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The rise of generative AI has sparked ongoing debate over its impact on the workforce, praised for boosting productivity yet feared for displacing jobs and disrupting employment patterns. A new study from researchers at Stanford University’s Digital Economy Lab reveals that early-career workers — ages 22–25 — in AI-exposed jobs have seen a 13% relative drop in employment since AI’s widespread adoption. Released on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, the coinciding report — titled “Canaries in the Coal Mine? Six Facts About the Recent Employment Effects of Artificial Intelligence” — uses high-frequency data from ADP, the nation’s largest payroll software provider, to track labor market shifts in occupations most affected by generative AI. “Employment has begun to decline for young workers in highly exposed occupations like coding and call centers, but older workers and workers who use AI to augment, not automate work, have seen job gains,” Stanford economist Erik Brynjolfsson, who led the...
As the world becomes more interconnected, the demand for advanced cybersecurity continues to rise, driven by increasing threats and rapid technological change. At AFROTECH™ Conference 2024, Prem Iyer, SVP of strategic pursuits at Palo Alto Networks, shared insights on the direction of venture capital, private equity, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) trends in the cybersecurity space. From the stage, he offered valuable perspectives for professionals at all levels, from interns and investors to executives and chief information security officers (CISOs). Attendees were provided with a breakdown of key attack vectors driving CISO focus and how vendor consolidation can improve security while cutting costs, as Iyer emphasized the two most critical markets in technology today: cybersecurity and AI. “If you think about AI, we just started talking about it materially in the last two years, and right now if you ask Bain, they’ll tell you it’ll be a $780 billion to $990 billion market by...
A new app that went viral for helping women date more safely has hit a major snag. Tea, the women-only platform designed to crowdsource safety information about men, surged to popularity in July, hitting over 4 million users and topping Apple’s App Store, according to Complex. Marketed as a “space to safely talk about men,” the app lets women upload photos of guys, run reverse image searches, and perform background checks to identify someone as a “red flag” or “green flag” for dating. But just as the app was hitting its stride (going viral on TikTok, especially among Gen Z), Forbes reports, a massive data breach compromised the information of thousands of users. What Is The Tea App? Tea isn’t a traditional dating app. Instead, it acts as a safety tool. Per Forbes, users can upload photos of men they’re talking to, search by name or phone number, and ask the community if anyone has “tea,” or gossip, about the men. It offers features such as: Catfish Finder AI to identify fake or...
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™. In the 2024 presidential election , it was reported that voter turnout among Gen-Z voters dropped significantly compared to 2020. There was also a significant uptick in younger voters who supported President Donald Trump, according to the Guardian . Overall, Gen Z appears to be leaning slightly more conservative than their Millennial counterparts, a shift largely attributed to the influence of social media and its impact on shaping political perspectives. Social media’s prevalence in our daily lives has only gotten worse over the years. People now spend the majority of their time online, doom-scrolling. Younger generations are less likely to get their news from sources other than social media. They watch YouTube videos instead of regular television and don’t listen to the radio in the same way previous generations did. Videos targeted towards young men are laced with misogynistic messaging and the...
TikTok has been at the center of many recent conversations. Despite its battles at Capitol Hill, the social media app is still one of the primary places Gen Z and others go for entertainment, recommendations, and news. Disney star Skai Jackson is among the people who have tapped into TikTok’s ubiquity. Jackson has been vocal about using TikTok and how it has impacted her personal life. According to a report from Blavity, the 22-year-old has a partnership with hair brand Cantu Beauty. However, her searches on TikTok taught her hairstyling techniques that would allow her to maximize the use of the products she promoted. View this post on Instagram A post shared by S K A I (@skaijackson) “I really feel like these products [Cantu] are so special because they took the time to answer everybody’s needs and deliver and put them into the product,” she told Blavity. She continued, “It’s just so amazing to see that there are millions of people in the world dealing with the same issues as me...
Google holds the throne as the leading search engine, but according to Insider, TikTok and Instagram might be coming for its spot. According to data revealed by the search engine, nearly half of Gen Z — whose ages range from seven to 25 — prefer to use TikTok and Instagram instead. “Something like almost 40% of young people when they’re looking for a place for lunch, they don’t go to Google Maps or Search, they go to TikTok or Instagram,” said Prabhakar Raghavan, Google senior vice president, per the outlet.
