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AFROTECH™ Conference 2025 brought the magic of Disney to Houston with “An Inside Look at Imagineering Presented by Walt Disney Imagineering.” On Wednesday, Oct. 29, Imagineers Lanny Smoot and Jonathan Becker shared their personal journeys, offering a behind-the-scenes look at some of the most innovative and immersive experiences in themed entertainment. During the session, Smoot, who holds 107 United States-issued patents — the most of anyone at Walt Disney Company — discussed his latest innovation, the HoloTile floor, which he believes will transform the virtual reality landscape. Photo Credit: Alan Castelan “Virtual reality has always allowed people to be in multiple places, all of that sort of thing, but of course, if they walk too far, they trip on the couch. So, I’ve invented a floor that allows anything on its surface, including people walking, to walk as long as they want to in any direction. The floor will always correct that and keep them on it,” Smoot said. Becker, never...
An AI security system at Kenwood High School in Baltimore, MD , mistakenly flagged a student’s bag of chips as a gun, leading to a police confrontation, WBAL-TV 11 News reports . Taki Allen was eating chips with friends after football practice on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, when officers reportedly approached him with guns drawn. “It was like eight cop cars that came pulling up for us. At first, I didn’t know where they were going until they started walking toward me with guns, talking about, ‘Get on the ground,’ and I was like, ‘What?’” Allen told WBAL. He said officers ordered him to get on his knees and put his hands behind his back so they could handcuff him. After confirming he was unarmed, they found a bag of chips on the ground where he’d been previously standing. Police told Allen an AI detector had mistaken the crumpled chip bag for a weapon when he was holding it. They also showed him the photo from the camera that activated the alert. “I was just holding a Doritos bag — it was...
Twitch CEO Dan Clancy is backtracking on his decision to include popular streamers Kai Cenat and IShowSpeed (Darren Jason Watkins Jr.) on the hypothetical Streamer Mount Rushmore. Clancy was first asked to name his “Mount Rushmore of streamers” during a Mafiathon 3 interview, Kai Cenat’s recent month-long 24-hour Twitch stream. Clancy listed Ninja, IShowSpeed, Pokimane, Kai Cenat, and CohhCarnage. However, in a video making the rounds on social media as of Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, Clancy admits he only included Cenat because he asked, suggesting neither Cenat nor IShowSpeed truly deserves a spot. “…It probably should be more historical. You know, in other words, Kai is big now, but arguably, it’s like he asked me, so I had to put him on there. But arguably it’s like ‘Look, you’re great, but you can’t be on the Mount Rushmore yet,’” Clancy said. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Chaka Zulu 𓋹 (@chakabars) Clancy added that certain streamers will feel upset and left out,...
Strava has filed a lawsuit against Garmin. The complaint, submitted to the U.S. District Court of Colorado on Sept. 30, alleges that Garmin infringed on Strava’s patents, according to The Verge. Strava Garmin Lawsuit The patents in question cover segments and heatmaps, reports The Verge. Segments allow athletes to compare performance times on specific routes. Heatmaps highlight popular areas for running or cycling. Strava claims that Garmin expanded these features beyond the permitted agreement, creating competing products on the Garmin Connect platform and Garmin devices. A permanent injunction has been requested. Strava wants Garmin to be blocked from selling products that include these features. This would affect most Garmin devices, including Edge bike computers and Forerunner, Fenix, and Epix smartwatches, notes The Verge. Strava argues that financial compensation alone would not address the alleged infringement. The lawsuit comes as a surprise to many in the fitness tech...
At a time when rising data breaches and scams enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI) are dominating headlines, it is more crucial than ever to go the extra mile to protect one’s data privacy and boost digital security . From phishing scams that mimic a loved one’s voice to deepfakes , fabricated USPS texts, identity theft, and fraud, modern-day threats are far more frequent and sophisticated. During AFROTECH™ 2024 , Kunmi Akingbade of Deloitte , Anietie Umoh of Meta , and Cortney Worthy of Dropbox took the Cybersecurity Stage to share insights on navigating a high-stakes digital landscape where personal data is constantly collected, analyzed, and exploited. The 40-minute panel warned of rising threats and offered tips for those looking to build or grow a career in cybersecurity, data privacy, and risk management. “In cybersecurity, it is common that you wear multiple hats,” Umoh said , emphasizing the importance of prioritizing and juggling multiple tasks. “Oftentimes you may have...
