Operation HOPE has announced an extension to their 1 Million Black Business Initiative, “1MBB Next Gen” program. Operation HOPE aims to make free enterprise and capitalism work for the underserved, as they have served more than four million individuals. They have also directed more than $4 billion in economic activity into disenfranchised communities. Operation HOPE announced its program at this year’s Clinton Global Initiative’s (CGI’s) Annual Meeting. The Clinton Global Initative was founded in 2005 by President Bill Clinton and brought together established and emerging global leaders. It implements solutions
Randal Quran Reid spent almost a week in jail after Louisiana police wrongly identified him using facial recognition software. He has now filed a lawsuit against them. What Happened? Reid, 28, was driving to his mother’s house for Thanksgiving when local police pulled him over and arrested him. They had used facial recognition software, and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office (JPSO) identified him as a suspect in a spate of thefts in Louisiana. Reid, however, had never set foot in Louisiana and was unaware of what Jefferson Parish was. There
Google and Howard University have announced a new partnership, Project Elevate Black Voices, to build a high-quality African-American English (AAE) speech dataset. The new partnership will allow Howard University to share the dataset with those looking to improve speech technology while establishing a framework for responsible data collection, ensuring the data benefits Black communities. Google has confirmed that the university will retain ownership of the dataset and licensing. Automatic Speech Recognition and Black People Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology allows humans to use their voices to speak with a computer
Two Black TikTok workers have formed a complaint to the US Government’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) about racism and discrimination they faced at work. Nnete Matima and Joel Carter have accused TikTok’s parent company of racism and retaliation, alleging ByteDance Ltd. terminated their contracts after they spoke up about the discrimination. Nnete Matima Matima told CNN she was attracted to work at TikTok because the social media platform was “built upon Black culture” and the work of Black creators. After seeing TikTok’s pledge of support for the Black community
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has upheld the decision to restrict public access to information about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) lie detectors at EU borders. This ruling has sparked concerns among civil rights groups, shedding light on the limitations of the EU’s AI Act in safeguarding the rights of migrants and refugees. The Act is set to become the world’s first comprehensive AI law. AI-Powered Lie Detectors at EU Borders At the center of this controversy lies iBorderCtrl, an emotion recognition pilot project aimed
The economic influence of Latine and Hispanic communities is on the rise. Nearly 5 million businesses in the US are Latine or Hispanic-owned, contributing over $800 billion annually to the nation’s economy. Latine and Hispanic communities are not just big contributors; they’re also big spenders. According to Nielson, their buying power surpasses the GDP of countries like Australia, Mexico, and Spain. So, this Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re spotlighting the online directories that help consumers connect with these Latine and Hispanic businesses nationwide. 1. Shop Latinx Shop Latinx, founded by Brittany
This article was first published on Muna Aghamelu’s tech blog. Hi! My name is Muna. I graduated with First Class Honours from University College London (UCL) in 2022 with an MEng in Computer Science. It wasn’t an easy feat at all. In fact, I am yet to have my official graduation (it is happening this coming September), but I thought it’d be good to provide some advice to my younger self. I think it is important to document your journey so that others can learn from it. I do hope
Big Tech companies are being probed about the treatment of their “ghost workers” by Democratic lawmakers. Ghost work refers to the undervalued, underpaid, and undersupported human labor utilized to develop and maintain the automation of websites and apps. This work is often outsourced, hidden, or rendered invisible by the tech companies who request it. With the rise of generative AI, this work often includes training and improving algorithms. According to Just Tech, ghost workers are usually vulnerable people from Asia, Latin America and Africa who are being paid less than
Black and Hispanic employees receive lower-quality feedback on their job performance, leading to poor retention, a new study has found. For the second year in a row, Textio’s annual Language Bias in Performance Feedback report found that employees receive personality feedback based on race and gender stereotypes. Last year’s findings showed that women, Black and Hispanic people, and those over 40 systematically received lower-quality and biased feedback at work. This year, the study investigated the connection between feedback quality and employee retention and found a clear link between the two.
Dr. Abasi Ene-Obong, the founder of 54gene, has started a new company, Syndicate Bio. The rise and fall of 54gene In 2019, Ene-Obong founded 54gene, a Nigerian health and biotech startup, to address the gap in the genomics market. At the height of the pandemic, the organization seized the opportunity to earn more money by transforming its lab into a COVID testing center. But, as Covid cases reduced and fewer people carried out tests, many of the staff 54gene recruited had to be let go. The organization was forced to
