Dr. Ayanna Howard is set to become the 12th president of the esteemed HBCU Spelman College. Howard will become the university’s roboticist and artificial intelligence expert. Additionally, her new book, Rebooting The Machines, is set for release in November. In the book, Dr. Howard acknowledges that AI will take away jobs and opportunities, but she also wants people to understand how to utilise AI to the best of its ability. The future of AI cannot depend on engineers in Silicon Valley; she argues it should come from all of us.
A book deal from a Black author has collapsed after concerns that the writer used artificial intelligence. The manuscript Call Me, I’ll Hide the Body, by Jerry Falade, was retracted from sale by its agent after receiving an offer for more than $2 million from Minotaur, owned by Macmillan US, according to The Guardian. The book, which was part of a 14-way auction, was set to publish in 2028. Jerry Falade’s book deal collapsing In an email sent to publishers viewed by the Guardian, Falade’s agents said, “Jerry Falade produced
The Democratic Republic of Congo is set to launch its first stock exchange in 2027, which will include the Congolese franc and the US dollar. Finance Minister Doudou Fwamba Likunde Li-Botayi told Bloomberg News that the new exchange will allow the country to benefit from the growing demand for crucial minerals that will fuel the AI revolution. “The reality of our economy is that it is strongly dollarized,” Li-Botayi said in an email response, highlighting that more than 95% of total banking system deposits and over 80% of public securities
Elii Emeghebo, a Nigerian-Australian model, is accusing the brand Peter Jackson of using AI to whitewash one of his images. The model walked past Peter Jackson’s Pitt Street shop in Sydney two years ago and noticed an eerily similar image. He emailed his agent describing the man in the image as his “white twin”. “My nose was reshaped, my skin tone and my eye colour were significantly lightened, and there’s some reshaping around my eyebrows and my eye shape to be more Eurocentric and a lot less black,” he told
South Africa is rolling out over 33,000 CCTV cameras, drones, and helicopters, and deploying 13,000 law enforcement officers across Gauteng Province ahead of Tuesday’s anti-migrant protests. The operation, which will cost an estimated R600 million ($35.5 million) will be the largest domestic security operation in recent years, according to Business Insider Africa. The anti-migrant protests The operation comes after concerns from migrant communities who are seeking refuge at embassies and advice in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Some migrants have left their homes and businesses ahead of demonstrations organised by the anti-illegal-immigration movement, March
A new study has found that AI hiring tools discriminate against Black and Asian job applicants. The study, “Algorithmic Monocultures in Hiring,” was conducted by researchers from Stanford University, Chapman University, and Northeastern University. It highlighted how 90% of US employees use AI screening tools to find top applicants. But how does this affect people of colour looking for new roles? AI hiring tools affecting Black and Asian job applicants The study found that 26% of Black applicants and 15% of Asian applicants applied to roles where the AI tool discriminated against
A California judge is upholding more recent claims against Workday in its anti-discrimination lawsuit. Judge Rita F. Lin said under California law, the company could face discrimination for an incident that occurred at its state headquarters after Workday, stating that the state’s anti-discrimination laws did not cover its screening of applicants based outside California who were applying for jobs in other states and countries. This is part of a collective-action lawsuit alleging that its AI-powered hiring tools discriminate against workers age 40 and older. The lawsuit was first filed in February
Fifa will increase its use of AI during the World Club to ensure that teams and players are not exposed to a barrage of abuse on social media. Fifa using AI to reduce online abuse The technology will filter out harmful and offensive comments using 30,000 keywords across teams’ and players’ social media channels and hide them within 2 seconds. Additionally, users who post abusive content towards players can be banned from buying tickets to FIFA matches or club matches, as reported by The Guardian. The AI tool works on
Black Women’s unemployment rate has reached 7.3% in 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Last year, Black women’s unemployment rate increased from 5.1% in March to 6.1% in April, reached an all-time high of 6.2% in May, then dropped to 5.8% in June, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data reported by The 19th. DEI and AI affecting Black women’s employability Black women are more likely to be in departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development, which have been targeted for cuts by DOGE.
will.i.am has completed his first semester teaching agentic AI at Arizona State University, as reported by Fox 11. The course is a credit-bearing, 15-week class open to all students; a second semester is in the works for later this year. will.i.am teaching an AI course During the course, students created their own personal companion called an agent. They presented their AI projects at the end of the course, with one student using his work to support veterans. Another student wrote a song related to the healthcare journey. “This professorship marks
