Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. Over the past few years, the tech industry has revolutionized productivity through the creation and investment in AI technology. Leaders in AI boast about the technology’s capabilities to bolster productivity. If AI is really saving us so much time and energy in the workplace, tech companies should be pushing for businesses to adopt a 4-day workweek. Since the pandemic, workers have argued against returning to the office for the 5-day workweek. While most white-collar workers were either working from home or adhering to a hybrid work model, it made some employees realize that much of their work doesn’t need to be completed daily in an office. Companies like Kickstarter and Microsoft Japan have operated on a 4-day workweek schedule since 2021 and 2019, respectively. Microsoft Japan has reported that it led to a 40% increase in productivity. According to a 2024 CNBC and Generation Lab poll , 81% of...

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. As mass layoffs hit various industries, Gen Zers— the youngest generation in the workforce—are growing tired of the traditional 9-to-5 workday. The conventional workweek doesn’t appeal to this new subset of workers who have grown exhausted with the daily slog of corporate life. Gen Z workers (the oldest of whom is turning 28 this year) feel stuck in their current positions and report feeling unfulfilled in their work. Nearly half of them are “coasting” on the job compared to previous generations, according to a CNBC study . For many young workers, their search for meaning begins with quitting their corporate jobs and looking toward entrepreneurship. Since 2023 , the rate of adults starting businesses has risen. In 2024, approximately 18% of business founders were from Gen Z, compared to 14.5% in 2023. Young people aren’t impressed with climbing the corporate ladder; rather, they are looking to be...

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. Social media , once a place for gathering and chatting with friends and family, has become another corporatized entity looking to sell you things. From clothing hauls to tummy teas, social media is all about advertising. With the introduction of influencer marketing, companies no longer advertise in the same way they did several years ago with traditional commercials and photo ads. Now, there is an army of influencers ready to sell reusable water bottles or skincare to consumers from the comfort of their living rooms, which isn’t much different than what you would see on QVC. TikTok has increased advertising on the platform, introducing a shopping tab where consumers can purchase their favorite products, sometimes at a discounted price. However, paying influencers can be pricey for a company that is worried about its bottom line. Unfortunately, as more and more tech companies look to automate...

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. The Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies requiring the deportation of 3,000 immigrants a day will have a disastrous effect on the economy, as several industries, such as agriculture, hospitality, restaurants and meat-packing, heavily depend on immigrant labor. Immigrants are a vital part of our workforce, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) targeting of undocumented immigrants , or those who commit violent crimes, has shown to be misleading since they’re detaining and deporting hard-working people who boost our economy. President Donald Trump, in a surprise reversal, ordered ICE to pause raids and arrests in those industries, according to the New York Times. “Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost...

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. The New York Times inked a multi-year deal with Amazon last month to license its content to Amazon’s artificial intelligence models. Amazon will have access to The New York Times’ content, including NYT Cooking and its sports publication, The Athletic. Amazon’s AI services, such as Alexa, will produce real-time summaries and short excerpts. Similar to other news publishers, The New York Times views a licensing deal as a viable way to generate profits as AI companies attempt to siphon copyrighted content to train their chatbots. Attitudes towards AI use, especially regarding news organizations, can be polarizing. Other publishers such as The Washington Post, Associated Press, and Axios have also signed deals with AI companies to license their content. A few years ago, AI companies were using copyrighted material without permission. Media company Ziff Davis and The New York Times sued OpenAI and...

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. In recent years, cryptocurrency has been viewed as a risky investment, hyped up by the mega-rich and stealthy hackers. Now, thanks to President Donald Trump, America is fully embracing cryptocurrency as a legitimate form of currency. Without any guardrails or protections, the U.S. could see itself heading towards another financial crisis. Cryptocurrency was anonymously created in 2008 but didn’t gain mainstream appeal until around 2020. The government, or any banking authority, doesn’t have oversight over the digital currency , making it highly volatile. While the Biden administration pursued cryptocurrency fraudsters, the Trump administration had a different approach, embracing the industry. President Trump signed an executive order in the first week of his second term supporting cryptocurrency and even released his own meme coin. There are rarely any regulations on crypto, and from the policies...

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. For many founders in the beauty and lifestyle space, the measure of success isn’t just in sales but also in the value of an exit. Recently, Hailey Bieber’s beauty brand, Rhode, was acquired by e.l.f . for $1 billion. Founded in 2022, the beauty brand has reached its valuation quickly thanks to Bieber’s name recognition and viral social media campaigns. But while Bieber has been praised for selling her company, the majority of Black founders are accused of being sellouts by Black customers when they do. Over the past several years, Black-owned brands like The Honey Pot Company, Mielle Organics , and Briogeo Hair Care have been acquired by large conglomerates. For every acquisition, a large portion of their Black customers have complained or claimed that they would no longer buy from the brand because they view the acquisition as a form of selling out. Black founders are held to a different standard...

