AI data centers that continue to pop up across the United States are driving power costs to record highs — and consumers are left bearing the burden. According to Bloomberg, Kevin Stanley, a blind Baltimore resident living on disability benefits, says his electric bill has surged about 80% over the past three years — despite living over an hour from northern Virginia’s “Data Center Alley.” As a result, Stanley has found himself stretching supplies for his diabetes and sleep apnea, and occasionally relies on food banks to cut costs. “They can say this is going to help with AI, but how is that going to help me?” Stanley said, Bloomberg reported. “How’s that going to help me pay my bill?” Connor Waldoch, co-founder of Grid Status, an energy data analytics platform, says the surge in electricity demand from data centers is driving up utility bills, adding to the strain of rising costs for food, housing, and other essentials. How AI Data Centers Are Driving Up Energy Costs A Bloomberg...

The impact of generative AI on the U.S. labor market is already visible in employment data, with signs of a hiring slowdown in the tech sector — especially among younger workers. On the Aug. 5, 2025, episode of the “Goldman Sachs Exchanges” podcast, Joseph Briggs, senior global economist at Goldman Sachs , noted that most companies have yet to implement AI in production cases, so its broader effect on the job market remains limited, according to CNBC. Still, current trends offer a sneak peek at what’s to come. “If you look at the tech sector’s employment trends, they’ve been basically growing as a share of overall employment in a remarkably linear manner for the last 20 years,” Briggs said, per CNBC. “Over the last three years, we’ve actually seen a pullback in tech hiring that has led it to undershoot its trend.” As highlighted in “Quantifying the Risks of AI-Related Job Displacement,” a recent report co-authored by Briggs, unemployment among tech workers aged 20 to 30 has risen by...

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...

Microsoft is laying off approximately 6,000 employees, around 3% of its global workforce, as CNBC reports, marking the latest round of job cuts as the company continues to realign its business priorities. The move will affect workers across various teams and regions, though the company did not disclose specific departments or locations. A Microsoft spokesperson told CNBC that the layoffs are part of organizational and workforce adjustments “to reduce layers of management” and not related to job performance. The spokesperson further stated, “We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace.” Microsoft, which employed 228,000 people worldwide as of June last year, has conducted several rounds of layoffs in recent years. In 2023, the company cut 10,000 positions, according to CNBC . In 2024, Microsoft also laid off nearly 2,000 employees from its gaming division just months after a $69 million gaming...

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. On February 1st, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to impose tariffs on America’s biggest trade partners: Mexico, Canada, and China. Canada and Mexico were supposed to face a 25% tariff, while China received a 10% tax. In response, Canada, Mexico, and China announced that they would retaliate by imposing their own tariffs on American goods. On February 10, China will hit the US with a 15% tariff on coal and a 10% tariff on crude oil, farm equipment, and some vehicles. The Trump administration has prioritized tariffs as a key policy focus, despite warnings from economic experts about their potential negative impact on the economy. Many voters supported Trump due to his economic promises, but since taking office, several of his policy decisions have contributed to rising costs of living. As of last week, tariffs on Canada and Mexico have been postponed until March, as both countries...

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is among the countries facing a humanitarian crisis. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) reported that it’s not only experiencing one of the world’s longest humanitarian crises but also one of the most complex. A most prevalent issue in the DRC is child labor. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, nearly 25,000 children work in cobalt mines. Despite the alarming rate of exploitation, a case in the U.S. regarding the matter has ended with the defendants not found at fault. Previously, in 2022, Apple, Alphabet Inc. (Google), Dell, Microsoft, and Tesla were said to have been “knowingly benefiting from and aiding and abetting the cruel and brutal use of young children in the Democratic Republic of Congo to mine cobalt,” according to ABC News. However, in March 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia found the five tech giants not liable due to only having an “ordinary buyer-seller transaction” with...

In 1986, the Commodore 64 had become the bestselling single personal computer model of all time. More than 17 million were sold, including one to my parents. I remember the C64 and its place of prominence in the living room of our home in Cleveland, OH. It was there even when there wasn’t any furniture (And I was on it a lot). That Commodore 64 was my first real exposure to computing and it helped catalyze my interest in technology. A few years after college I dove into startup life, and from there I went on to build a career in cybersecurity, to become a CEO, and it all led me to my role today, which is to help Microsoft identify the partnerships and investments that will shape the future and tackle some of the world’s greatest challenges. Unfortunately, many people do not have access to technology, even in 2023. The Pew Research Center estimates that today in America, four out of ten low-income households are without computing devices of any kind. A 2022 National Urban League...

With millions of new businesses started by Black founders, it’s more important than ever to connect visionaries in our community with the resources to turn ideas into profitable opportunities. Microsoft has created a solution to empower more startup founders at any stage with tools for success. Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub is a digital platform to connect startup founders with the resources, mentorship and tools to go from product ideation, to launch, to long-term expansion. Equipped with free Microsoft tools, platforms and resources, founders can design businesses and products that run more efficiently from the ground up. Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub is democratizing innovation to help create a startup world that reflects the world around us by being open to all. By offering resources and tools, Founders Hub is leveling the playing field by giving more Black founders the opportunity to be successful without needing personal connections to Silicon Valley. Here are our...