“This is the final straw AI,” Drake wrote on Instagram Stories after an AI-generated version of him rapping to Ice Spice’s “Munch” went viral. The Canadian artist is the latest prominent industry figure to express concern over AI-generated music. Streamers urged to take charge The Financial Times reports that Universal Music Group (UMG) wrote a letter to major streamers, including Spotify and Apple Music, to clamp down on AI-generated music. UMG, which controls about a third of the global music market, said they were concerned about AI bots training on their catalog and
Maybe you’re new to the software engineer job hunt. Maybe you’ve been in the industry for some time and are trying to keep your interview skills fresh via the concept of “Always Be Interviewing”. You’ve optimized your resume for software engineers. You’ve cleared the technical interviews. But now it’s time to increase your compensation in the offer stage. Studies like this one from Harvard Law School on negotiation biases have shown that, in many instances, Black candidates were given fewer concessions when negotiating. Does this mean you should just give
This article was first published by Sha Hurley on Medium. March 31 was officially the end of my seven-year journey as a Googler. It’s been a stressful, yet healing time. Below, I share my reflections in the hope they will be an inspiration for some and a resource for others. Please share this post if you think it would help someone. I’ll be very interested in your thoughts below in the comments. Or DM me if something more private you’d like to connect on. This is going to be a long
Massachusetts-based Black-led startups are getting a $100 million boost from MassMutual’s second MM Catalyst Fund (MMCF). MassMutual announced that it is adding $100 million to its MMCF. The fund will continue to make investments in startups led by Black and historically overlooked founded-companies in the company’s home state of Massachusetts. MMCF will also invest selectively with fund managers in MassMutual’s First Fund Initiative, which focuses on first-time fund managers from Black, Latine, and Indigenous backgrounds. Building on past success The MMCF has backed 16 companies across various industries since its
Meet Jeremiah Thoronka, the young inventor, entrepreneur, and scholar from Sierra Leone, behind the device that turns the vibrations from busy roads into electricity. Thoronka, who recently graduated with a Master of Science Degree in Sustainability, Energy, and Development from Durham University, founded Optim Energy in 2017, when he was just 17 years old. People are always moving “I have first-hand experience of growing up without energy or electricity,” Thoronka said in an innterview wth the BBC. “Around 18:00, the entire neighbourhood would be in darkness.” Thoronka grew up in
This article was first published by Danielle DeRuiter-Williams on Medium. Over the last 3 years we have seen the rise of remote work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and almost simultaneously an increased pressure for companies to prioritize equity, diversity and inclusion in the wake of the uprisings during summer 2020. While momentum has begun to slow around corporate equity, diversity and, inclusion efforts (many DEI jobs have been the first to go in tech layoffs) — remote work is seemingly here to stay. In an effort to
The Bean Path is a nonprofit organization founded by Dr. Nashlie Sephus, which is using tech to sow expertise, grow networks, and fertilize communities in Mississippi. The Makerspace, a 6,400-square-foot collaborative community workshop building, is the first step in solidifying Sephus’ vision of creating a science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) hub on 21 acres of previously neglected land. Identifying Blind Spots The Jackson, Mississippi native was introduced to engineering by her eighth-grade science teacher. After pursuing a degree in computer engineering, Sephus earned a PhD in electrical and
GPT detectors are biased against non-native English writers, a new study by researchers from Stanford University has found. From the Balenciaga Pope to fake Trump arrest photos, the spread of AI-generated content is driving the demand for effective ways to detect AI-made content. However, a recent study has found that GPT detectors often mistake non-native English writing for AI-generated text, while correctly identifying native English writing. In tests, the detectors were near-perfect at analyzing US college admission essays but incorrectly classified over half of the Test of English as a
London-based healthcare jobs marketplace platform, Nolea Health, has secured £1 million ($1.2 million) in seed funding to tackle mental healthcare staff shortages. The financing round was led by Frontline Ventures, with participation from Calm/Storm Ventures and other notable industry figures, including Anne Heraty, ex-CEO of CPL Resources, and Mahiben Maruthappu, CEO of Cera. Nolea Health’s platform matches mental healthcare clinicians with vacant jobs across different healthcare organizations, reducing the time taken to hire staff by up to 90% and the sourcing costs by up to 85%. Addressing the mental health crisis with
BK-XL, a new Brooklyn-based early-stage startup accelerator for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) founders, has announced its inaugural cohort of 12 startups. With each startup receiving up to $500,000 each, BK-XL’s capital is on par with other big-name accelerators like Y Combinator, and, by relative investment size, is the largest BIPOC-focused accelerator in the US. Clara Wu Tsai, a Brooklyn Nets owner and Vice Chair of BSE Global, created the accelerator in partnership with Visible Hands, a VC firm for underrepresented founders. “We created BK-XL to identify and
