By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Businesses across the globe in a variety of industries are trying to find their place in a world with artificial intelligence. In 2016, The White House cited a statistic from Oxford University researchers that estimated that 9 to 47 percent of jobs could be threatened by AI. However, […]
Category: Technology
Posted inBUSINESS
Black-owned Latimer Ventures closes $15 million for Black and Brown tech founders’ fund
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Baltimore-based Latimer Ventures, a Black-owned, early stage venture capital firm, recently announced a close of $15 million for its fund launched exclusively for Black and Brown technology founders. In total, Latimer Ventures intends to raise $50 million for the fund. The mission of the company is to deploy […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Google Black Founders Fund awards $150,000 to Baltimore cybersecurity maven
By Megan SaylesAFRO Business Writermsayles@afro.com Google for Startups recently announced the winners of its 2023 Black Founders Fund, a program that provides equity-free cash awards and wraparound support for Black-led startups to advance their businesses. One winner came from Baltimore. Cybersecurity maven Tina Williams-Koroma has been awarded $150,000 in equity-free cash for her company, CyDeploy. […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Meet Tonee Lawson, founder of local STEM program: TheBe. Org
By Aria Brent, AFRO Staff Writer, abrent@afro.com Tonee Lawson is the founder and executive director of TheBe. Org, a local nonprofit organization that focuses on encouraging and nurturing youth to live above their socially-imposed limitations to develop their character, talents and leadership skills allowing them to go beyond a dream and achieve remarkable excellence. TheBe. […]
Posted inTechnology
‘Clone’ or competitor? Users and lawyers compare Twitter and Threads
By Matt O’Brien and Wyatte Grantham-PhilipsThe Associated Press Just how similar is Instagram’s chatty new app, Threads, to Twitter? In a recent cease-and-desist letter, Twitter threatened legal action against Instagram parent company Meta over the new text-based app Threads, which it called a “copycat.” Threads has drawn tens of millions of users since launching as […]
Posted inTechnology
Ransomware criminals are dumping kids’ private files online after school hacks
By Frank Bajak, Heather Hollingsworth and Larry, Contributors to the Associated Press The confidential documents stolen from schools and dumped online by ransomware gangs are raw, intimate and graphic. They describe student sexual assaults, psychiatric hospitalizations, abusive parents, truancy — even suicide attempts. “Please do something,” begged a student in one leaked file, recalling the […]
Posted inWord In Black
A chance to close the digital divide in Black communities
By Mark Brown, Word in Black In 1944, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, which became one of the largest social investments ever made by the federal government. Thanks to what became known as the GI Bill, millions of WWII veterans were able to take advantage of education and housing benefits. Because of […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Six Morgan State computer science students complete Google Tech Exchange Program
By Special Release from Morgan State University A cohort of six Morgan State University(Morgan) students have matriculated through Google’s esteemed Tech Exchange program. The students, four juniors and two seniors—all majoring in Computer Science, spent a semester learning from Googlers and Morgan faculty and were honored during a culminating ceremony held recently at Google’s South […]
Posted inBUSINESS
AfroTech Executive conference gathers Black thought leaders, executives and investors of tech industry
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Blavity’s AfroTech Executive multi-city conference returned to Washington, D.C. on May 11 at The Gathering Spot, a Black-owned private membership club. The event brought together corporate executives, investors and tech moguls to learn about trends and innovations in the technology sector. “AfroTech Executive is a more intimate gathering […]
Posted inBaltimore News
U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen recommends STEM City Baltimore for $2 million federal investment
By Tashi McQueen, AFRO Political Writer, tmcqueen@afro.com Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) has submitted requests for Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) to the Appropriations Committee for community funding projects for Maryland, according to an announcement from Van Hollen. Among the nominees is Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) City Baltimore, which could receive an investment of […]
Posted inBaltimore News
STEM City USA launches virtual event platform for The AFRO’s 3rd Annual Black Business Matters Expo
BALTIMORE — STEM City USA (www.stemcityusa.com), the premier hub for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) innovation, is pleased to announce the launch of its virtual event platform for The AFRO’s 3rd Annual Black Business Matters EXPO to be held on April 27, 2023, at 4:00 PM EST. The virtual event platform will be hosted […]
Posted inNational News
STEM vs. STEAM: advocating for the return of art and music in school curriculums
By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium For the past twenty-five years, funding cuts to music programs in public schools have been on the rise, as school boards and superintendents often cite economic strains as a justification for the cuts, relegating music and the arts to after-school or enrichment programs. Looking at the music education funding […]