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

The European Union gives Meta until September 1st to come up with better membership options for Facebook and Instagram other than simply paying a fee not to be tracked or consenting to being tracked for free.

Artificial intelligence can detect prostate cancer at substantially higher rates than human doctors and AI-assisted predictions of cancer size were 45 more accurate than without AI.

Cybersecurity company Cloudstrike’s Falcon Sensor software pushed out an update that caused Windows Blue Screens of Death on servers all over the world.

And the police are using robots to disable Internet of Things booby traps inside suspect's homes.

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CNN is shifting its business again.  The Cable news network is laying off 100 employees, disbanding its Race Equity Team, and launching a digital platform similar to the shortlived CNN+ in 2024. 

Yes, AI is screwing over Black folks, and, Latin X folks, and, lower middle-income white folks.  Here are a few tips to protect yourself from the job-eliminating A.I. boom.

SIM Swap Attacks are on the rise. SMS related two-factor-authentication meant to keep your accounts safe, actually make them a target for social engineering.

And Nothing’s $200 CMF Phone is not bad for an entry-level Android Device.

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Multi-Purpose-Tap could make mobile NFC payments more useful and more complicated. The new concept could allow you to tap your phone, pay for alcohol, and get carded all at the same time.

Morehouse College launches 3D, AI, Teaching Assistants in its Metaversity. They probably don’t need to be 3D, a chat interface would suffice, and we hope they don’t displace real human TAs.

Middle school students in a Philly suburb cyberbully and defame 20 teachers to little to no consequence… At least thus far.

Microsoft’s AI CEO believes content on the internet is freeware unless specifically otherwise stated.

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The Detroit Police Department, after a settlement with a man who was wrongly arrested based on grainy security camera footage, can no longer use facial recognition results as its only basis for an arrest.

The Federal Communications Commission wants to change rules that would force mobile carriers to unlock phones for consumers. 

Facebook and Instagram’s ‘pay or consent’ ad model violates the Digital Markets Act in the EU.

And RCS is finally available in iOS 18 beta dev 2.    Messaging between iPhones and Android is better, but, green bubbles aren’t going anywhere.

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Microsoft Recall was supposed to launch with Copilot+ PCs last week, but Microsoft decided to send the controversial, AI-powered, timeline snapshotting feature to the Windows Insider Program.

Social Media Influencers aren’t seeing the sponsorship and brand deal payouts that they once did, possibly because everyone and their momma is trying to become one. 

Meta is flagging real photos edited with AI as AI-generated.  Maybe we need a flag that says AI-enhanced. 

And Wil.I.Am unveiled an AI-generated Black, female host, for his SiriusXM radio show at the Cannes Festival.

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Apple’s new Tap to Cash feature that allows iPhone users to tap their phones to initiate an Apple Pay transfer makes paying someone really easy.  The question is does it make it too easy?

The US Surgeon General wants tobacco-like warning labels on social media.

The proposed labels would regularly warn users that social media platforms have not been proven safe for their mental health.

The Fearless Fund was dealt a blow in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in its effort to support women-owned Black businesses.  

Ancestry is using AI to help users discover the names and lives of their ancestors who were formerly enslaved.

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In this episode of The Tech Jawn, we cover Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference Keynote.  Brothech breaks down the new hotness coming to visionOS 2, iOS and iPad OS 18, WatchOS 11, and macOS Sequoia.  

TechLifeSteph catches us up with the saga of the phantom system data on her new Macbook Air.  To make a long story short, Steph had to make a trip to the Genius Bar.

And we wrap things up by talking about New York’s new Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act.  The bill, expected to be passed into law by New York’s governor, essentially outlaws algorithmic feeds for children.

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A pair of studies published in the journal Science indicate that predominately older Republican women are responsible for the vast majority of the “fake news”.

Spotify is raising its prices for the second time in as many years. Will the streaming music service be able to maintain the industry's best churn rate?

The social media platform X has updated its terms of service specifically allowing for adult NSFW content on the platform.  

And be careful when you receive requests for cash through various mobile payment apps. Folks out here scamming during graduation season.

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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.

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Political deep fakes are a thing in India, they generally aren’t nefarious, and most politicians approve. They probably need to do a better job at making sure folks know they are indeed fake, however.

The latest iOS update, version 17.5, appears to in some instances resurface deleted content, including deleted nudes users thought were gone forever. 

OpenAI is tossing around the idea of letting users responsibly generate AI porn and other NSFW content. 

And, OpenAI has done away with its team focused on long-term AI risks less than one year after announcing it.

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