Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
NOTE FROM TED: This talk only represents the speaker’s personal views and understanding of national security, democracy, and technology. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/tedx_content_guidelines.pdf
Jennifer Ewbank spent decades at the heart of national security, ultimately serving as the CIA's Deputy Director for Digital Innovation and leading the Agency's efforts to outpace adversaries in the digital realm. In this talk, she pulls back the curtain on a secret war and shows how we can reclaim our cognitive liberty in an age when our own minds have become the battlefield. Jennifer Ewbank spent three decades in the shadow world of espionage. As an undercover CIA officer, she ran intelligence operations across multiple continents and served as Chief of Station, leading intelligence operations against America’s most formidable adversaries.
Jennifer rose to become the Agency’s Deputy Director for Digital Innovation, where she led its transformation to build the future of intelligence with AI, cyber, and advanced technology. Along the way, she witnessed a new kind of threat take shape: the quiet, algorithmic manipulation of how people think.
Now, as founder of Andaman Strategic Advisors and a board member across cybersecurity and national security companies, Jennifer is focused on what she believes is the defining challenge of our time: protecting the human mind in the age of AI. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx
NOTE FROM TED: This talk only represents the speaker’s personal views and understanding of national security, democracy, and technology. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/tedx_content_guidelines.pdf
Jennifer Ewbank spent decades at the heart of national security, ultimately serving as the CIA's Deputy Director for Digital Innovation and leading the Agency's efforts to outpace adversaries in the digital realm. In this talk, she pulls back the curtain on a secret war and shows how we can reclaim our cognitive liberty in an age when our own minds have become the battlefield. Jennifer Ewbank spent three decades in the shadow world of espionage. As an undercover CIA officer, she ran intelligence operations across multiple continents and served as Chief of Station, leading intelligence operations against America’s most formidable adversaries.
Jennifer rose to become the Agency’s Deputy Director for Digital Innovation, where she led its transformation to build the future of intelligence with AI, cyber, and advanced technology. Along the way, she witnessed a new kind of threat take shape: the quiet, algorithmic manipulation of how people think.
Now, as founder of Andaman Strategic Advisors and a board member across cybersecurity and national security companies, Jennifer is focused on what she believes is the defining challenge of our time: protecting the human mind in the age of AI. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx
