetype).
• Decode complex, ambiguous situations with intuitive clarity.

This second AI-proof skill demonstrates pattern literacy and symbolic interpretation. For example, a facilitator trained in AQ sees beneath the surface of a group conflict and guides resolution through archetypal storytelling, which is something AI can’t intuit at an emotional level.

3. AQ activates the mythic mind at the core of human creativity. The mythic mind perceives life through archetypes. It weaves universal narratives into personal, professional and social experiences that deepen intuition, meaning, and creativity. Archetypes are story engines. They connect us to universal myths and personal imagination, something AI can imitate but not originate from the human soul.

• AQ invites people to co-create new personal patterns based on the wisdom contained in collective myths.
• It fuels creative resilience to help people rewrite stuck patterns and invent a future that comes from the soul.

This third AI-proof skill demonstrates creativity and intuitive meaning-making. For example, an artist, teacher, or founder uses the Creator or Fool archetype to innovate in playful, or surprising ways that transcend logical productivity.

4. AQ grounds you in your inner authority, not external algorithms. As the world gets noisier with artificial voices, AQ empowers us to:

• Hear the inner voices of our personal archetypes, for example, the Inner Sage, Artist, Healer, or Visionary.
• Trust our inner wisdom over machine logic or mass opinion.
• Consciously choose archetypal alignment over algorithmic conformity.

This fourth AI-proof skill demonstrates Self-leadership and discernment. For example, a spiritual growth coach resists trend-chasing and builds a business led by the Alchemist archetype, one that is sacred, experimental, aligned and magnetic.

5. AQ builds human-centered leadership for an AI world. As automation increases, what becomes more valuable are leaders and creators who:

• Understand human motivation and archetypal roles in teams, for example, the Hero, Caregiver, Ruler and Healthy Skeptic.
• Guide others through transition, ambiguity, and fear with archetypal insight.
• Create spaces for heartfelt transformation, which AI can’t replicate.

This fifth AI-proof skill demonstrates leadership with emotional resonance. For example, a coach or team leader uses archetypal profiles to help team members step into aligned roles and navigate conflict with depth, not just logic.

AQ can be your inner compass in an AI-dominated future. Archetypal Intelligence helps us stay fully human. It awakens intuition and deepens emotional truth. It connects us to timeless patterns that AI cannot replicate. In a world where artificial intelligence grows smarter, AQ can ensure we grow wiser.

Reference

VandeHei, J & Allen, M 2025, Behind the curtain: a white-collar bloodbath, Axion Technology Behind the Curtain, 28 May, viewed 1 June, 2025, <https://www.axios.com/2025/05/28/ai-jobs-white-collar-unemployment-anthropic?&gt;