R&B singer SZA raised the alarm about the environmental impact of AI, especially on Black and brown communities, in a series of Instagram Story posts on July 16. The R&B singer said the only AI she is interested in using is “actual imagination,” according to a screenshot captured by Vibe. “AI is killing and polluting black and brown cities. None of you care cause your codependent on a machine. Have a great life,” the singer added. SZA Calls Out Environmental Racism Fans had flocked to SZA’s page in search of
Since returning to office in January, President Trump has ramped up efforts to increase the deportation of immigrants, setting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a goal of arresting at least 3,000 migrants a day. In response, ICE raids have surged across the country. High-profile workplace operations in cities like Los Angeles have led to widespread protests and federal deployments. According to The Independent, demonstrations have erupted in more than 40 cities. Many of the recent detentions involve individuals with no prior criminal record. Immigrants now face the risk of arrest in
Workday will face a collective-action lawsuit alleging that its AI-powered hiring tools discriminate against workers age 40 and older. The lawsuit was filed in February 2023 by Derek Mobley, a Black, disabled man in his 40s, who claims that he applied for over 100 jobs without securing a role, as stated by ITPro. The Independent reported that another plaintiff, Jill Hughes, said that she received automated rejections for hundreds of job applications “often received within a few hours of applying or at odd times outside of business hours,” as stated by
Cluley, an AI tool that helps users “cheat” in real life, raised $5.3 million in seed funding backed by Abstract Ventures and Susa Ventures. Chungin “Roy” Lee, CEO of Cluey, went viral in March for creating an AI tool that allegedly “cheats” in job interviews. He was suspended from Columbia for posting content from a disciplinary hearing, as stated by the university. His new venture, Cluely, allows users to analyze what’s on their screens, hear audio, and suggest answers to questions. This is all done without detection from the other
Former President Barack Obama shared his thoughts on the prevalence of AI as part of the Sacerdote Great Names Series at Hamilton College, held on Thursday, April 3, in Clinton, NY. During a talk with Steven Tepper, the school’s president, Obama gave his opinion about the roles he predicts will decline due to AI, as stated by AFROTECH. Obama said that AI is outperforming the majority of human coders and that roles involving more routine tasks will no longer be essential. AI outperforming human coders “Already the current models of AI, not
Kevin Hart’s Coramino Fund is now accepting applications for its $10,000 grant, including AI training to help small business owners learn more about AI. The fund is the brainchild of Kevin Hart and Juan Domingo Beckmann’s Gran Coramino Tequila. It is currently in its third year and is now open for its latest round of grants targeting entrepreneurs and small businesses from underserved communities, according to Fortune. Part of the grant includes “cutting-edge AI technological training and hands-on learning to responsibly and effectively incorporate into their operations.” Addressing the disparity
OneUnited Bank, one of the nation’s largest Black-owned banks, is partnering with the credit-building platform Esusu to change the path to homeownership for renters during Financial Literacy Month. Esusu uses data to help improve users’ credit scores, allowing people to make it easier to get onto the housing ladder. “This alliance is all about empowering renters with the financial tools they need to turn their homeownership dreams into reality,” Teri Williams, President & COO of OneUnited Bank, said in a press release. OneUnited Bank’s collaboration with Esusu By reporting on-time rental payments, this
Krisp, a noise cancellation app, announced that it will launch an AI tool to convert a speaker’s accent to American English, starting with Indian accents. The company says the AI Accent Conversion will change a person’s accent with a 200ms latency, which Krisps calls “an imperceptible delay in conversations,” whilst maintaining the speaker’s voice, according to The Verge. The tool has already been trialed in enterprise environments, and a beta version will be available on the Krisp desktop app. Users can use the tool at any time during or before
Cassava Technologies, founded by Zimbabwean telecommunications mogul Strive Masiyiwa, is working with Nvidia to create Africa’s first artificial intelligence factory. The Pan-African company will install Nvidia’s modern computing and AI software at its data centers in South Africa by June 2025. It will do the same in other facilities in Egypt, Kenya, and Morocco. “Our AI factory provides the infrastructure for this innovation to scale, empowering African businesses, start-ups and researchers with access to cutting-edge AI infrastructure to turn their bold ideas into real-world breakthroughs and now they don’t have to look beyond
Over 400 Hollywood creatives, including actors and directors, have signed an open letter calling for the government not to scale back on copyright laws related to artificial intelligence. Variety reported that the list included names such as Ava Duvernay, Janelle Monáe, Michaela Coel, Ben Stiller, Mark Ruffalo, and hundreds of others. “We firmly believe that America’s global AI leadership must not come at the expense of our essential creative industries,” they said in the letter to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy last week. Why are Hollywood
