A Playground Worth a Thousand Programmes
Beyond Tellerrand · 2025 · 40 min
Speaking
The big, beautiful ideas of computer science.
Author of Hello Ruby (published in over 40 languages). Designing computer playgrounds. Writing a new book about the big ideas of computer science — for adults this time.
Two minutes on stage
Current keynote
To See the World in a Grain of Sand
Every AI talk seems to be either “here's how to prompt better” or “we're all doomed.” I think there's a more interesting conversation to be had.
In this talk I take the audience inside the actual ideas of computer science — how word embeddings turn language into geometry, what we mean when we say a machine “learns,” and why Murakami's line “one opposite of efficiency is imagination” might be the best lens for thinking about AI.
I've spent a decade making computer science tangible for children, designed a computer playground in Helsinki, and I'm now writing a book about these ideas for adults. This talk is what happens when all of that meets the question everyone is asking right now.
Also available as a fireside conversation, panel, or tailored workshop. Educators see professional development.
What audiences say
“Linda's talk was staggeringly good. In a world grinding through crises, with economic growth cancelled again and a general sense of despair, it was wonderful to hear something this hopeful — something that believes in a better future.”
“An incredible talk that opened completely new perspectives on the most timely of subjects. Genuinely original thinking — she brought in the wider context of history and humanity in a way that was impossible to ignore. It changed how I think about this.”
“Linda is a wonderful speaker who makes difficult things feel human.”
- 2.4M+views on her TED talk
- 40+languages Hello Ruby is published in
- 10+ yearson stages from Helsinki to Seoul
Recent stages, 2024–2026
Where Linda has been speaking
Corporate
Google · Huawei · F-Secure · Finnair · Elisa · Deutsche Telekom · Deloitte · Schibsted
Conferences
Gartner · Nordic Business Forum · Web Summit · Beyond Tellerrand · World Knowledge Forum
Government & institutions
City of Helsinki · NY CS4All · UNESCO · EU Commission
Education
WeTeach_CS / UT Austin · Tec de Monterrey · MIT · BETT · CSTA · HundrED
Featured talks
Recordings
AI Is Our Multiple-Choice Test
2025 · 58 min
Happy AI education, Finnish-style
SEF, Seoul · 2024 · 32 min
A delightful way to teach kids about computers
TED · 2015 · 11 min · 2.4M+ views
About Linda
Linda Liukas wrote and illustrated Hello Ruby, a children's book series about computer science, published in over 40 languages. She designed a computer playground in Helsinki that teaches CS without screens (nominated for the S+T+ARTS Prize and the European Prize for Urban Public Space). Her new book is about the big ideas of computer science — for adults this time. She lives in Paris.
Booking
Bring Linda to your stage.
Write to speaking@helloruby.com with a short note about your event — where, when, and the audience you have in mind. I read every one.
Email speaking@helloruby.comCentral Europe
We Are Minds — Nicolas Teil
nicolas@weareminds.com
Other regions
Mellakka Management — Emma Alftan
emma@mellakkamanagement.fi