The NAACP, in partnership with Adobe, has announced the return of its NAACP Cinematic Shorts Competition and the launch of the NAACP Creative Fellowship. The NAACP Creative Fellowship The NAACP Creative Fellowship, in partnership with Adobe, is a 14-week paid program that provides upcoming post-production professionals with video editing, motion graphics, sound design, and content creation skills. Four people will be selected for industry mentorships, Adobe Creative Cloud training, hands-on work experience, and exclusive networking opportunities. The fellowship will kick off with a week-long retreat in Los Angeles from June 2nd to 6th.
Fashion-tech startup Doji raised $14 million in seed funding, days after publicly launching on the App Store. Techcrunch reports that the funding led by Thrive Capital, with participation from Seven Seven Six Ventures, will be used to upgrade Doji’s AI models. “At Doji we’re building the most personal way to shop for fashion online. Create your photorealistic AI likeness and try on real clothes. Doji is designed to encourage play – helping you feel confident, explore new looks and find pieces you’ll love,” Doji’s founder, Dorian Dargan, said on LinkedIn. What is Doji?
Rich Paul, Klutch Sports Group founder and longtime agent to LeBron James, has invested in Homecoming, a new media company founded by Paul Rivera, a former executive at Nike and Beats by Dre. Homecoming Nework will center its efforts on video podcasts, aiming to become a hub for conversations at the intersection of sports, business, and culture. Its other investors include The Matthew Pritzker Company, Forbes Family Sports and Entertainment LLC, and Heights LLC executives, who have all declined to share financial terms, according to Bloomberg. Merging Sports, Culture, and
On Wednesday, May 12, Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok repeatedly made references to “white genocide” in South Africa in unrelated posts on X, often bringing up the topic without any prompt from users. While it’s unclear what caused the apparent glitch, Musk, who grew up in South Africa, has a long history of promoting the debunked conspiracy theory of a “white genocide” in the country. Grok tells X users about white genocide The posts originated from Grok’s official X account, which replies with AI-generated responses when tagged by users. The AI
Streamer Kai Cenat has launched Streamer University, a weekend event aimed at aspiring content creators. He first teased the idea during a Twitch stream on February 13, revealing plans to rent out a university campus for the experience. On Tuesday, the 23-year-old unveiled the project with a Harry Potter–themed Instagram video captioned, “Enroll Now.” According to The Independent, the enrollment site received one million applications within minutes, overwhelming the site and causing error messages for some users. Kai Cenat’s Streaming university Applicants successfully enrolled in the university will spend a
Meta is facing backlash in Nigeria after a user found an in-app notification that was described as discriminatory. Techpoint reported that Nigerian Instagram user Daniel Adebowale shared a screenshot of his conversation partner on social media, telling him that the user “appeared to be in Nigeria” and urged the user to avoid sharing personal information unless they knew the person. The post caused an uproar on social media, as several Nigerian users accused Meta of unfairly targeting the country. Meta, however, denied the allegation, explaining that the alert was part
Atlanta-based entrepreneur and activist Kiandria Demone is leading a campaign to prevent a white Minnesota woman from receiving over $750,000 in donations after she was filmed hurling a racial slur at a young Black child. The incident Shiloh Hendrix was caught on camera calling a five-year-old Black boy the n-word while at a playground in Rochester, Minnesota. She later launched a campaign on GiveSendGo, a Christian crowdfunding platform known for hosting fundraisers for Daniel Penny, Luigi Mangione, and Kyle Rittenhouse. She claimed she needed the money for her safety and
Lewis Hamilton’s global foundation, Mission 44, and HP Inc. announced a multi-year partnership to improve access for young people pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The partnership will run in Miami and eventually expand to the UK, providing young people with technology training, digital skills, and mentorship needed to succeed in the digital economy. This collaboration aligns with Mission 44’s drive for greater inclusivity in STEM and HP’s aim to improve digital equity for 150 million people globally by 2030, according to a press release. “The partnership between
Join our Patreon for extra-long episodes and ad-free content. This week, Abadesi is back on the pod with co-host Michael to break down what the rise of AI means for our jobs and why women automation might hit women the hardest. They also get into digital privacy, scams, cybercrime, and the double standards in how we talk about wealth online. To wrap things up, they reflect on Warren Buffett stepping down and ask: what do the rich really owe the rest of us? Chapters:00:38 Fiverr CEO Says AI Will Take
Clarence O. Smith, one of the founders of Essence Magazine, passed away on Monday, April 21, at the age of 92. Smith spent over three decades at Essence Communications, serving as president and overseeing the company’s advertising and marketing. The New York Times reported that Smith resided in Yonkers, NY, and passed away in a hospital after a short illness, according to his niece Kimberly Fonville Boyd. When reflecting on Smith’s death, Susan L. Taylor, the magazine’s former Editor-in-Chief, told Essence, “He shifted hearts, minds—and investment choices—in the conventional advertising world. With the
