Survey: Black Workers Fear Being Replaced By AI

by Atiya Jordan

November 8, 2023

Survey: Black Workers Fear Being Replaced By AI

President Biden signed an executive order to hold robust AI systems to new standards and take action towards in-built biases.

A new survey conducted by Charter Works found that Black workers fear losing their jobs to AI within the next five years.

The workplace research firm found that 53% of Black workers feel pressure about the broader use of AI and automation. In comparison, only 39% of white respondents reported fear of AI job replacement.

“It’s unsurprising that Black workers have greater anxiety and fear about being replaced in the workplace by AI than white workers,” Myaisha Hayes, a director at racial and economic justice nonprofit MediaJustice told Insider. “Historically, Black and brown workers tend to be the least protected and therefore most exploited for their labor — and that trend has carried over in the digital age.”

Out of the 1,173 US workers surveyed across industries and job levels, one Black respondent predicted that AI tools like ChatGPT would “take the place of human employees.” Another respondent expressed concern about a “tidal wave of unemployment.”

Emily Goligoski, one of the leading researchers involved in the Charter study, told Insider that Black workers in low-wage roles were more vulnerable to their jobs being replaced by AI, robots, and other automation technologies.

A McKinsey & Co. report found that these workers, representing the fast-food, retail, and customer service industries, are at risk of being replaced by self-checkout kiosks, robot cooks, and robot servers. Researchers predicted that Black workers will lose a total of 132,000 jobs by 2030.

Today, in all industries, workplace surveillance looks like using methods from keystroke and computer activity monitoring at unprecedented rates. Low-wage workers are more likely to be surveilled and served with immediate and severe consequences, such as automatic firings due to missing productivity targets. At Amazon, where Black workers are overrepresented among call center and warehouse jobs, “consequences of worker surveillance are concentrated and compounded due to occupational segregation.”

To address the imbalance, President Biden signed an executive order to hold robust AI systems to new standards and take action against built-in biases.

As AI capabilities grow, the survey also found that 45% of Black respondents reported using AI tools in their day-to-day jobs, and 61% look forward to using AI in the future, compared to 51% and 37% of white respondents, respectively.

Lauren London Credits Nipsey Hussle For Sparking Her Eldest Son’s Interest In Finance

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

November 8, 2023

Lauren London Credits Nipsey Hussle For Sparking Her Eldest Son’s Interest In Finance

Lauren London is crediting her late ex Nipsey Hussle for helping to spark her eldest son's interest in financial management.

Lauren London is crediting her late ex, Nipsey Hussle, for helping to spark her eldest son’s interest in financial management.

The You People star is a mother of two boys. She welcomed her eldest son, Kameron, with rapper Lil Wayne, and her youngest son, Kross, with Nipsey.

Having two successful rappers serving as father figures has its benefits, especially with a live-in dad like the late Nipsey Hussle. The Los Angeles native was known for his passion for uplifting the Black community and promoting generational wealth.

London recently appeared for a live taping of “Assets Over Liabilities,” where she opened up about her eldest son’s love for money management.

“As far as generational wealth, my son is 14, and it’s just about, like, his education on it. I didn’t have [an] education on it. My mom, you know, struggled. She was a single mom; she had three jobs. So I knew how to hustle, and I knew how to survive,” London shared. “I was thinking with the mentality of survival rather than generational wealth. I didn’t have the mentality of abundance growing up.”

She continued, “I have those conversations with my son about abundance. Like, you can have so much for so many people, not just yourself, but for your kids, and their kids and the community. And so we just have those conversations a lot.”

The teen enjoyed a stock class during the COVID pandemic and has continued to express interest in learning the ins and outs of finance. It’s an area London credits her uncle and late ex with helping to ignite her son’s interest in the field.

“I have an uncle that is very much into, you know, financial wealth in our community. And I also think just — he grew up in the house with Hussle, so Nip was a really big influence on him for sure,” she said.

