Black employment and technical positions in Silicon Valley 2014, 2018
Between 2014 and 2019, Silicon Valley’s major tech companies made minimal progress in increasing the representation of Black employees in technical positions. Here's a detailed overview:
Google:
- 2014: Black employees constituted 1% of Google’s U.S. technical workforce.
- 2018: This figure rose slightly to 2.4%.
Facebook:
- 2014: Black employees made up 1% of the technical workforce.
- 2019: The percentage increased marginally to 1.5%.Â
Apple:
- 2014: Black employees held 6% of technical roles.
- 2018: This percentage remained unchanged at 6%.Â
Microsoft:
- 2014: Black employees comprised 2.4% of technical positions.
- 2018: The representation increased slightly to 2.7%.Â
Amazon:
- 2014-2018: Amazon did not publicly disclose specific demographics for its technical workforce during this period, making it difficult to assess changes in Black representation in technical roles.
Overall, from 2014 to 2019, the increase in Black representation in technical positions at these major tech firms was minimal, often rising by less than a percentage point. Despite various diversity initiatives, the proportion of Black employees in technical roles remained significantly lower than their representation in the overall U.S. population, which is approximately 13%.
-- Kenrick Cai and Deborah Mary Sophia, Reuters1, 2/5/25
... This story also covered by The Verge,Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, Bloomberg, CNBC, ... and Alphabet (pdf)
-- Amazon ... "Amazon shares drop as cloud growth, sales forecast lag", cBy Greg Bensinger and Deborah Mary Sophia, Reuters2, 2/6/25 ***
.. This story also covered by TechCrunch, Business Insider, GeekWire, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, ... and Amazon
Alphabet
• Massive AI Investment: Alphabet plans to spend $75 billion on AI infrastructure in 2025, significantly exceeding Wall Street expectations.
• Cloud Growth Slowing: Google Cloud revenue grew 30% YoY but missed estimates, down from 35% growth in the previous quarter.
• Advertising Strong Despite Competition: Ad revenue rose 10.6% to $72.46 billion, with YouTube ads up 13.8%, driven by U.S. election spending.
• Market Reaction: Alphabet’s stock dropped 9% after-hours, reflecting investor concerns over profitability and AI spending.
Amazon
• Cloud Revenue Below Expectations: AWS grew 19% to $28.79 billion, missing forecasts, due in part to chip supply constraints.
• AI and CapEx Spending: Amazon is maintaining high capital expenditures to develop AI software and improve AWS infrastructure.
• Retail and Ads Boost Overall Revenue: Online sales grew 7% to $75.56 billion, and advertising revenue jumped 18% to $17.3 billion.
• Stock Drops on Weak Guidance: Lower-than-expected Q1 2025 revenue guidance ($151B-$155B) led to a 4.2% drop in Amazon’s stock price, erasing $90 billion in market value.
-- Carl Franzen, VentureBeat, 2/5/25
- Text Google ... https://blog.google/technology/google-deepmind/gemini-model-updates-february-2025/
1. Concise Summary
Google has once again blessed us with a new lineup of Gemini 2.0 models, because clearly, AI wasn’t fast, cheap, or powerful enough already.
• Gemini 2.0 Flash – The “workhorse” AI model is now fully unleashed for developers, boasting low latency, high efficiency, and soon, image generation and text-to-speech—because talking AI is so 2023.
• Gemini 2.0 Pro (Experimental) – This one’s for coding wizards and those who love to throw complex prompts at an AI just to see what happens. With a 2 million token context window, it can handle a lot.
• Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite – A budget-friendly AI that still outshines its predecessor but won’t break the bank for those building high-frequency applications.
Of course, all of these models are multimodal, though for now, they only respond in text—but don’t worry, more exciting capabilities are “coming soon.” Also, Google swears it’s working on AI safety because no one wants their AI assistant secretly reading hidden malware commands.
2. Detailed, No-Nonsense Summary with Key Points
Gemini 2.0 Flash – Now Generally Available
• Initially launched as an experimental model in December 2024, it is now available via the Gemini API in Google AI Studio and Vertex AI.
• Designed for high-volume, high-frequency tasks, it offers low latency and strong multimodal reasoning with a 1 million token context window.
• Future updates will introduce image generation and text-to-speech capabilities.
Gemini 2.0 Pro (Experimental) – Built for Advanced Coding & Complex Prompts
• Google has released an experimental version of Gemini 2.0 Pro, aimed at developers handling complex coding and reasoning tasks.
• Features Google’s largest context window yet (2 million tokens), enabling deep analysis of vast datasets.
• Can call Google Search and execute code, expanding its real-world application in software development.
Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite – The Cost-Efficient Option
• Designed as a budget-friendly alternative, outperforms Gemini 1.5 Flash while maintaining the same speed and cost.
• Supports multimodal input with text output and a 1 million token context window.
• Available as a public preview in Google AI Studio and Vertex AI.
• Can generate 40,000 unique photo captions for under $1 in Google AI Studio’s paid tier.
AI Safety & Security Measures
• Reinforcement learning techniques enable Gemini to critique its own responses, improving accuracy and handling of sensitive prompts.
• Google is deploying automated red teaming to identify security risks, including indirect prompt injection attacks (where malicious instructions are hidden in retrieved data)
- Text Wall Street Journal ... https://t.co/5FKDdneW7I
1. Concise Summary
Google has decided that aspirational diversity hiring goals are so 2020 and has officially scrapped them. The company is now taking a “review and reconsider” approach to its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, joining fellow tech giants like Meta and Amazon in quietly rolling back commitments made during the post-George Floyd racial justice movement.
• No More Targets: Google won’t be setting diversity hiring goals anymore, though it insists it will still recruit “the best people.”
• Scrubbing DEI Commitments: The company removed a long-standing diversity commitment statement from its latest Alphabet annual report and is even considering ending public DEI reports altogether.
• Following the Trend: Meta and Amazon have already dismantled DEI initiatives, while Apple is fighting off shareholder pressure to do the same.
• Blaming “Legal Changes”: Google cited court rulings and executive orders (mostly from Trump-era policies) as justification for this shift.
2. Detailed, No-Nonsense Summary
Google Eliminates Diversity Hiring Targets
• Google no longer has a goal to increase underrepresented employees in its workforce, ending a commitment set in 2020 to boost leadership diversity by 30% by 2025.
• The company removed a key diversity statement from its 2025 annual report, which had been included from 2021 to 2024.
DEI Initiatives Under Review
• Google is evaluating whether to continue releasing annual diversity reports, which have been published since 2014.
• The company is reassessing DEI-related training, grants, and initiatives, particularly those that “raise risk” or are not considered effective.
• This review aligns with recent court decisions and Trump-era executive orders aimed at limiting DEI programs in government and federal contractors.
Silicon Valley’s Larger DEI Retreat
• Meta has dissolved its DEI team and ended hiring goals for women and minority candidates.
• Amazon announced in December 2024 that it would wind down certain diversity programs and has removed DEI messaging from its website.
• Apple is facing shareholder proposals from conservative groups demanding it stop DEI efforts, but the company has advised shareholders to reject the proposal.
• Several companies have quietly removed or softened diversity-related language in corporate reports.
Google’s Remaining Commitments
Despite ending hiring goals, Google says it will continue:
• Maintaining employee resource groups for underrepresented workers.
• Expanding offices in diverse cities, although hiring policies will no longer prioritize representation goals.
• Chief People Officer Fiona Cicconi assured employees that Google is still committed to hiring the “best people” and fostering a fair workplace—just without specific diversity targets.
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