ARTICLE CONTINUATION

playback:

Continued from page 2

“Sisters on The Frontline:”

California Black Women Democrats Host Meet-Up at California Democratic Party Convention in Los Angeles

California State Controller, Malia Cohen hosted members of Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) during the California Democratic Party state convention in Los Angeles this past weekend.

Themed “Sisters on The Frontline,” the social gathering held at Fixin’s Soul Kitchen in Los

ai:

Continued from page 2 ate trusted oversight and guardrails to reduce or eliminate failures, the group insisted.

“The idea that this stuff could actually get smarter than people — a few people believed that,” Hinton stated when asked whether he thought AI would have such an immediate impact. “But most people thought it was way off. And I thought it was way off. I thought it was 30 to 50 years or even longer away. Obviously, I no longer think that,” he said. Meanwhile, journalists have acknowledged some fear over AI.

The Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) recently quoted experts who said that the

hIP-HOP:

Continued from page 3

The University of Cambridge recently developed the Hip-Hop Psych Initiative, which aims to use hip-hop lyrics and music to help young people dealing with depression develop more positive images of themselves and their situations. Ian Levy, an associate professor of school counseling at Manhattan College, developed a hip-hop-based counseling framework for schools and other educational settings.

Hip-hop culture is also expanding beliefs about academic achievement, success and professionalism. University of Southern California education professor Christopher Emdin wants educators to rediscover their “ratchet” self. While being ratchet, which originally meant being uncultured, is often rejected within academic settings, Emdin explains that being a “ratchedemic educator” is not about acting out, but acting authentically.

Angeles, brought together Black women who are shifting the balance of power across the state such as U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA12); Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber; California State Assemblymembers Mia Bonta (D-Oakland) and Tina McKinnor (D-Hawthorne); and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

Other allies who attended to show their support included Attorney General, Rob Bonta and Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena).

During the event, Lee spoke about her candidacy for U.S. Senate and Weber shared some details about the proceedings of the state’s Reparations task force.

Weber said she expects the Legislature will approve the task force’s recommendations.

B ill Aims to “Clean Up Wild, Wild West” of Ballot Initiative Campaigns

On May 21, Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles) hosted a virtual rally to discuss Assembly Bill (AB) 421. The bill, which he authored, aims to tackle problems with California’s ballot initiative process. The goal of the bill is to help voters know who is behind a measure and identify paid signature collection campaigns, Bryan said. AB 421 would expand oversight of signature collection and referendum campaign funding by the Secretary of State’s Office. It would

health:

Continued from page 6 biggest flaw in a “large language model” like ChatGPT is that, while it is capable of mimicking human writing, it has no real understanding of what it is writing about, and so it frequently inserts errors and flights of fancy that some have referred to as “hallucinations.”

CJR reported that Colin Fraser, a data scientist at Meta, wrote, “The central quality of this type of model is that they are incurable, constant, shameless bullsh–ters. Every single one of them. It’s a feature, not a bug.”

And Gary Marcus, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at New York University, has likened this kind of software to “a giant autocomplete machine.”

As advocates of youth, we should set examples and model consent in our interactions with others to help them understand healthy relationships and what they should look like.

Protect access to services and information

We must fight to ensure that teens have access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services and information, including contraception, sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, and treatment. Moreover, we must equip them with the knowledge and skills to navigate the healthcare system and connect to care when needed. Programs like TeenSource help provide a safe space for young people to amplify their voices and seek answers to questions regarding care, sexual health, relationships, and other topics. To learn more, visit teensource.org.

also require that unpaid volunteers collect at least 10% of a campaign’s signatures.

In California, paid signature collectors, sometimes from other states, are often contracted to interact with the public and canvas for referendums. AB 421 would require that those signature collectors register with the Secretary of State’s office.

“There are 40 million people who are counting on their Legislature and their governor and their voice to be heard in the democratic process,” Bryan said the following day at a briefing announcing the bill.

“You have communities that have been historically boxed out of this process who have found their voice through different statewide initiative processes,” he added.

development. In addition to ensuring access to services and information, we can support youth in making informed decisions about sexual health by encouraging the use of condoms and other forms of contraception to prevent STIs and unintended pregnancies. We can also promote the importance and safety of the Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to prevent cancer and other health problems that can impede their future.

Supporting adolescent health requires a community effort. We have a vital role in creating a supportive and empowering environment for teens. Let’s work together to ensure that all adolescents have the information, resources, and support they need to be healthy and thrive. For more information on how to communicate openly with youth, visit talkwithyourkids.org.

I have spent the past two years researching the ways that hip-hop culture produces its own set of professional practices that encourage drive, creativity, authenticity, honor, community, confidence and commanding attention. These characteristics are valued in many different settings, but hip-hop culture adds a unique flavor and intensity. I call this the HipHop Mindset.

Continuing to evolve

While hip-hop has left an indelible imprint on the field of education, it is not done yet. Hiphop continues to evolve and gift us with possibilities for what culturally relevant education might look like in the next 50 years. As the saying goes, “Can’t stop, won’t stop.”

This commentary originally appeared on TheConversation.com.