A World of New Learnings with Chelsea Manning

In a world saturated with data, algorithms, and stories told by those in power, what does it take to truly unlearn the narratives that shape us? Chelsea Manning has lived at the fault lines of secrecy and truth, obedience and conscience, isolation and community. In this powerful keynote, she shares how her journey—from classified military intelligence to public whistleblowing to life as a network security advocate—has been defined not by what she learned, but by what she had the courage to unlearn.

Through personal stories and hard-won insights, Chelsea explores how dismantling the myths we inherit—about safety, control, identity, and technology—can open space for new, more liberating forms of knowledge. She challenges us to reimagine the internet as a place that serves people rather than power, where openness is a practice, not a slogan, and where creativity thrives alongside accountability.

A World of New Learnings is both a cautionary tale and a call to action: an invitation to let go of the certainties that no longer serve us, to see clearly the systems we participate in, and to consciously build futures rooted in empathy, transparency, and collective care.

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Chelsea E. Manning is a technologist, data scientist, and security consultant based in Brooklyn, New York, known for her expertise in security and artificial intelligence. Manning works directly with journalists, activists, and civil society organizations on digital security projects and advocates for industry-wide adoption of ethical guardrails in machine learning, arguing for accountability standards akin to those in medicine and law as AI systems increasingly shape public life.