Maya Ray is what we call post-grad goals. During her time as a college student, the Gen Z entrepreneur brainstormed a business idea that would have her financially set post-grad. A month after graduating from Georgia State University, the alumna launched FYC Vending — a vending machine company — which has generated $119,000 in sales, according to Business Insider.
Much like the world as we know it, the gaming industry continues to evolve and soar to new heights. What was once the basis for mobile gaming has changed, thanks to Gen Z, and the money to follow is proof in the pudding. According to Vogue Business, the generation is partly responsible for helping to “boost the industry’s valuation to $222 billion this year,” and that number might not go down anytime soon. Another contributing factor to the 2.7 billion gamers who account for the top-grossing U.S. games is the influx of women gamers. They currently make up for a bulk of the consumer spending and are a part of the demographic helping to make the industry appeal to luxury brands.
For decades on end, individuals from different generations have been engaged in notable conversations about the difference and nuances that exist between them. From Baby Boomers to Gen-Z, every generation has “a way” of doing things that influence the generation’s characteristics and identity. These days, people use TikTok to help spread these messages as well. Viral TikTok star, DeAndre Brown, has taken advantage of this generational phenomenon (specifically between Millennials and Generation Z) with videos meant to poke fun at generation differences in the workplace. As the self-proclaimed “corporate baddy”, Brown soon found that the two generations had more in common than their differences. Based on a report from Insider, Brown is an early 20-something working in consumer banking. He notes that he is the youngest person on his team based in Dallas, TX. It was this age difference that inspired him to join TikTok in mid-2021 to talk through his experience as a recent graduate of...
Yara Shahidi is one of the leading voices of today’s generation, and her latest partnership is further affirmation of her influence. Today, Dell Technologies announced a multi-year partnership with the actress, entrepreneur and advocate to “inspire Gen-Z to use technology to drive their passions,” according to a press release provided to AfroTech. Shahidi will be working alongside Dell XPS to highlight how the brand’s laptops are a force for storytellers, visionaries and creatives like herself to bring their imagination to life. “ Technology has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. I t’s something that touches nearly every aspect of our lives and has the power to make meaningful impact,” said Shahidi in a press release. “My work with Dell XPS is incredibly special to me because we are mobilizing my generation to use technology to make space for their unique stories and voices . ” Shahidi is the definition of a changemaker. And with her avid social activism and Dell...
GV, the company formerly known as Google Ventures, just got its first Black female partner. Fortune reports GV — an Alphabet-backed venture capital firm that has made investments in GitLab, Slack, and Uber — has just promoted Principal Terri Burns to investing partner. This title will grant her the ability to write checks and at age 26, Burns will make history as the firm’s youngest-ever partner. Burns, as a Black woman, is a unicorn in an industry long dominated by white men. In the VC world, slowly but surely some progress has been made. According to All Raise , the number of female decision-makers grew from 9 percent at the end of 2017 to 13 percent this past February. Only one Black woman has been named partner at any VC firm in 2019, per Fortune , and Black people made up just 0.67 percent of all entrants to the industry between 2010 and 2015. Prior to spending three years at GV as a principal, Burns was an associate product manager at Twitter and had already made out checks...
In the weeks leading up to Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the president received backlash for wanting to host his first rally of the year on Juneteenth in the city that was once home to Black Wall Street. He pushed the rally to June 20th, but that was not good enough for those who did not want the streets of Tulsa overthrown by his racist followers. On June 15, Donald Trump took to Twitter to announce that nearly one million MAGA supporters would be attending his campaign rally in downtown Tulsa. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1272521253136498690?s=20 “Almost One Million people request tickets for the Saturday Night Rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma,” he tweeted. At every turn, he made it a point to brag about the huge attendance at his upcoming rally. Compilation of people bragging about a million people signing up for the rally pic.twitter.com/X9EHPSvv8Z — Acyn (@Acyn) June 21, 2020 In anticipation of such a large turnout, the BOK Center, which only has a...
