As we prepare to wrap up the holiday season, it’s a joy to see celebs continuing to give back. With the digital divide still being a major issue now elevated due to the global pandemic, it’s imperative that students have access to the resources that they need particularly with schools pivoting to only online instruction. Marlon Wayans is ensuring that this happens having recently donated computers to children in Harlem, reports NewsOne. “Brought a bunch of computers for Harlem kids in NYC,” wrote the comedian in an Instagram post. “Using my hard work to build other roses from concrete. Go be great…know somebody cares…ME! Invest in your communities that watch you buy could help buy kids a future. #tanikabean love you! Your passion made me passionately give. Invest in your communities, they need us.”   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Marlon Wayans (@marlonwayans) Pew Research Center reports that 59 percent of parents with lower incomes fear their children will face...

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. Data centers have been in the news lately due to their connection to AI, but they have been around in some form or capacity for decades. Data centers originally were created to hold mainframe computers because they would tend to overheat, needing to be stored in climate-controlled rooms. This was at a time when more businesses began relying on computers for their day-to-day operations, and things needed to be moved from single rooms to larger dedicated facilities. What caused data centers to explode in popularity was the rise of personal computing. With more and more data needing to be stored, more facilities needed to be created in order to house all of this new data that was being generated every day, not just from businesses but from people living their lives as well due to the adoption of mobile devices. What exponentially increased the amount of data centers was when software started “eating...

UX designer Roderick Wilkins strives to make the tech industry more inclusive. Tech Journey The Quincy, FL, native has always had a deep interest in technology and began fixing computers at a young age, which guided his educational pursuits at Florida A&M University (FAMU). He earned a bachelor’s degree in information technology in 2019 and went on to Louisiana State University, where he earned a master’s in digital media art and engineering with a focus on UX in 2021. “When you open that app and you see the first screen, you’re scrolling and you’re interacting with it, I always say someone had to design that,” Wilkins told AFROTECH™. “So I would say, within UX, there are designers, which is what I am, and someone designed that whole page that you’re seeing and you’re interacting with.” While UX includes various verticals one can explore — such as research and accessibility — Wilkins’ interest in graphic design aligned with his goal of becoming a UX designer, which was affirmed...

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. Trump’s tariffs have upended multiple industries. For bigger companies like Apple and Microsoft, or fast fashion behemoths like Zara, tariffs can be easily avoided by moving their distribution elsewhere. But for smaller businesses that don’t possess the same infrastructure, they don’t have that ability. Most Americans would agree that manufacturing should come back to the United States. Over the past decades, companies have moved their work abroad to take advantage of lower wages and the lack of unions that protect workers from abuses. In short, it’s easier to take advantage of the cheap labor offered in other countries like China, Thailand, and Vietnam. The whole system is inherently problematic, especially when we look at how workers in the United States are constantly berated and not treated properly. Moving manufacturing back to the states will also mean, unfortunately, that prices for goods...

Researchers have developed algorithms that accurately depict coily Black hair in computer graphics — a historic advancement for Black characters in media. According to The Guardian, AM Darke, an associate professor in the department of performance, play, and design at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Theodore Kim, a professor of computer science at the Yale School of Engineering and Applied Science, co-authored the study. Despite increased representation and numerous papers published on computer graphics algorithms over the past 50 years — particularly regarding hair — Kim noted that representations of Black hair have remained relatively unchanged. Due to a lack of appropriate formulas, animators have struggled to accurately depict textures like type 4C hair , characterized by tightly coiled curls. “There’s only one or two hairstyles that people gravitate towards because they find that it’s culturally approved,” Kim said. “The vast diversity of type four hair is then...

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. Donald Trump will soon start his second term as president of the United States and will have to show the people who voted for him that he will follow through on promises made on the campaign trail. He promised to raise tariffs on exports from countries like China to prioritize American workers and companies here in the United States. Given how impactful tariffs can be on certain countries and within certain areas of the tech industry, it is best to prepare ahead of time for how those tariffs will change the industry and affect opportunities. Tariffs are an additional tax added on a country’s imports or exports. Trump’s relationship with tariffs started during his first administration, and they were primarily targeted at China. The first exports he put tariffs on were solar panels and washing machines at a rate of 20%-50% in January 2018 , which affected China and other countries. He subsequently...

The public release of ChatGPT in 2022 marked a massive milestone in the popularity and global interest in AI. It showed off impressive capabilities in natural language, and sparked hundreds of projects that fueled a boom in the advancement of artificial intelligence. It’s natural, with AI creeping into everything from online shopping to healthcare, that it would eventually find its way into education. Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing education by enhancing teaching methods, improving accessibility, and personalizing learning experiences. As technology continues to advance, its integration into the educational sector has the potential to reshape how students learn, educators teach, and institutions operate. AI In Education Isn’t Exactly New The term ‘artificial intelligence’ was coined at Dartmouth College in 1953, but it wasn’t until 1960 that we saw the birth of computer-assisted instruction (CAI). These programs were built on the massive, expensive computer systems of...

An interest in computer science has led Candace Mitchell to raise millions in funding for Black hair care. Forbes reports when Mitchell was 10 years old, she tinkered with installing software on the family computer, marking her official exposure to computer science. “I remember thinking, ‘I want to create software that can run on millions of computers like this one day,’” Mitchell told Forbes. She would study web design in high school, and in higher learning she attended the Georgia Institute of Technology and obtained a bachelor’s degree in computer science. She then ventured into the workforce landing IT roles at Siemens and Pepsi but made the decision that she no longer wanted to work for other companies. She wanted her own. With just $1,000 collected in a checking account, she became an entrepreneur and launched Myavana, a platform that taps her interest in technology for the purpose of disrupting the haircare market for Black women. Per the company’s website, it requires users...