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Blavity Fest 2025 lit up Atlanta, GA’s Lee + White complex last weekend in celebration of Black innovation , cultural expression, and collective wealth-building. Attendees experienced inspiring panel discussions led by experts in entrepreneurship , personal branding, creative development, and financial empowerment, while hands-on workshops offered practical skills in areas including stock trading, book launching, and event planning. The event, held from May 31 to June 1, also featured networking opportunities at community meetups, a Black-owned small business market, and immersive installations designed to spark creativity and connection. The high-energy, high-stakes, and high-impact success of the 2025 Blavity Fest was no accident, as Atlanta is, for the third consecutive year, the nation’s leading hub for Black-owned businesses, as previously reported by AFROTECH™ . According to a LendingTree analysis, nearly 14,000 — or 11.3% of all businesses in the city — are Black-owned as of...
Workday is at the center of a collective action lawsuit that alleges its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered hiring tools discriminate against applicants over 40 years old, violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. Derek Mobley, a Black, disabled man in his 40s, filed a lawsuit in February 2023, claiming he applied for over 100 jobs without success, according to ITPro. “Despite his qualifications, Mobley was allegedly denied employment for every one of the 100-plus applications that he submitted to companies using Workday’s platform,” the lawsuit states . Workday provides cloud-based software to support businesses’ financial management as well as the hiring process for new employees. Workday’s initial motion to dismiss the case was granted, allowing for amendments to be made. However, the judge later denied its attempt to dismiss the newly amended complaint. A judge ruled on May 16 that Mobley’s age discrimination claims could proceed as a collective action...
Artificial intelligence (AI) is driving a wave of transformation, reshaping how organizations adapt and compete — making it essential to foster a culture of innovation and adaptability to navigate disruption and ensure long-term success. At AFROTECH™ 2024, Temi Soleye, the senior director of learning & performance at Merlin Labs, and Ashley Gatewood, the change & transformation leader at Google, came together to discuss the opportunities and challenges AI presents for businesses, how to lead effective transformations and what it takes to build a future-ready workforce. When it comes to AI and transformation, Soleye noted that AI has productivity tools, such as support for coding and coders — but its challenges and opportunities go hand in hand. “High performance culture depends on the people, but it also depends on the processes and the systems,” Soleye said. Adding that, to streamline workflow, people should consider what the person currently does and how artificial intelligence...
T.D. Jakes stresses that the world as we know it will no longer be the same due to AI. The bishop was the 2025 commencement speaker at Morris Brown College in Atlanta, GA. Among the points addressed in his speech, which lasted over 30 minutes, was the importance of understanding the reality of artificial intelligence (AI) and its permanent impact on the workforce . He emphasized that although it is a “traditional graduation,” the times were changing. “I am honored also to understand what a critical time it is that we are celebrating a traditional graduation in an untraditional time,” T.D. Jakes told the audience, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. “Make no mistake about it that as you go forward from Morris Brown, you go forward to face a world that is different than any age or era or period that we have ever seen in the history of this country. It has not been since Henry Ford discovered the automobile or the Wright brothers the airplane that we have seen the impact of what artificial...
An Amazon-backed AI model threatened to blackmail engineers. In March 2024, Amazon announced a $4 billion investment in Anthropic, according to a news release. Anthropic is a company building frontier artificial intelligence (AI) systems that its leaders believe are safe and reliable, according to its website. One of its technologies is Claude, which is an AI model that has the capabilities of advanced reasoning, vision analysis, code generation, and multilingual processing. The company has been utilizing Amazon Web Services’ tools as its “primary cloud provider for mission critical workloads.” “We have a notable history with Anthropic, together helping organizations of all sizes around the world to deploy advanced generative artificial intelligence applications across their organizations,” Dr. Swami Sivasubramanian, vice president of data and AI at AWS, said in the news release. “Anthropic’s visionary work with generative AI, most recently the introduction of its state-of-the art...
