Google for Startups Accelerator Africa has revealed its 8th cohort, featuring ten startups from Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa. These ventures are using AI to address significant issues in healthcare, cargo mobility, energy solutions, and beyond. Pioneering Innovation Across Africa Africa’s tech ecosystem is described as a hub of creativity and problem-solving, driven by startups tackling both local and global challenges with exceptional ingenuity. Since its launch in 2018, the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa program has been important in supporting the continent’s startup landscape. The program has now
Last year, Databricks acquired MosaicML, renamed Mosaic AI, a Black co-founded generative AI (genAI) startup know for its cutting-edge large language (LLMs) models. Building on both companies vision of making genAI accessible for all organizations, Databricks’ Mosaic team has since developed DBRX, one of the fastest and highest-performing LLMs available. Democratizing deep learning Co-founded by Jonathan Frankle PhD ’23 and MIT Associate Professor Michael Carbin, MosaicML started with the mission to make AI models more accessible. The startup developed a platform where users can train, improve, and monitor open-source models
Brand new Techish! This week, hosts Michael and Abadesi dive into: • Microsoft lays off a DEI team (00:00:20)• AI bias in performance reviews (00:08:16)• The myth of meritocracy (00:12:31)• The UK has a new government (00:15:00)• Make politics attractive again (00:19:12) Listen on Spotify or Apple podcast also. Watch On YouTube Extra Reading & Resources • Microsoft Faces Backlash After DEI Team Layoffs [POCIT]• We asked ChatGPT to write performance reviews and they are wildly sexist (and racist) [Fast Company]• Black Man Who Got A Job Interview After Using A Fake Name On Resume Files Lawsuit [POCIT]
Elon Musk, owner of social media platform X, is facing widespread criticism after sharing a deceptively edited video of Vice President Kamala Harris. The video, which makes it appear that Harris is disparaging President Joe Biden and boasting about being the “ultimate diversity hire,” was reposted by Musk without any disclaimer that it was a parody. This action seemingly violates X’s own policy on manipulated media. A Violation of Platform Policies? The controversial video originally posted by @MrReaganUSA was labeled as a “parody” by the creator. However, Musk’s repost, accompanied
Meta, the tech giant formerly known as Facebook, is under scrutiny for using public Instagram posts to train its generative AI model without notifying users in Latin America, according to Rest of the World. The company’s decision has particularly impacted artists in the region, who rely heavily on social media to showcase their work but cannot opt out of this data usage. Lack of Notification and Opt-Out Options On June 2, many Latin American artists discovered that Meta had not informed them about its plans to use their public posts
London-based fintech startup Jarvis has secured £1.8 million ($2.3 million) in funding to transform retirement planning. The funding round was led by Ascension VC and Cornerstone VC, with additional participation from Tokio Marine Future Fund. This capital injection will support Jarvis’s growth and product development as it integrates with the broader ecosystem of pension-related services. Addressing The Retirement Planning Gap In today’s workforce, financial autonomy is on the rise, with the global shift towards self-employment and gig economy work has made traditional workplace benefits like pensions increasingly inaccessible. Projections indicate
Runway AI, a multi-billion dollar company, has been training its AI video tool, Gen-3, on thousands of YouTube videos without permssion, 404 Media has revealed. Among the videos used were over 1,600 from tech influencer Marques Brownlee (MKBHD). The exposé follows an investigation by Proof News, copublished with Wired, which found that tech firms including Apple, Anthropic, Nvidia, and Salesforce had training their AI systems on subtitle data from more than 170,000 YouTube videos. Runway Secretly Trained On YouTube Videos In June, Runway AI launched Gen-3, initially called Jupiter, which received high praise
Former NFL quarterback and activist Colin Kaepernick has announced the launch of Lumi, an AI-powered storytelling platform. Lumi aims to change the storytelling process, allowing individuals to create, publish, and monetize their stories regardless of their skill set. The platform offers end-to-end story creation, simple AI tools, and both physical and digital publishing options, making it easier for creators to bring their stories to life. With the added benefit of built-in merchandising, creators retain full ownership of their work, bypassing traditional industry gatekeepers. Addressing Gaps in Storytelling Kaepernick’s inspiration for
SheerLuxe, a renowned UK lifestyle and fashion magazine, recently introduced Reem Bot, a woman of color AI-powered fashion and lifestyle editor, causing backlash. Presented as a new team member, Reem is designed to provide recommendations on fashion, beauty, travel, and more. However, the announcement was met with significant backlash, particularly regarding the ethical implications and the portrayal of Reem as a person of color. Public Reaction and Concerns The introduction of Reem Bot sparked controversy among SheerLuxe’s audience, which includes nearly half a million Instagram followers. “We’re thrilled to introduce
Biases in current voice technologies for non-white users has the potential to cause lower self esteem, psychological and physical harm researchers have found. In a new study published in the Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, HCII Ph.D. student Kimi Wenzel and Associate Professor Geoff Kaufamn identified six downstream harms caused by voice assistant errors. The pair also devised strategies to reduce them in their work which won a Best Paper award at the Association for Computing Machinery’s Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.