London admits she doesn’t share the same interest in finance as her son. But at 14 years old, Kameron is helping his mom invest in companies he believes have a higher return on investment.

“I asked him a lot of questions, especially with his stock class. He did [this] stock class program during COVID, and I just thought that was the coolest thing in the world. And he’s like, ‘Mom, you need to invest in Tesla. And I’m like, ‘OK, how do I do that?’” London said.

“I think I’ve had to work on my mindset around money as well and understanding that it’s an energy, too, that we gotta have the mindset that it’s flowing.”

London’s youngest son was recently awarded 50% of Hussle’s estate, which will be split with Hussle’s eldest child, daughter Emani. As a result, London will receive $5 million of Hussle’s estate, valued at $11 million.

by Iman Milner

November 8, 2023

Las Vegas Substitute Teacher Arrested After Allegedly Forcing 6th-Grade Students To Kiss While Others Watched

A substitute teacher in the North Las Vegas-area was arrested after allegedly forcing sixth grade students to kiss in front of the class.

Rasheda Rose, a North Las Vegas-area substitute teacher, was arrested on Nov. 1 after students and faculty at the Legacy Traditional School – North Valley alleged that she forced sixth-grade students to kiss one another in front of the class while their peers watched. Witnesses also claim that Rose made inappropriate comments and forced various students to participate in a game of “Never Have I Ever” in which she asked sexually explicit questions, 8 News Now reports.

Rose faces two counts of child abuse and neglect.

The disturbing incidents allegedly took place at the school on Oct. 10 when Rose, through an external agency, was responsible for substituting six classes, each consisting of about 30 students. Police were told the 29-year-old woman requested that the emergency blinds on the classroom door be shut before instructing two students to come to the front of the class and kiss one another. The students told police that they were uncomfortable and did not want to participate, the outlet reports.

“I want it to be where everyone can see,” Rose could be heard saying in a video captured by another student. “Imma [sic] count to five, once at five, I want yaw to share a lil peck.”

The woman allegedly asked students to identify who was “dating” by raising their hands and then gave them kissing as homework to be done before Oct. 12, saying “she would be back to make sure it was completed.”

“We’re not going to say anything,” Rose allegedly warned the class.

“What happens in Mrs. Rose’s [sic] classroom stays in Mrs. Rose’s classroom.”

Rose also held students back from attending their next class, keeping them in order to teach them how to delete messages, hide things from their parents, and create fake social media accounts, 8 News Now reports.

The mother of one of the students forced to participate in the kissing exhibition expressed an intention to remove her daughter from the school as she had been the subject of relentless teasing and bullying since the incident. The mother also alleges that her attempts to discuss the matter with the school’s principal went unanswered.

Police say the story got even more bizarre on Oct. 31 when a lawyer claiming to represent Rose called the North Las Vegas Police Department officer assigned to the case and, after being told there was probable cause to arrest the woman, said they planned to call back with plans to surrender but never did.

On Nov. 1, Rose brought herself to the station and said she did not have a lawyer but wanted one present while speaking to the police. She was taken to the North Las Vegas Community Correctional Center and is slated to appear before the court again on Jan. 8, 2024. In the meantime, police are also asking any students who may have been victimized by Rose in the past to reach out, Fox 5 Vegas reports.

social media, employees, office, guidelines, policies, triller

by Stacy Jackson

November 8, 2023

14-Year-Old Calls Out AI-Generated Images After Appearing In Nonconsensual Deepfake Porn

A New Jersey Westfield High School student, Francesca Mani, has come forward with her mother, Dorota, to address AI-generated pornographic images that she says were manipulated and shared of her and other female classmates over the summer.

According to CNN, the 14-year-old is calling for federal legislation to protect victims of AI-generated porn.

“In this situation, there was some boys or a boy — that’s to be determined — who created, without the consent of the girls, inappropriate images,” Dorota told the outlet on Nov. 4.

