By Megan Sayles | AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com

For the first time in its history, the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) is in Baltimore for its Annual Convention, bringing thousands of engineers, technologists, and students together for career-building opportunities, professional development workshops, technical competitions, and networking.

The gathering, which started on March 18, is taking place at the Baltimore Convention Center through March 22. Jazmine Bullock, planning chair for the 2026 convention, explained that Baltimore’s extensive history of cultivating Black ingenuity made the city a perfect location for the conference. “Baltimore has always been a city of Black excellence. From its deep cultural roots to the generation of leaders, innovators, and changemakers it has produced, that legacy runs through the city’s DNA,” said Bullock. “It’s great to be part of Baltimore’s momentum as a center of innovation, and it’s meaningful to us to have an opportunity to shine on this great city.”

NSBE CEO Janeen Uzzell underscored Bullock’s sentiment.

“This is a proud city with a legacy of Black excellence,” said Uzzell. “It doesn’t take long to feel the energy and excitement that’s building here, and that’s largely thanks to the mayor’s office, the governor’s office and their partners in industry.”

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On day two of the convention, industry and government leaders, including Uzzell, led a conversation on artificial intelligence (AI), the future of engineering careers, and the position of Baltimore as a technology hub.

Given the proliferation of AI, panelists addressed both its opportunities and risks, including whether it could replace engineering jobs. Marcus Mitchell, vice president of engineering at Google, encouraged people to be curious rather than skeptical or scared.

“The mindset that I would strongly encourage anybody here at any level to have is to take advantage of this moment of disruption,” said Mitchell. “What’s happening is we have the opportunity to rethink the way we do all kinds of things— our workflows, how we operate, how effective we are. I’m very confident that there’s always going to be a very strong role for human judgement, for the ability to not just be displaced by AI, but to point it at the right kinds of problems and to ensure there’s alignment with the values that we as humanity need—whether that’s business or societal outcomes.”

Panelists also addressed the environmental threats of AI, which is often powered by massive data centers. Baltimore interim Deputy Mayor Calvin Young said there should be greater consideration of AI’s inputs rather than merely its outputs. Those inputs include significant water and energy consumption.

Without careful planning and oversight, the high energy demands of data centers can also drive up household electricity costs and strain the local power grid.

“Maryland is a net importer of energy from Pennsylvania and Virginia. We as a government have to think about how we interact with AI and the data centers that are driving AI as they are built,” said Young. “The reality is it’s not going away. We have to figure it out so the regular taxpayer can afford living.”

Despite these challenges, panelists emphasized that Baltimore remains poised to support diverse engineers and technologists thanks to its strong research institutions, industry partnerships and leadership committed to equity. While some localities have sought to distance themselves from equity, diversity, and inclusion due to the current political climate, Young emphasized that Baltimore and Maryland are standing firm.

“When we talk about how Black people, in particular, who are technologists can really thrive, there’s no place in America that’s like Baltimore,” said Young. “We have both the technology and the cultural appreciation for diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

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