Monk Inyang is on a mission to make AI more practical for underserved communities. Within his career trajectory, Inyang has been of service to others. He has worked as an actor, investment salesperson, a researcher on Wall Street, and has also dedicated several years to executive coaching for mid-career Black and Latin professionals, which he shared on the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast hosted by AFROTECH™ Brand Manager Will Lucas. This experience has positioned him to be a more effective leader in his current role as CEO and founder of 1st Street Partnerships, an organization dedicated to providing artificial intelligence (AI) education and training to businesses and communities with a strong emphasis on inclusivity and cultural relevance, its LinkedIn mentions. “We help move people from AI anxiety to AI adoption. And that’s through really culturally resonant community-based education,” Inyang explained on the podcast. Partnering With Kevin Hart’s Coramino Fund 1st Street...
Artificial intelligence (AI) now touches nearly every aspect of life — from health care and national security to smartphones and entertainment. At AFROTECH™ 2024 , Tanneasha Gordon , U.S. data and digital trust principal at Deloitte & Touche, joined Jarell Oshodi, privacy executive and counsel, to explore balancing AI innovation with protecting sensitive information and maintaining trust in a data-driven world. Diving deep into ethical frameworks, Gordon described AI as a “broad field of computer science, really focused on designing and deploying systems that mimic human intelligence,” viewing it through three paradigms: Our five senses, creativity, and consciousness. Purchase your ticket to AFROTECH™ Conference 2025 now! View this post on Instagram A post shared by AFROTECH (@afro.tech) When asked about AI’s benefits, Gordon pointed to increased productivity, efficiency, and cost savings across individuals and enterprises. However, she highlighted five key risks: Deepfakes and...
Through their roles, Nikki Taylor White And Obi Nwigwe are improving workplace safety at Amazon. Nikki Taylor White Both share a common mission to bridge the gap in technology and lead by example, with Amazon serving as their home base to pursue this work. White, a Howard University graduate, is the global director of ergonomics within Amazon’s worldwide corporate health and safety organization. Her goals center on improving workplace safety and design on a global scale. “It’s my priority to ensure we follow the hierarchy of controls across the ergonomics spectrum, which starts with eliminating any existing or potential hazards, and we do this by implementing automation and robotics into our processes and workspaces to create safer environments for our employees,” White told AFROTECH™. Obi Nwigwe As for Nwigwe, he serves as a software development manager for Amazon Robotics. He began building smaller-scale systems while pursuing an electrical engineering degree at The University of...
Fans of the 1995 film “Clueless” are likely to fall in love with Google’s artificial intelligence (AI)-powered shopping experience, which is rooted in fresh, accurate data and a passion for fashion. Google I/O 2025 Launched on May 20 at Google I/O 2025 in Silicon Valley, CA, AI Mode combines Gemini capabilities with Google’s Shopping Graph to help customers browse for inspiration, consider options, and narrow down products, according to a news release. The Shopping Graph features over 50 billion constantly updated listings from global retailers and local shops, complete with reviews, prices, color options, and availability. “We’re using AI to help people shop in ways that once seemed impossible,” Lilian Rincon, vice president of consumer shopping product at Google, told AFROTECH™ via email. “Whether you’re trying on millions of items of clothing with our try-on tech, finding exactly what you need in AI Mode, or using agentic checkout to jump on a great price.” A new, experimental...
As Amazon unveils new technology, it is also proving to be a win for its employees. Vulcan At Amazon’s 2025 Delivering the Future event held May 6–7 in Dortmund, Germany, the company introduced the Vulcan, Amazon’s first robot with a sense of touch. Made possible by an artificial intelligence-powered sensor, it is the first of its kind and is able to use video rather than still images to monitor and control its motions, as noted by Aaron Parness, Amazon’s director of applied science in robotics and artificial intelligence. “We’re at the golden age for robotics. AI is allowing us to develop systems that can interact with the physical world and not just the ones on our screens,” Parness said during the Main Event held at Amazon’s Last Mile Innovation Center. Vulcan will be beneficial to its employees who are fulfilling orders for customers at the company’s facilities thanks to the robot’s ability to pick and stow away 75% of the items stored in the warehouses. “One of the really...