The high schooler said that more than 30 female students were victims of AI-generated images that were allegedly manipulated and released to the public.

The student and her mother are looking for the school and local and state government officials to take accountability for the situation.

Since becoming aware of the matter on Oct. 20, the school has launched an investigation, with consultation from the Westfield Police Department.

“There was a great deal of concern about who had images created of them and if they were shared,” said Westfield Principal Mary Asfendis in a letter to students and parents addressing the matter on Oct. 20.

“At this time, we believe that any created images have been deleted and are not being circulated. This is a very serious incident.”

“All school districts are grappling with the challenges and impact of artificial intelligence and other technology available to students at any time and anywhere,” Superintendent Dr. Raymond González said in a statement.

On April 27, NPR reported that policymakers had already addressed concerns regarding nonconsensual deepfake pornography.

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a “deepfake” is “an image or recording that has been convincingly altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said.”

“Laws and regulation will have to play a role, at least in some of the highest-risk areas,” said WilmerHale attorney Matthew Ferraro, an expert in legal issues around AI.

Ten states, including Texas and California, have already created policies that ban deepfakes, especially pornography. The European Union has already stepped into action by creating the AI Act to set rules and regulations on how AI can be used.

BLACK ENTERPRISE recently reported that the Biden administration has taken steps toward preventing potential AI risks through its Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence. The executive order took effect on Oct. 30.

Husband, Wife, Entrepreneurs, 401K, couples, budget, inconsistent, money, pay, money, relationship, finance, book

by Derek Major

November 8, 2023

Finance Experts Say A Quarter Of Married Couples Are Foregoing Vital 401(K) Savings

Finance experts say one-fourth of married couples are forgoing vital 401(K) retirement savings including employee matching

Niv Persaud, a certified financial planner in Atlanta, is using her own experience to make sure others make the most of the 401(K) financial plans offered by their employers, regardless of their relationship status.

Persaud told the Daily Mail individuals should sign up for their employer’s 401(K) plans, especially if they match funds.

“It truly is free money,” Persaud told the Daily Mail.

A 401(K) match is when an employer matches some or all of an employee’s contributions into their retirement account. Retirement match formulas vary by employer. Some match a percentage of employer contributions, while others match contributions up to a certain dollar amount regardless of employee compensation.

Persaud learned this lesson the hard way, according to the outlet. During her marriage, she focused on bills and expenses while her husband invested in his employer’s 401(K) plan. Her employer offered a 401(K) plan with a match, but she did not sign up for it.

After her marriage ended, Persaud realized she had missed out on thousands of dollars in 401(K) retirement sayings.

“One of the benefits of my own mistake is that when clients come to me, I don’t judge because I’ve been there, and I know it just happens,” Persaud said.

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), one in four married couples lose more than $700 a year on average by not prioritizing the more generous 401(K) matching plan offered by their employers.

Researchers at NBER also found that in many couples, only one person contributes to a retirement plan, while the other ignores a plan with a more generous matching plan. Additionally, other married couples split their retirement savings evenly when they should shift their money into the account with the larger match.

Today, Americans can contribute up to $22,500 into their retirement accounts, with the amount expected to increase in 2024, the outlet reports.

The rise in inflation in recent years has forced many retirees to return to the workforce, making it even more paramount that employees sign up for their employer’s 401(K) as soon as possible.

Universal Basic Income Program, republicans

by Atiya Jordan

November 8, 2023

Why Are Black Women Facing A Slow Economic Recovery?

The long-standing racial disparities in homeownership and employment continue to bolster an inequitable housing and labor market—even among Black women with higher levels of education. As a result, Black women are less likely to reap the benefits of an economic recovery.

The Great Recession led to a dramatic loss of wealth for generations of Black women, particularly in home equity. While the economy continues to recover, studies show that Black women are falling farther behind than other groups of people.

