The Tech Jawn: Black Tech Enthusiasts Covering The Week's Tech News And How Tech Affects Black Culture

Nex Cubed is launching a $40 million fund that will invest in startups where at least one founder is an HBCU student, alumni, or faculty.It’s a slow news cycle for Apple and we keep getting hit with rumors of new devices. This time a new ultra-high-end iPhone that could make its debut next year.Samsung held its Galaxy Unpacked 2023 event last Wednesday It unveiled iterations to the Galaxy S 23 line of phones as well as three new Galaxy Book laptops.And big tech layoffs are reversing trends in diversity. Women and underrepresented communities are being affected by layoffs at a higher rate than their peers.Link to Show Notes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are rumors that a foldable iPad could be coming as soon as 2024, but would the price of such a device be cost-prohibitive?The venture capital scene got substantially worse for Black Founders in 2022. Their companies only received about 1% of the $215.9 billion raised last year, down from 1.3% in 2021.TikTok employees pick favorites with a “heat” button putting their thumbs on the scale for the content they want to go viral.  Just another reason that creators need to control the distribution of their content and have a relationship with their biggest fans outside of social media platforms.We got all this and more for you in episode #68 of the Tech Jawn.Link to Show Notes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Twitter shuts off access to several third-party Twitter clients with zero notice. Twitter had the right to do it, but, was Twitter right to do it?Apple announces new M2 processors, refreshed MacBook Pros, and less expensive Mac Minis in a recorded video. Have live press events for lesser announcements gone the way of the DoDo?Big Tech Layoffs continue into 2023, but, when you look at the overall Tech Industry, things may not be as bad as they seem.And will Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act which prevents platforms from being liable for content users post be repealed?Link to Show Notes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are black and brown renters being denied access to housing based on biased algorithms? A renter’s screening company says it's not its issue because it doesn’t make renting decisions.Wyoming wants to phase out electric vehicles by 2035. We don’t think lawmakers proposed this resolution with a straight face as they attempt to make a point to states like California and New York.Is all fair in love and AI? A Silicon Valley man uses AI to write and illustrate a children’s book, and let’s just say the reaction, by many, was visceral.  We’ve got all this, and more in this Martin Luther King Day episode of The Tech Jawn.Link to Show Notes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MSG Entertainment is being petty with its facial recognition capabilities. The company is actively banning employees from law firms that are litigating cases against it from patronizing its venues.Inaccuracy in Facial Recognition of Black and Brown faces is still problematic for the technology, but, police departments arresting and jailing suspects who have clearly been misidentified is cruel and unusual.The August LastPass security breach is way worse than we initially thought. We’re not saying you should leave LastPass, but, we certainly are no longer recommending it.And ChatGPT has taken the internet by storm since its Nov. 30th release. We discuss the technology is, why schools are banning it, and how search is probably soon to undergo a massive shift.Link to Show Notes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apple decides not to scan your iCloud photos against the Child Sexual Abuse Material database, or, CSAM, and has other plans to expand its Communication Safety features.The Federal Trade Commission filed an antitrust complaint against Microsoft alleging that its bid to acquire Activision Blizzard violates U.S. law.Meta’s content moderation policy for Facebook and Instagram had a double standard for high-profile users compared to regular folks.And the likes of Meta and Microsoft contemplate trying to gain Twitter market share with Twitter-like and WeChat-like super apps respectively.Link to Show Notes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’ve got something special in this week’s episode of The Tech Jawn. We interview Cherish Samuels, a unicorn of unicorns, as she is a Black, female, mechanical engineer.We talk about everything from her journey getting into engineering at a young age, for years being the only face on the job that looks like hers, and how she has transitioned into tech now working on Amazon Fresh, the automated checkout grocery store.We also talk about Cherish’s son’s unique name, her not changing her last name when she got married, and, people still thinking it's cool to touch black people's hair even after you tell them not to.Link to Show NotesThis Week's Special Guest: Cherish Samuels - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherishsamuels/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Twitter grappled with nuisance spam from the Chinese State intended to obscure news of covid restriction protests happening in cities across the country.Even though Amazon Alexa devices are pretty popular the digital assistants are on pace to lose $10 billion this year because users just don’t buy products with them.The Department of Justice opens an investigation into a real estate tech company accused of collusion with landlords over rent prices.And the UK launches a market probe into Apple and Google’s mobile dominance with their respective browsers but this seems different than the old Internet Explorer saga.Link to Show Notes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Taylor Swift really that big, or, is TicketMaster's and Live Nation’s monopoly on ticket sales and venues the cause for Swifties not being able to purchase tickets?Microsoft is eager to acquire gaming company, Activision Blizzard, for $68.7 billion, but, a new EU investigation has Microsoft Gaming’s CEO promising Call of Duty will remain on PlayStation.Bob Iger is returning, temporarily, as CEO of Disney replacing Bob Chapeck with a mandate to return to growth and handpick another CEO to take the helm within two years.And with the holiday season in full swing, we pick a few gift ideas that gadget geeks like us would probably enjoy.Link to Show NotesHoliday Gadget Gift Ideas mentioned in the show(We are Amazon affiliates and may make a commission on products purchased through our affiliate links)Anker Nano 3 30-Watt, USB-C, Fast Charger -- https://amzn.to/3OnrZYmSanDisk 2TB Extreme Portable SSD -- https://amzn.to/3VfPGE4VGAzer Magnetic Levitating Light Bulb Desk Lamp -- https://amzn.to/3hXoTOyApple AirTags 4-Pack -- https://amzn.to/3ADYgEGRazor Kishi V2 Mobile Gaming Controller -- Android https://amzn.to/3EQbaSw, iOS https://amzn.to/3XjlKZFApple Watch SE -- https://tinyurl.com/2gaype4x Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Google is set to pay nearly $400 million to settle lawsuits with 40 state's attornies general over location data it wasn’t supposed to be collecting.Regardless of how you feel about Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, the new Twitter non-verified blue check mark, right now,  is creating confusion and making Twitter even less reliable.The FTX crypto exchange bankruptcy could setback cryptocurrency in general for years and usher in traditional finance-type regulation.And, even though the Tech Winter is getting colder with all of these big tech layoffs, the technology industry as a whole is still one of the best and strongest industries to get into.Link to Show Notes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.