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Mustafa Suleyman has high hopes for the future of superintelligence and its impact on humanity. During a conversation at AFROTECH™ Conference 2025, he joked that he grew up playing “Snake” on a Nokia phone, which was supposedly a “phenomenon” when it launched in the late ’90s. Suleyman’s fascination with technological advancements never wavered, and his enthusiasm remains strong as the CEO of Microsoft AI. He shared his thoughts on superintelligence, stating early on that it “must always work in service of humanity.” He also offered his predictions for it by 2040. He expressed optimism about its potential to benefit humankind, believing that if developed successfully, it would align with human interests and improve the standard of living. Suleyman explained that it is already capable of world-class medical diagnostics and continues to advance in emotional intelligence and autonomous action. “It’s going to learn to use APIs, send emails, make phone calls, interact with us,” he...
International Business Machines Corp. ( IBM ) announced on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2025, that it will cut thousands of jobs in the fourth quarter as the company pivots toward higher-growth areas such as AI consulting and software. The technology company, which had 270,000 employees at the end of 2024, said the move aligns its workforce with changing market demand, according to The New York Times. “We routinely review our workforce through this lens and at times rebalance accordingly,” a company spokesperson said, per Bloomberg. “In the fourth quarter, we are executing an action that will impact a low single-digit percentage of our global workforce.” For years, IBM has practiced what it calls “workforce rebalancing,” cutting some positions while adding others, The Times reports. The number of workers in the United States is expected to remain steady despite some cuts. Since Arvind Krishna took over as CEO in 2020, IBM has pushed aggressively into high-growth areas such as cloud computing...
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy addressed the company’s recent layoffs during its quarterly earnings call on Oct. 30, saying the decision to cut 14,000 corporate positions was based on cultural factors rather than financial or AI-related reasons, Fortune reports. “The announcement that we made a few days ago was not really financially driven, and it’s not even really AI-driven, not right now at least,” he said during the call. “It’s culture.” The Amazon layoffs, which largely affected middle management, followed a June 2025 memo, according to a previous Fortune report. In it, Jassy said that advancements in AI have increased efficiency across the company. In a separate internal communication, Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, described the restructuring as an effort to adjust to the “transformative technology” of AI. Amazon’s workforce has grown significantly in recent years. The company currently employs about 1.55 million people worldwide,...
International Business Machines Corp. ( IBM ) is facing a lawsuit alleging it discriminated against Black executives when it terminated them to align with the Trump administration’s push to eliminate federal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. Former IBM executive Zena Washington filed the 15-page lawsuit on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. According to the suit, Washington, who spent 26 years with the company before her dismissal in February 2025, held various roles in product management and engineering, most recently serving as director of product management for data and AI . According to the lawsuit, Washington “was viewed as an excellent employee” and consistently received positive performance reviews and bonuses. She was also selected for an IBM program that prepares employees for senior executive roles. “This is further evidence that until her termination, IBM viewed the plaintiff as one of the most highly valuable employees with strong potential to go into a C-Suite...
Netflix’s Board of Directors has approved a 10-for-1 stock split, the company announced in a news release on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. Shareholders of record at the close of trading on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, will receive nine additional shares for each share held, effective after the close on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. Trading on a split-adjusted basis is expected to begin Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. Netflix said the split aims to “reset the market price of the Company’s common stock to a range that will be more accessible” for employees with stock options . Netflix shares rose by 2% in after-hours trading following the 10-for-1 stock split announcement, Business Insider reports . The stock closed Thursday at $1,089, up 42% over the past year, and is one of only 10 S&P 500 stocks trading above $1,000, reports CNBC. Thursday’s 10-for-1 split marks Netflix’s third split-stock decision, following a 2-for-1 split in 2004 and a 7-for-1 split in 2015, per Yahoo! Finance. What Is A Stock Split?...
The construction of hyperscale AI data centers is booming across the United States, but non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) keep many details hidden from affected communities. According to NBC News, major tech companies require landowners and public officials to sign NDAs to receive limited information and the promise of economic benefits. In March 2025, three men approached Dr. Timothy Grosser and his son Andy with a $10 million offer for their 250-acre Mason County, KY, farm — 35 times what they paid in 1988 and far above local land prices. The buyers refused to reveal their identities, with one man claiming to represent a “Fortune 100 company” but offering no names — only an NDA. Dr. Grosser said the contract would have barred him from discussing the project, offering only limited details about its purpose, timeline, and size in return. “We refused to sign it,” Grosser said, per NBC. “I’m not selling my farm for any amount of money.” Grosser is among 20 residents offered deals to...
The future of ridesharing is here. Digital Tasks To Get Paid Uber is piloting a new way for its drivers to earn money when they’re not on the road. In a blog post, the company said it is piloting digital tasks for select drivers and couriers. According to Newsweek, the initiative was first introduced during the “Only on Uber 2025” conference in Washington, D.C., and its AI Solutions group will power it. The feature is already being tested in India. The company gave several examples of tasks a driver can fulfill in just a few minutes, including uploading photos to train AI models, submitting documents in different languages, or recording yourself speaking in a language. “Uber connects you with companies that need real people to help improve their technology. By completing short digital tasks across different languages and topics, you’ll help make their products smarter — while earning extra through the Uber app,” the company said in the blog post. Drivers will be able to earn more...
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have joined others in signing a statement calling for “a prohibition on the development of superintelligence” AI systems for the time being. Future of Life Institute (FLI), an AI safety group based in the United States that called for a pause on advanced AI development in 2023, organized the statement, according to The Guardian. It is aimed at tech companies , governments, and lawmakers, and includes signatures from AI pioneers and Nobel laureates. While artificial intelligence (AI) refers to systems that can match human intelligence in most cognitive tasks, artificial superintelligence (ASI) describes hypothetical systems that would exceed human intelligence. “The future of AI should serve humanity, not replace it. The true test of progress will be not how fast we move, but how wisely we steer,” Harry wrote in a comment alongside his signature. The statement urges that the ban on ASI development remain in place until...