In the 1990s, single Black women were an emerging group of homebuyers, greatly outpacing growth among single white women and men for years to follow. But as the housing crisis of 2007 shook the economy, Black women faced the hardest hit, losing 38% of their wealth, compared to 10% for white women. At the same time, approximately 13% of Black women were unemployed, leaving them more vulnerable during economic downturns.

The Great Recession left Black households “headed by a college graduate with less wealth than white households headed by someone who dropped out of high school,” according to research from the Economic Policy Institute.

“That fact coupled with other discriminatory and structural barriers inhibits the ability of blacks to translate their demographic and socioeconomic status into homeownership.”

For example, studies have shown that Black women were prime targets of racially motivated subprime targeting regardless of their income. That structural barrier brought on larger required down payments, higher cost mortgages, and foreclosures.

Today, Black women get 64.1% of bachelor’s degrees, 71.5% of master’s degrees and 65.9% of doctoral, medical, and dental degrees. The highly educated group is purchasing homes at higher rates than Black men. However, Black women “consistently experience significant disparities when compared to their white counterparts – in unemployment, wages, access to key work-family supports, and in advancement opportunities – often reflecting the prevalence and combined effects of racial and gender bias,” a study found.

Over the years, Black women have not been recovering their losses to nearly the same extent as the general economy. It is unsurprising that the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a state of financial precarity.

VOLATILE LABOR MARKET

Unemployment: Black women are still experiencing an unemployment rate that is about twice that of white women. In June 2023, Black women over the age of 20 had an unemployment rate of 5.4 percent, compared to 2.6 percent for white women.
Lack of benefits: Data show that more Black women work in jobs that do not offer health insurance, retirement benefits, paid sick days, paid family or medical leave, or paid vacation time. During the pandemic, more than one in four Black women reported having no such benefits in their current or most recent job, compared to one in five white men.

UNEMPLOYMENT INEQUITY

Overrepresentation in the low-paid workforce: Black women are typically paid only 67 cents for every dollar spent by white men. As of 2023, Black women must work an additional 208 days to catch up to what white men earned the year before. More than one in three Black women worked in essential roles, such as childcare, healthcare, food service, and other frontline jobs, many of them low-paid, before the pandemic started, compared to just 12.6% of white men.

HOUSING INSECURITY

Disparities in subprime lending: In 2006, at the height of the boom, Black families making more than $200,000 a year were more likely, on average, to be given a subprime loan than a white family making less than $30,000 a year. Blacks were 2.8 times more likely to be denied a loan. When they were approved, Blacks and Latinos were 2.4 times more likely to receive a subprime loan than white applicants.
Foreclosures: During the boom, cheap credit and relaxed lending standards not only precipitated a worldwide financial crisis but intensified foreclosures and segregation. Many Black families were displaced from more stable communities to more racially isolated and impoverished neighborhoods.
Unaffordable housing: Although the COVID-19 pandemic led to a spike in house prices, Black women recovered faster and continued buying property. However, Black homeowners are spending more than 30% of their income on housing.

Long-standing racial disparities in homeownership and employment continue to bolster an inequitable housing and labor market, even for Black women with higher levels of education. As a result, Black women are less likely to reap the benefits of an economic recovery.

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

November 7, 2023

Black Student From Mississippi Earns More Than $1.4M In Scholarships

Dana Bolden, a high school senior at Jim Hill High School in Jackson, Mississippi, has already secured over $1.4 million in scholarships just 3 months into her senior year.

This story was first reported on blacknews.com.

Dana Bolden, a high school senior at Jim Hill High School in Jackson, Mississippi, has already secured over $1.4 million in scholarships just 3 months into her senior year.

On October 12, the school celebrated Bolden’s impressive scholarship achievement. Teachers, staff, and fellow students all gathered to applaud her. Bolden, with a solid 3.8 GPA, decided to apply to a lot of schools. She has so far been accepted to 34 out of the 60 schools she applied to and she expects more to come.

“A lot of students only look at Mississippi schools. And I feel like if you only limit yourself to schools in the state or where you’re from, then you’re not going to reach the full potential that you can reach,” she told WJTV.