After years of working in tech, Brian Peret is dedicating his time to making the industry more accessible. Peret, a developer-turned-software-engineer originally from Milwaukee, WI, understood the importance of technology firsthand while attending graduate school in Tampa, FL. Ultimately, It was a nudge from his brother that first got him thinking about transitioning from the wet sciences (chemistry and biomedical engineering) to tech, but he didn’t make the pivot until the 2008 recession. “In a time when everyone else is losing their jobs and people are foreclosing on homes and losing their homes, I’m seeing computer programmers and developers gain wealth. That’s when I really realized that in technology, there is this entire industry that for those who can do the skills and do the job, there will always be a job for you out there. So that’s kind of what got me on board, and then that passion has just increased time and again,” Peret said during an interview with AFROTECH™. Peret’s...
Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. Google announced that it will now allow users under 13 years old to access its Gemini AI chatbot. Gemini is a direct competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and has quickly been integrated into other Google services. Gemini will be available to kids whose parents use Family Link, which enables Google services for children only with the permission of the family. Young users will be able to communicate with the chatbot for text responses and create images generated by the system. Artificial intelligence has become the center of our lives as it disrupts industries and employment opportunities, and companies look to replace workers with AI. But while the AI industry is growing, there’s still so much we don’t know or understand about the technology as adults. Though Google has stated it won’t use data from younger users to train its AI, we shouldn’t trust this technology in the hands of young, impressionable...
Awnya Creque’s journey into tech was informed by her mother. The Williamsburg, VA, native, currently residing in Dallas, TX, recalled during an interview with AFROTECH™ where her unconventional entryway into technology began. Her mother had been a branch manager for Bank of America and was robbed at gun point. Creque was 12 years old at the time, and it sparked an interest for criminal justice. “Her whole life changed because she couldn’t sleep. She suffered from PTSD, had to take medication. And from that day forward, I was just like, ‘I wanna take bad people off the street or people who are changing people’s lives for the worst.’ And so that’s where I got my start in my passion for criminal justice. And I knew that I wanted to be an investigator and a police officer as a young teen,” Creque explained. She went on to attend the University of Maryland, earning a bachelor’s degree in criminology in 2009 and completed a one-year master’s program at Norfolk State University between...
Cliff Worley Sr., head of portfolio marketing at Oakland, CA-based venture firm Kapor Capital, believes artificial intelligence (AI) is going to make us all entrepreneurs. Based on its website, Kapor Capital invests in businesses that improve the lives of low-income communities and communities of color. It was also an early investor in Blavity Inc. At AFROTECH™ Conference 2024, Worley led a dynamic workshop offering a comprehensive overview of the most effective AI tools for founders. The workshop aimed to equip attendees with the knowledge and strategies to streamline workflows, enhance productivity, and optimize budgets using cutting-edge AI innovations for business success. Purchase your ticket to AFROTECH™ Conference 2025 now! “If you’ve ever had that idea that you’ve always wanted to build, now is the time to do it,” Worley said while on stage. View this post on Instagram A post shared by AFROTECH (@afro.tech) Drawing parallels to the internet in 1988 and the release of...
Artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) may dominate today’s conversations, but beneath the innovation lies traditional software engineering — the bedrock that makes these systems work. At AFROTECH™ 2024 , Kunle Oshiyoye, a software engineer at GitHub, shared insights from his work on AI technologies, his background as a graduate student at Georgia Tech studying machine learning, and his hands-on experience building and maintaining robust software systems. During the workshop, Oshiyoye explored idiomatic patterns and practical strategies for writing effective tests in the Go programming language, emphasizing why testing serves as both a safety net and a validation strategy. “Testing, to me at least, is a way to validate, to verify what you’re writing,” Oshiyoye said. He referenced a favorite quote: “A good programmer is somebody who always looks both ways before crossing a one-way street.” Purchase your ticket to AFROTECH™ Conference 2025 now! View this post...