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

This week on The Tech Jawn we are joined by special guest Mac Conwell, founder and managing partner of RareBreed Ventures.

He hangs out with us to talk about the run on and ultimate failure of Silicon Valley bank, what actually happened, and how bad it could have been if the government didn’t step in.

We talk about the ICAN Act, why Mac was called to testify in front of Congress about it, and how modifying the stipulations for what it takes to be a venture capitalist could be good for founders of color.

And lastly, we talk about Mac’s journey to becoming a VC and why he focuses on business outside of Massachusetts, New York, and California.

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The August 2022 LastPass breach just keeps getting worse and worse. It turns out that a developer with “literal” keys to the kingdom was hacked on his home computer which, ultimately, lead to a series of unfortunate events.

The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to give the President the power to ban TikTok, but, civil liberties and digital rights groups argue that such a ban would violate users’ First Amendment rights.

TikTok is implementing 60 minutes of screen time on all teen’s accounts by default, but, we aren’t so sure that this measure will do much to curb time spent on the platform.

And bias and racial inequality show up in ed tech just like it does in technology in general.

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Amazon CEO Andy Jassy wants workers back into the office at least three times per week, but, 16,000 employees, really ain’t trying to hear that.

Google is changing directions when it comes to podcasting. The company has stopped adding playable links directly to search results and will soon add podcasts to YouTube Music.

Screen time, like video games, may not have the adverse effects on children’s development once thought.  What is going on at home in addition to screen time is an important indicator.

And, The State of Black Professionals in Tech report is out.  It turns out that companies that are more diverse make more money.

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Twitter drops the less secure sms based two-factor authentication for free users, but, lets you keep it if you are a Twitter Blue subscriber. 

Meta, taking a page from Twitter’s playbook is launching, Meta Verified, a Blue verification subscription for Facebook and Instagram accounts starting at $11.99 to $14.99 per month.

Walmart is closing three tech hubs, asking employees to relocate, and requiring them to come into the office at least twice a week.

And, are lethal robots and AI the pathway to reforming how policing is done in America? For Heaven’s sake, please no.

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This year, an anti-Tesla full self-driving ad aired in several markets during the Superbowl. The Dawn Project spent $598,000 on the 30-second spot, but, we aren’t certain what the motivation was.

In Google’s official introduction of Bard, its’ ChatGPT-like large language model AI, the search giant published false information in an ad causing Google’s stock to drop nearly 10%. 

It turns out that reinstating previously banned Twitter accounts that violated Twitter’s guidelines could be quite lucrative.

And AI-generated porn is bad for women, and, also, water is wet.

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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

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