Block Party, a startup initially centered on curbing online harassment via Twitter’s API, has undergone a significant pivot in the wake of API changes on the platform now known as X. Privacy Party Tracy Chou, a prominent software engineer and tech diversity advocate, introduced the venture’s new focus at this year’s SXSW conference in Austin. The reinvented platform Privacy Party emerges as a solution to the complex challenge of managing privacy settings across various social networks, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Reddit, and X. Originally, Block Party leveraged Twitter’s API to
An AI image creator, Playground AI, gave an Asian MIT graduate blue eyes and lighter skin when she asked it to turn her photo into a professional LinkedIn headshot. Rona Wang, who had majored in computer science at MIT, took to Twitter to share her surprise, adding to online debates about racial biases in generative AI. What happened? The Boston Globe reported that Wang uploaded an image of herself smiling and wearing a red MIT shirt to the platform, asking it to turn the image into a “professional” LinkedIn profile
Today, Robert F. Smith announced that Vista Equity Partners, his market investment firm, has surpassed $100 billion in assets under management (AUM)—the total market value of all its investments. Vista Equity Partners Smith is the wealthiest Black man in the United States, surpassing Oprah Winfrey in 2018 as the richest Black American. He founded Vista Equity Partners in 2000 to invest in businesses that use tech to promote economic equity, ecological responsibility, and diversity and inclusion. He recently announced plans to sell Apptio – a company that helps connect technology investments to business
Elon Musk’s SpaceX designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft, and has recently hired a 14-year-old, Kairan Quazi. Quazi is set to become the youngest person to graduate from Santa Clara University and has been employed as a software engineer for the company’s Starlink division. Starlink is a network of satellites that promises to provide high-speed, low-cost internet access across the globe. Business Insider reported that after studying computer science and engineering at 11, the young teenager passed the technically challenging interview process for Musk’s company. Too Young For
The regulation and ethics of AI image generators have been a topic of conversation for several years, with EU lawmakers considering proposals for safeguards to address some of the issues. In March, more than 31,000 people signed an open letter calling for a six-month pause in AI research and development to answer questions about regulation and ethics. Recently, the free-to-use graphic design tool Canva came under fire after DEI Thought Partner Adriele Parker prompted its text-to-image app to generate a Black woman with Bantu knots. An error appeared and told
Black women have long faced hair discrimination in the workplace, from hiring practices to daily interactions. The 2023 CROWN Workplace Research study found that : Black women’s hair is 2.5 times more likely to be perceived as unprofessional More than half of Black women felt the need to wear straight hair for job interviews 1 in 5 Black women aged 25-34 had been sent home from work because of their hair 1 in 4 Black women believe they were denied a job because of their hair People with more tightly coiled hair
Brazilian companies have started to explicitly seek out Black and Indigenous workers to diversify their ranks, a step to reverse the deep inequality that has racked the country since the area was first settled centuries ago. The country is LinkedIn’s third-largest market, after the United States and India, with 55 million users, or one in every four people in Brazil. So naturally, employers would advertise jobs there. But in February, a think tank in São Paulo was looking for a financial coordinator that would be willing to take on the
My name is Aklil, a POCIT and associate on the Corporate Development & Strategy team at a tech company in Silicon Valley. I’m very lucky to be on a small team that supports senior executives on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) initiatives, from product strategy inception to company landscaping, deal execution, and post-acquisition integration; the other half of my job is helping advise senior executives on strategic initiatives. I was previously an investment banking analyst at a bulge bracket investment bank, where I helped advise private and public companies on a
