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
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
In 2021, Jack Dorsey’s company, Block Inc (formerly known as Square), agreed to acquire Tidal for $306 million. This deal made Jay-Z a board member of Block Inc and left many wondering whether Dorsey had been finessed into buying the relatively small streaming service at a premium price. Block agreed in March 2021 to pay $396 million in stock and cash for an 87.5% stake in Tidal. After adjustments, it paid $237.3 million for an 86.2% stake, according to Reuters. Jay-Z joined Block’s board after the purchase and remains a
Sabrina Thompson, a NASA aerospace engineer and founder of streetwear brand Girl In Space Club (GISC), is using her passion for sneakers to ignite the curiosity of young minds in science, space, and technology. The 38-year-old’s initiative, STEMulating Art, is bridging the gap between creativity and technical skills for young minds. Designing a pair of kicks for the moon Thompson noticed that while kids were excited to meet a rocket scientist like herself, they had trouble connecting with the technical aspects of her work. Determined to bring space exploration down
Data journalist Mona Chalabi has won a Pulitzer Prize for her “striking illustrations that combine statistical reporting with keen analysis to help readers understand the immense wealth and economic power of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.” The 36-year-old’s award-winning illustrations were published in a New York Times piece entitled “9 Ways To Imagine Jeff Bezos’ Wealth” last year. POCIT sat down with Chalabi back in 2015 for a candid discussion about her work as a data journalist. “A data journalist is one who uses data as much as they possibly can
Black media mogul Byron Allen, the owner of Allen Media Group (AMG), has hit McDonald’s with another massive lawsuit, claiming the corporation has lied about its commitment to Black-owned media. Last week, Allen’s Entertainment Studios Networks Inc and Weather Group LLC filed a lawsuit against McDonald’s seeking damages in excess of $100 million for fraud/false promise, violating California Civil Code 1711. The law holds corporations to their public promises and thereby redresses corporate fraud. Fraud and False Promises In May 2021, McDonald’s pledged to increase its advertising spend with Black-owned
Two Black 22-year-old founders have raised $5 million to democratize event planning with POSH, the event management and ticketing platform that aims to take on the likes of Dice, Ticketmaster, and Eventbrite. Democratizing event planning POSH announced its public launch last week after being in beta since October 2020. Now, the platform has raised $5 million in a seed funding round co-led by Companyon Ventures and EPIC Ventures, with participation from Day One Ventures, Pareto Holdings, DoNotPay founder Joshua Browder and others. The brainchild of Avante Price and Eli Taylor-Lemire, POSH allows
In a watershed moment for the global tech industry, more than 150 African content moderators—who have provided moderation services for AI tools used by Facebook, TikTok, and ChatGPT—have voted to unionize, TIME reports. At an event in Nairobi this week, content moderators employed by third-party outsourcing companies voted to establish the first African Content Moderators Union. A long time coming The union’s establishment is the culmination of a process that began in 2019 when former Facebook content moderator Daniel Motaung was fired after attempting to unionize workers at the outsourcing
Beyoncé’s philanthropic initiative, the BeyGOOD Foundation, is set to grant $2 million to entrepreneurs and students during her Renaissance World Tour. Ten years after Beyoncé founded BeyGOOD during the Mrs Carter Show World Tour, the initiative working towards economic equity and education, is now the BeyGOOD Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity. “I am hugely proud of the work we have done over a decade at BeyGOOD, here in the US and around the world,” Beyoncé said in a press release. “From scholarships to the water crisis in Burundi, to helping families during