After she graduates, Bolden said she has plans to pursue a major in biology.

Meanwhile, the school administrators noted that Bolden achieved a remarkable accomplishment for a high school student, especially so early in the school year.

Especially when access and resources available for the higher education of Black students are under fire, scholarships for Black students are more critically needed than ever. Bolden is just one example of what financial assistance for Black students can do for their futures.

According to Scholarshop.com, “African American students face a multitude of financial challenges when pursuing higher education. Scholarships are of crucial importance in addressing this need and providing opportunities for access to education. These scholarships serve as a lifeline for African-American students who could come from low-income backgrounds or underprivileged communities. The high cost of college tuition and associated expenses can be overwhelming, leading to hefty student debt burdens. Scholarships help alleviate this financial burden by providing much-needed financial aid, reducing the need for student loans. By lessening the financial strain, scholarships enable African American students to focus on their studies and achieve academic success.”

by Sharelle B. McNair

November 7, 2023

Tim Scott Tells Black Church Members That America Needs To Stop Focusing On Race

Scott told Black congregation members in Chicago that America needs to relax on race discussions as the leading Black GOP candidate.

Tim Scott, the only Black Republican Senator and presidential candidate, recently made a speech that prompted some to give him the side eye.

During an unscheduled visit to a Black church on Chicago’s South Side in October 2023, Scott told the crowd that he wants America to focus less on race relations, ABC News reports. The speech was to clear up some comments made during the second Republican debate in September after Scott suggested that former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Great Society” federal welfare program was more difficult for Black Americans than slavery.

“There is a radical movement on the far left, and the more progress that America makes on race, the more some leaders want to deny it,” Scott told members of New Beginnings Church.

“Our country has made, however, tremendous strides since then on the issue of race — but lawlessness and fatherlessness and joblessness have gotten worse in the last 60 years and not better.”

Speaking for over an hour, Scott called out Chicago’s Democratic leadership, many of whom are Black, and said he feels they are failing the Black community. Scott said liberals don’t offer solutions, only division.

“They want us to sit down, shut up, and don’t forget to vote as long as we’re voting blue,” the presidential hopeful said. “Instead of solutions, we are offered distractions and division.”

His comments didn’t go over too well with participating audience members. “I’ve seen both in the debate and also in statements you’ve made where you indicated that you don’t feel that there’s systematic racism,” attorney Rodrick Wimberly told Scott afterward.

“There is statistical data to show, or suggest at the very least, that there is some issue where it’s systemic.” Wimberly and his wife, Evelyn, had come to hear the South Carolina senator speak “out of respect” and were open to giving Scott their vote until they heard Scott’s response: “I’m saying that there is racism, but it’s not the system.”

And this is where experts feel Scott is disconnecting in his campaign. Nadia Brown, a political scientist and professor at Georgetown University, opined that the senator’s race messaging wasn’t geared toward Black people and he is campaigning as a non-white candidate agreeing with GOP issues, the outlet reports.

“What Tim Scott and those of his ilk are doing, they’re trying to play on these emotional push pins that most African Americans don’t see. It’s not landing for them,” Brown said.

“I think that is a call out to other conservatives, particularly white conservatives, who want to say ‘I have a Black senator’ or ‘I feel comfortable voting for a Black candidate.'”

Ahead of the third Republican debate, scheduled for Nov. 8 in Miami, Scott isn’t looking too great in the polls: He is on the edge of elimination, according to New York magazine.

In a memo from Politico, campaign manager Jennifer DeCasper provided a strategy on what the debates will look like. “Haley and DeSantis will engage in a ‘slugfest’ Wednesday,” she wrote. “Scott, meanwhile, will sell himself as a conservative who can actually win.”