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. WNBA superstar Angel Reese and former NBA superstar Magic Johnson joined forces recently to create Wealth Playbook , a financial literacy program for high school students in Baltimore, MD. The program is a partnership between the Angel C. Reese Foundation, the Magic Johnson Foundation, and Pull Up Neighbor, an advertising firm focused on community outreach. Through the program, students will learn how to manage their money and build long-term wealth. The program is split between four sessions, with beginnings at Saint Frances Academy, Reese’s former high school in Baltimore. The first session was a lesson in budgeting, understanding credit, and basic money-management skills. There’s no denying that financial literacy classes are needed, but who really gets to benefit from them? Both Johnson and Reese have basketball in common, but they are also in a privileged position to have so many resources at...

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...

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. The Trump administration’s anti-DEI crusade has now come for artificial intelligence (AI). Over the past several months, tech companies have retracted their previous commitments to DEI to comply with Trump’s executive order. Now, according to AP, both the administration and the Republican majority of Congress claim that AI is woke. “Wokeness,” or “woke,” is a term derived from African American Vernacular English to refer to being aware of social and racial injustice. It was a positive thing seen as early as the 1930s, or with people asking someone to “stay woke” from the 1970s well into the 2010s. That is until conservatives turned the word into a negative. Now, wokeness is seen as a negative thing, but only because they don’t want the public to be aware of the injustices they are committing currently. Artificial intelligence can’t be woke — it’s a thing that only operates in a way that it is...

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. The theme of the 2025 Met Gala was “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”, particularly focused on Black dandyism. Guest Curator Monica L. Miller’s book, “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity,” served as the primary inspiration for the exhibit. Black dandyism began in 18th century Britain, but its cultural movement took root in the early 20th century, in which Black people embodied the European sensibility through clothing as a form of self-expression. Emerging during a time when African Americans had little to no agency after the Emancipation Proclamation (1863), they used dandyism to address the erosion of their civil rights. The theme highly parallels the current fight to retain ownership and freedom during a divisive time in politics. The 2025 Met Gala had Black male co-chairs for the first time in history, with celebrities A$AP Rocky, Lewis Hamilton,...

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. A recent study released by Lending Tree revealed that a lot of Americans are using buy now, pay later (BNPL) loans from companies like Klarna and Affirm to buy groceries (25%, up from 14% in 2024). As economic fears mount and uncertainty about the economy continues, people are turning to financing their everyday necessities. But using BNPL loan services is a mistake, especially for those who struggle with debt. BNPL is an interest-free loan, allowing consumers to split their purchase into smaller payments. For those who have an issue with credit cards or deal with debt, this could be an alternative. But if you begin making late payments, you can be charged high fees, which is a problem for those who have multiple loans. While the existence of BNPL loans isn’t necessarily a problem, how they’ve come to be used is concerning. Recently, DoorDash announced its plans to accept BNPL financing through...

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. Recent viral videos on TikTok by Chinese wholesalers are claiming that luxury handbags and other items are made in China . This is a strong assertion when the trade war between the United States and China has consumers thinking about how much more they will have to pay for everyday items, as well as more frivolous purchases. Luxury goods aren’t as necessary when compared to food, clothes, and certain machinery. However, in recent years, consumer purchasing habits have diverged among various generations. Some Millennials and Gen-Z are focused on splurging on regular items like coffee and little treats, so spending money on big-ticket items has taken a backseat. Even so, while luxury goods have a higher mark-up in price based on brand recognition, many still use quality items to construct their products. For example, Hermés, the French luxury house, does not manufacture its bags in China, according...

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. This week, former wrestling promoter and current Education Secretary Linda McMahon published an Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal announcing the Trump administration’s plans to begin collecting on defaulted student loans. However, as we’re on the brink of experiencing a recession thanks to President Donald Trump’s trade war, this act runs the risk of contributing to an economic slowdown, according to ABC News. Beginning on May 5, around 5 million borrowers who have defaulted on their student loans will be sent to collections. When they are sent to collections, the federal government will seize federal tax refunds, even garnish wages and other forms of income to pay off the debt. Many borrowers cannot afford a student loan payment, which is why they defaulted in the first place. Federal loans also have high interest rates, which this current administration has shown no interest in lowering to...

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...