Amazon’s workforce has tripled in the United States since 2018, reaching nearly 1.2 million employees, reports The New York Times. Now, the nation’s second-largest employer is accelerating automation, with plans to use robots in place of what would have been 600,000 workers hired by 2033, even though sales are projected to double by then. According to The Times, interviews and leaked internal documents reveal that Amazon plans to automate 75% of its operations, potentially eliminating 160,000 jobs in the U.S. by 2027. Automation would save Amazon around 30 cents per item shipped, amounting to an estimated $12.6 billion in savings between 2025 and 2027. At facilities designed for superfast deliveries, Amazon is trying to create warehouses that employ few humans at all. In 2024, Amazon opened its most advanced robotic warehouse in Shreveport, La. — a model for future fulfillment centers, per The Times. After a package is sealed there, human hands rarely touch it again. The outlet...
Meta will be making cuts on its team working on AI. Superintelligence Labs The New York Times reports that the tech company co-founded by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg was ramping up its effort to lead in AI, which caused it to take on more employees than needed, s ources close to the matter explained. Now, 600 workers in its AI division, Superintelligence Labs, have been laid off. Over the past three years, the company has been gearing up to compete with Google, OpenAI, and others, Axios reports. “For our superintelligence effort, I’m focused on building the most elite and talent-dense team in the industry,” Zuckerberg said on Threads on July 14. “We’re also going to invest hundreds of billions of dollars into compute to build superintelligence. We have the capital from our business to do this.” Meta Is Reportedly Laying Off 600 AI Workers Teams specifically said to be impacted will be those working in Meta’s FAIR AI research, product-related AI, and AI infrastructure units, which is...
An investment has been made to support scholars at Virginia-based Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). $150K Boost According to 13News Now, Google Data Centers’ Community Development and Engagement team has invested $150,000 in the Virginia Humanities HBCU Scholars Fellowship, which supports HBCU-affiliated writers, community scholars, faculty members, and doctoral candidates. This is accomplished through funding, academic publishing, and peer support networks, access to the University of Virginia’s library systems and archives at the Library of Virginia, among other avenues, per information on the fellowship’s website. The fellowship backs individuals whose work spotlights the state’s history, considers marginalized stories, and explores South Atlantic themes. “It’s heartening to see that the private sector values and supports this work,” said Yosef Medina, director of the fellowship, per 13News Now. “This funding represents more than the support it will provide...
Warner Bros. Discovery is exploring the sale of its company in light of “unsolicited interest” from multiple parties, a press release confirms. A few months ago, the company had announced it would be splitting into two companies: Streaming & Studios and Global Networks. The purpose is to improve its shareholder value and improve its presence in entertainment, sports, and news, according to a press release shared by the company. The Streaming & Studios company would include Warner Bros., DC Studios, HBO, and HBO Max, as well as film and television libraries. Global Networks would consist of entities such as CNN, TNT Sports, and Discovery in the U.S., some European channels, and digital products including Discovery+ and Bleacher Report (B/R). “The cultural significance of this great company and the impactful stories it has brought to life for more than a century have touched countless people all over the world. It’s a treasured legacy we will proudly continue in this next chapter of...
Millions of people across the U.S. felt the effects of Amazon Web Services (AWS) going offline. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the global outage on Monday, Oct. 20, disrupted access to websites, apps, and services across sectors. As recovery continues, new details are emerging about just how integral AWS is to everyday digital life. According to CNN, the outage rippled through nearly every aspect of daily routines. People couldn’t order coffee through mobile apps, teachers couldn’t access lesson plans, and smart home systems like Ring and Blink cameras stopped working. For many, it was more than just an inconvenience. Hospitals also lost key communications tools, and customers at digital banks such as Chime couldn’t access their money. The shutdown underscored how essential AWS has become to digital infrastructure. The platform provides the behind-the-scenes computing power for millions of businesses, offering storage, servers, and data management tools that keep operations...
Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud infrastructure giant relied on by millions of companies worldwide, experienced a significant outage on Monday, Oct. 20, temporarily knocking major websites and apps offline, CNBC reports. What Is AWS And What Caused The Outage? AWS, according to its website, is a cloud computing platform that provides on-demand services such as data storage, computing power, and database management to businesses, governments, and developers. The disruption, per CNBC, first emerged in AWS’s primary U.S. East-1 region in northern Virginia at around 3:11 a.m. ET, when the company reported DNS issues affecting DynamoDB, its database service that supports many AWS applications. DNS, or Domain Name System, translates website names into IP addresses, enabling browsers and apps to load content. AWS said at the time that the problem stemmed from an operational issue affecting multiple services, impacting more than 70 of its own systems. Early signs of recovery appeared by...
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice reports that its recidivism rate is 16.9% — one of the lowest in the nation. Part of that success comes from workforce programs like a new solar installation training designed for Black, low-income residents in Houston. Many individuals are formerly incarcerated and from neighborhoods historically affected by poverty and pollution. Leon Dillard, who calls his hometown “the energy capital of the world,” spent two years in prison before his September 2024 release. According to Capital B News, he joined about 50 others this past summer in the 22-week solar training program led by the Black United Fund of Texas, the City of Houston, and Green Thumb Academy. “It gave me a sense of purpose,” Dillard said. For the first time, he says he felt part of an educational program that offered support and life-changing benefits. The program provided students with $18 an hour in wages, industry-recognized certification from the National Center for...