Hardship Withdrawals From Retirement Funds Have Tripled In The Last Five Years

by Derek Major

November 7, 2023

Hardship Withdrawals From Retirement Funds Have Tripled In The Last Five Years

A Fidelity report shows the number of Americans making hardship withdraws from retirement funds has tripled in the last five years

It’s no secret many Americans have struggled with their finances and rising prices over the last few years. However, new data on pension funds show an alarming trend, The Daily Mail reports.

The number of Americans withdrawing from their retirement funds has tripled in the last five years. According to a Fidelity Investments report, in 2018, the percentage of Americans with a 401(K) who withdrew money to pay for financial hardship was around 2.1%.

However, in June, the percentage was 6.9%.

The IRS defines a hardship withdrawal as an emergency removal of funds from a retirement plan that can be made in the event of ‘immediate and heavy financial need,’ such as a job loss or medical emergency.

The percentage of Americans claiming hardship has risen each year since 2018, with the exception of 2020, when during the COVID-19 pandemic, the CARES Act allowed people to take up to $100,000 out of a retirement plan without incurring the 10% penalty. That year, the percentage of Americans withdrawing from their retirement plans rose to 15.1%.

Fidelity advises Americans to build an emergency fund as withdrawing from a retirement fund is both costly and results in a dip in your retirement savings. According to Fidelity, those with emergency funds are more financially confident and have higher credit scores.

Additionally, emergency funds are usually in cash, giving households quick access to money, which keeps them from high-interest alternatives such as payday loans.

Bank of America reported in August that 15,000 of the firm’s 401(K) plan participants made a withdrawal from their accounts in the second quarter of the year, a 36% increase from the second quarter of 2022. The price of food, housing, and transportation have risen significantly since the pandemic began and have shown little signs of slowing down despite the US economy performing better than expected.

RELATED CONTENT: Report: Many Women Unprepared for Retirement

Turkey Leg Hut Owners Headed To Splitsville, Wife Cites ‘Abuse, Manipulation, And Lies’

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

November 7, 2023

Turkey Leg Hut Owners Headed To Splitsville, Wife Cites ‘Abuse, Manipulation, And Lies’

There are question marks around the future of Houston's famed Turkey Leg Hut after the owner filed for divorce from her "gaslighting" husband.

There are question marks around the future of Houston’s famed Turkey Leg Hut after the owner filed for divorce from her “gaslighting” husband.

Lynn and Nakia Price are the celebrated owners of Houston’s Turkey Leg Hut, a popular eatery that went viral a few years back for enforcing a dress code on patrons. But now, two years later, the food and the company rules aren’t what have people talking.

It looks like there is trouble in paradise for the Turkey Leg Hut owners after Nakia took to Instagram to reveal why she filed for divorce from Lynn in May. According to Nakia, who now goes by Nakia Holmes, she has been concealing the truth about her marriage for some time.

“I have been quiet for so long and I can no longer hold my silence,” she wrote in the post captured by Hello Korean.

“This war that I’ve been fighting behind closed doors, all the while pretending to the world that everything is perfect, is too much to bear.”

According to Holmes, who has full legal ownership of the popular restaurant, her marriage has been “hell on Earth” due to the “abuse” that has been taking place behind the scenes.

“The abuse, the manipulation, the lies, the deceit, the gaslighting and narcissism have become unbearable,” she explained.

Holmes criticized the public perception of her husband as someone who “stands on business,” saying anyone who views Lynn as an upstanding businessman is “sadly mistaken.” The man she and her children have experienced at home is allegedly “cruel, abusive emotionally, and mentally and completely void of any emotion.”

“From the time we wake up, til the time we close our eyes each night, we are literally in a fight for our peace,” Holmes wrote.

She is now “choosing me” and will no longer take part in “hindering and hiding his behavior” as she prepares to embark on a divorce “battle.”

Supporters of Turkey Leg Hut are wondering what the future of the restaurant will be now that the couple is parting ways. The restaurant quickly grew in popularity since its 2015 launch. With Holmes having full ownership, hopefully the eatery won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.