Following Elon Musk’s announcement to buy Twitter in April 2022, many users, particularly Black users, opposed it. Some have found other platforms, such as Mastodon, Spill, and Bluesky. Bluesky, however, has recently raised some alarm bells after a moderation policy change following a death threat against a Black woman left many questioning the safety of the platform. What is Bluesky? Bluesky is a decentralized social app that started off as a project by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey in 2019 when he was Twitter’s CEO. Dorsey chose Jay Graber to lead
TikTok, as we know, has the potential to change lives and shine a light on talents that may have gone unnoticed previously. Elvis Muchiri, more commonly known as Evolve with Elvis, has become a topic of conversation on TikTok, YouTube, and Twitter as he teaches his audiences how to use keyboard shortcuts with his younger sister Megan. The young boy started posting on TikTok in March of this year and has already gained 125,300 followers and over 1.7 million likes. He also has gained a platform on YouTube with 8,490
Future’s Freewishes Foundation has opened a new “sleek and innovative” STEAM lab in Atlanta, Georgia in partnership with 2K Foundations. The “I Am a Dreamer” lab aims to bridge the educational gap for students in underserved communities by providing access to science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) education, resources, and tools. “It’s important that all students receive access to STEAM education regardless of their background,” said Future, according to Afrotech. “Our Freewishes Foundation, with the support of the 2K Foundations, has helped make this possible in our Atlanta community.
The Mellon Foundation has awarded a $3.3 million grant to the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) to continue its Digital Justice Grant Program for three more cycles. Supporting digital projects Launched in 2021, the Digital Justice Grant Program supports digital projects in the humanities and social sciences that focus on historically marginalized communities. These include Black, Latine, and Indigenous communities, people with disabilities, and queer, trans, and gender nonconforming individuals. In addition to financial support, the ACLS Digital Justice Grant Program provides tailored coaching from the Nonprofit Finance Fund to help grantees
The rise of AI-generated music has sparked both excitement and concern within the music industry. From calls for legal action to taking advantage of opportunities to revolutionize music creation and revenue generation, the relationship between Black artists and AI-generated music is, well, complex. Ice Cube: “AI is Demonic” Ice Cube, during an appearance on the Full Send podcast, told listeners: “I think AI is demonic, I think AI is going to get a backlash from real people.” Ice Cube voiced concerns about the unauthorized manipulation of original voices without proper
Last night, Beyoncé kicked off the UK leg of Renaissance, her first solo headline tour in seven years. However, human rights groups have raised concerns about the use of live face recognition (LFR) technology on crowds around the Cardiff concert venue. Ahead Beyoncé’s concert in Cardiff last night, South Wales police confirmed that it would be using live facial recognition (LFR) technology to scan crowds around the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. It said the cameras would help identify individuals wanted for “priority offenses.” LFR uses AI to compare faces
Buzzfeed Inc (owners of Complex, HuffPost, Tasty, etc) told investors about its plans for AI-generated content. The company also outlined its plans for developing its Black, Asian, Latine identity-based brands to help corporate brands tap an “authentic voice.” BuzzFeed, founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John Seward Johnson III as an internet popularity contest, has been at the forefront of Internet culture for over a decade. This year, the platform launched its AI-powered content such as games and quizzes, with some success. But it plans to go further. During an investors event held
As a Black medical student, Malone Mukwende was only taught to recognize clinical signs of disease on white skin. But many diseases look different on darker skin tones, leading to misdiagnosis, poor treatment, and even death. As a result, Mukwende launched BlackandBrownSkin. Through innovative tools like the Mind the Gap handbook, the Hutano app, and, most recently, the “Diagnosing Skin of Colour” digital quiz, Mukwende is revolutionizing care for Black and Brown patients. Red rashes, pale skin, blue lips “On arrival at medical school, I noticed a lack of teaching
When a Discord user leaked unreleased Frank Ocean tracks on Discord, fans on the platform’s music forums clamored to grab hold of the tracks. However, it has since turned out that most, if not all, of the tracks were AI-generated fakes, according Motherboard (part of VICE Media Group). “Everyone started to believe it” Frank Ocean fans have been yearning for fresh material from the elusive singer, whose last full album, “Blonde,” was released in 2016. According to Motherboard a scammer who goes by the handle “mourningassasin” decided to commission a
Cisco is hiring on pocitjobs.com Meet Naomi Colon – a woman who embodies the definition of a modern-day superhero. Juggling the demands of motherhood, community service, and a thriving career as a project specialist at Cisco, it’s no surprise that Naomi’s story has caught the attention of many. POCIT sat down with Naomi to find out more about how she does it. Tell me about your career trajectory and your journey to Cisco. I started my career in healthcare right out of high school, and pretty much stuck around until
