Black Tech Weekend 2023
Tech. Connection. Culture.
October 12th-14th, we had the privilege of attending Black Tech Weekend in Detroit, Michigan. Being a Spin off from Black Tech Week, this was a highly anticipated event for the fall. Black Tech Week is an annual week long event dedicated to connecting black people in the tech space. Black Tech Week has grown to attract major names, such as Issa Rae, Aisha Bowe, Dug Song, Detavio Samuels and many others. The event has been talked about all over the tech scene and of course we had to check it out.
Over the course of the weekend attendees had opportunities to attend various workshops, guest speaker sessions, meet with investors, learn about growing start-ups, network with other professionals, attend social mixers and enjoy amazing food. It was truly refreshing to learn about all the different backgrounds that were present and to see so many young people in attendance. This was especially important, because the energy surrounding the event was heavy on “ for the culture”, from the music, to the food, and even the conversation topics during speaker sessions. Which is something you don’t always get to have at professional events like this. This is something we truly see setting Black Tech Week up to be on scale similar to AfroTech.
As we evaluated Black Tech Week’s potential scale, we couldn’t help but notice the conversations surrounding Detroit and Tech. Many people were talking about how happy they were that the event took place in Detroit, because there has been a hyper focus on bring more tech into Detroit. There are many investors and companies looking to make moves in Detroit. Teaching and connection efforts like @Blacktechsaturdays are on the rise. Even Lieutenant Governor of Michigan, Garlin Gilchrist II , fellow techie, came and shared his story and talked about the efforts that are being made on the state side to grow tech programs and get companies to come to Detroit. These efforts have been growing for sometime and we could see Detroit being a tech hub in the next five years. This was definitely the perfect city for Black Tech Week to Spotlight!
Now, the spotlight moment of the weekend was hands down the Human VS AI Rap Battle, Hosted by @rapvsAI. The event consisted of local artist rapping a verse to the AI Persona and then the AI persona would respond back with a verse. Not only was the AI lyrically good, they had a rhythmic flow, hand and body gestures, and even some adlibs. It was quite an interesting performance, and what a great way to celebrate 50 years of HipHop. We all know AI technology is on the unavoidable rise, making one wonder, is this the future of rap? Of Music? Are we ready for these AI generated artist? Are they artist? If so, how do we make them culturally inclined? What data are we importing? Guess we will have to wait and see.
Overall, for anyone looking to get into tech, Black Tech weekend is a great way to learn, connect, reach back and forward within the culture.
Black Tech Weekend was a 10/10 event we will definitely be checking out Black Tech Week 2024 in Cincinnati, Ohio
Shoutout to @rapvsAI,@Rebrandcities, @Blacktechweek, @Newlab, @venture313, @Song.foundation
