A new Black-led professional technology training program is coming to Charlotte as a boot camp in February 2024. Boot camps serve as an alternate pathway into tech careers, and focuses can range from software development and designing user experience to coding and cybersecurity. According to an analysis shared by the NAACP, less than 6% of participants in technology-focused boot camps are Black. Dark Mode is a company aiming to connect and train diverse talent in the tech industry. Lusenii Kromah, a Charlotte native, founded it. The UX Bootcamp They have announced their
Banks are now considering using AI for their annual review processes, according to Workday Inc., which may cause issues for Black and minority workers. Workday Inc. has rolled out new products that rely on AI to write job descriptions or aid managers in writing up annual reviews of workers’ performance. Co-Chief Executive Officer of Workday Carl Eschenbach told Bloomberg that banks have expressed interest in those products. Less Time And More Productivity It’s all part of their efforts to streamline operations and cut costs, he said, announcing the offering will
As part of the Signature Series, the Kinfolk Foundation is placing four new Augmented Reality (AR) monuments throughout New York to celebrate Black culture and identity throughout the city. AR technology creates interactive, immersive, experimental experiences where our real, physical world is digitally augmented. The Kinfolk Foundation Kinfolk Foundation is a non-profit digital and educational platform that uses art and emerging technologies such as AR to re-center the stories and lives of African-American figures. This aims to highlight the contributions and success of communities of color, uprooting systems and reimagining
Black women in teams with a more significant number of white peers may have worse job outcomes, a new study has found. Elizabeth Linos, the Emma Bloomberg Associate Professor for Public Policy and Management, along with colleagues Sanaz Mobasseri from Boston University and Nina Roussille from MIT, conducted the study. Underrepresentation of People of Color In Leadership According to the study, the underrepresentation of people of color in high-wage jobs, especially leadership positions, still needs to be solved. To better understand and reduce racial inequalities, researchers have often focused on
YouTube has introduced an AI experiment exploring how technology can create deeper connections between artists, creators, and fans, including John Legend, T-Pain, and Papoose. The rise of AI-generated music has sparked excitement and concern within the music industry, from calls for legal action to taking advantage of opportunities to revolutionize music creation. The Dream Track The Dream Track experiment will feature YouTube Shorts and is powered by Google DeepMind’s most advanced music generation model, Lyria. Nine artists, John Legend, Papoose, T-Pain, Alec Benjamin, Charlie Puth, Charli XCX, Demi Lovato, Sia,
Leap Financial, a financial services tech company focused on Hispanic and Latin Americans, has launched Lola AI. The new AI assistant coaches recently arrived immigrants to the US, helping them fully integrate. Leap Financial The 2022 Census estimated more than 46 million immigrants live in the US, comprising about 13.9% of the population. Almost 80% of America’s unicorn companies have an immigrant founder or an immigrant in a crucial leadership role, such as CEO. Leap Financial is a team of engineers, designers, and software developers who create and launch innovative
A Black family designed the web series Gracie’s Corner to provide engaging and educational information to Black children through entertainment and music. In a recent interview with The Dig, they shared why they aren’t worried about the impact of AI and children’s education. Culturally Relevant Digital Education A report found that young Black students had increasingly reported their feelings of unwantedness in their academic spaces and the toll of energy they must exert to feel safe in these spaces. In 2020, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the
As Black Friday approaches, consumers prepare for the year’s busiest shopping day. As Black-owned businesses gain recognition for innovation and creativity, we have compiled a list of Black-owned Amazon alternatives for your holiday shopping this year. HellaBlack HellaBlack began in 2019, founded by computer scientist Love-Leigh Trimiew and her cousins Layla Nielsen and Natalie Robinson. Together, they created a shopping experience connecting brands to a broader audience, becoming a site that encourages Black businesses to tell their stories. HellaBlack is committed to providing a best-in-class e-commerce experience with the most
Female Founders Fund has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise $75 million for its fourth fund. Female Founders Fund Female Founders Fund was created in 2014, becoming the leading source of institutional capital for female, women of color, and LGBTQ+ founders, raising seed capital with over $3 billion in enterprise value. Anu Duggal, founding partner of the fund, has been praised for her impact in diversifying venture capital over the last decade. A serial entrepreneur, Duggal began her tech career as a co-founder of Exclusively.In,
Anu Hariharan, who led Y Combinator (YC) Continuity, has partnered with two former colleagues and former Brex executive Lucas Fox to launch a new fund, Avra. Helping founders scale their companies YC Continuity was an investment fund supporting founders as they scaled their companies. But this year, it scaled back growth stage investment and cut nearly 20% of its staff before being discontinued. According to TechCrunch, Hariharan finalized plans for launching Avra two months after YC shut the Continuity fund. She draws on her years of experience supporting founders as