Dove wants increased representation in the digital world, leading the global personal care brand to launch a guide to help designers create characters with Black hair textures and protective styles for video games. “Code My Crown” — created with the help of Black game developers, artists, academics, and stylists — features instructions, personal insights, detailed references, and complete open-source code. “In the real world, there is an incredible variety of Black hairstyles. But this is rarely reflected in the gaming world,” said Lead Guide Contributor and Founder of the Open Source Afro Hair Library (Osahl) A.M. Darke in the guide. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Prof. A.M. Darke (@prettydarke) Recent research indicates that 85% of Black gamers believe video games poorly represent Black hair textures, according to Dove. Additionally, around 80% of Black gamers report feeling excluded, discriminated against, or inadequate when they do not see accurate...
The 170 million TikTok users in the U.S., according to NBC News, will have access to the app for at least another 75 days. Is TikTok Getting Banned Tomorrow? On Friday, April 4, 2024, President Donald Trump announced plans to sign an executive order giving ByteDance, the China-based owner of TikTok, an additional 75 days to find a non-Chinese buyer. “My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress,” Trump wrote in a TruthSocial post. “The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days.” On April 24, 2024, former President Joe Biden signed a law requiring ByteDance to sell the app to a U.S. company within one year or risk a ban, AFROTECH™ previously reported. Lawmakers and national security experts have expressed concerns over China’s potential access to ByteDance’s U.S. user data and its ability to...
The tech industry faces uncertainty and fear due to the Trump administration’s strict immigration policies, leading companies to advise employees on visas not to leave the United States because they might not be allowed to return. During President Donald Trump’s first term, the denial rates for high-skilled visas increased to 15%. Law firms have warned that a similar upward trend is possible during his current presidency , according to The Washington Post. “What we’re seeing right now is just a lot of worry and panic,” said Principal Attorney Malcolm Goeschl of Goeschl Law, a San Francisco, CA, firm specializing in business immigration for the tech industry . “It seems like [the administration is] just getting more and more momentum, and we don’t know what’s around the corner.” Silicon Valley , Northern California’s global hub for technological innovation, is known for housing many of the world’s largest tech companies and producing groundbreaking inventions. Tech giants in the...
Hybrid and electric vehicles have been a big trend in recent years as new and innovative technologies prioritize convenience and sustainability. BYD (Build Your Dreams) is a Chinese company that has positioned itself as a dominant force, leveraging cutting-edge technology to challenge the industry’s established leaders . One of the most recognizable brands in the EV industry is Elon Musk’s Tesla . While Tesla has long been regarded as the undisputed innovator in this realm, BYD is steadily carving out its own niche. In global markets with impressive advancements in EV technology, vertical integration and growing sales figures the question is no longer if BYD can compete with Tesla, but how it will continue to close the gap. The foreign company is already doing well for itself in terms of both market share and technological prowess. BYD was founded in 1995 in Shenzhen, China. It is a publicly traded company with major holdings under the control of Wang Chuanfu, the founder and...
For a company that prides itself on pushing the boundaries in space exploration , SpaceX just hit another major roadblock—literally. The highly anticipated test flight of its Starship mega rocket ended in disaster (again) after controllers lost contact with the upper-stage vehicle just minutes into the launch. This marks Starship’s second consecutive failure, raising serious questions: What’s causing these explosions? Has this happened before? And what is SpaceX doing to fix it? Let’s break it all down. Why Did This Happen? According to an NBC News report, the launch kicked off with promise. Near Brownsville, Texas, on Thursday, March 6, at 6:30 p.m. ET, Starship blasted off from SpaceX’s Starbase for its eighth test, soaring toward the skies with the power and spectacle you’d expect from the world’s most advanced rocket. But then—like déjà vu—disaster struck just over eight minutes in. Live video showed the upper-stage vehicle spinning uncontrollably, and within seconds,...
Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. Peter Drucker, the Austrian management consultant whose writings helped shape modern management theory, once said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” This quote aptly describes the impact of the U.S. Justice Department’s decision to delete the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database. Created under the Biden administration and initially proposed by Donald Trump during his first term, the database was designed to hold federal police accountable for infractions and prevent bad officers from moving between jobs without oversight. By maintaining a record accessible to hiring authorities, the system aimed to improve transparency and accountability. However, the U.S. Justice Department provided no rationale for why it was decommissioned. The reasoning behind this decision may lie in the leadership of the U.S. Justice Department. Pam Bondi, a former Trump’s campaign official and the...
Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. The meaning of words changes over time and often shifts based on who is using them and why. One example that comes to mind is the word “Woke.” In the context of social justice, “woke” was used as early as the 1920s by Marcus Garvey in his article “Wake Up Ethiopia! Wake Up Africa!” where he urged Black people to become more politically and socially aware. The phrase “Stay Woke,” which we are more familiar with, became widely known during the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Originally intended to promote social and political awareness among Black people, the term has since been co-opted by others as a negative label. Today, “woke” is often used in a derogatory way to criticize liberal ideologies or actions. “Woke” isn’t the only term that has undergone a shift in meaning. The phrase Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI), which traces its origins back to affirmative action , has also evolved. When...
The power of representation led Omar Johnson to recognize his potential as a marketer in the technology sector. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, Johnson developed an interest in the field and discovered his passion for marketing. This motivated him to earn an MBA from Emory University in 2004, which paved the way for his career at Nike. He joined the company as an assistant brand manager in 2005 and, within two years, was promoted to content manager for advising and innovation. During his tenure at Nike, he was inspired by Trevor Edwards, who served as chief marketing officer before advancing to executive vice president of global brand and category management from 2003 to 2013. Edwards later became president of Nike Brand, a role he held until 2018. “One of my mentors, his name is Trevor Edwards, he was a president at Nike when I met him…Knew every part of the world that mattered when it came to culture and led this beautiful and big magnanimous way,” Johnson said on the “Black...
The right circle can change your circumstances in the blink of an eye! Calling all early-stage, pre-seed, and seed founders — join the AFROTECH™ Insider Founders Circle to build for the future alongside a network that could lead to your next investor or co-founder. This membership aligns with our mission to empower Black entrepreneurs with the tools to succeed and drive innovation across industries, including fintech, medtech, and consumer tech. “At AFROTECH™, we strive to help make a difference and change the narrative regarding raising capital, starting and scaling a startup, and networking with the right people to help grow your business,” Blavity Chief Revenue Officer Michael Hadgis said on LinkedIn. “We created the AFROTECH™ Insider Founders Circle to help founders navigate the path and their business pitch become investor-ready!” Perks The sky’s the limit! Your direct participation in the AFROTECH™ Insider Founders Circle gives you access to exclusive perks, including office...
Technology is enabling fans to immerse themselves in the music of legendary artists like Janet Jackson. The “Anytime, Anyplace” songstress is currently headlining a residency at Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas, NV, running through May 31, 2025. Fans can relive 42 of her timeless hits, including “I Get Lonely” and “When I Think of You.” The latter, released in 1986 as the third single from her “Control” album, became her first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, as Billboard notes. Jackson’s Vegas residency carries deep significance. Her career began when she was seven years old at MGM Las Vegas. She performed alongside sisters Rebbie and La Toya, as noted in Las Vegas Magazine. “I will always have a very, very special place in my heart for Las Vegas. I started my career here 51 years ago. I love you so much,” Jackson said during her performance on Wednesday, Feb. 12. Photo Credit: Resorts World Theatre L-Acoustics With a career spanning five decades, Jackson’s passion for performing...
