For the past two years, Evan Ratliff (@ev_rat) has been following a woman around the internet.

But Albertina Geller — or her face, at least — wasn't actually human. She was the product of artificial intelligence. 👇

businessinsider.com/artificial-int… Albertina was created by a piece of software called a Generative Adversarial Network, which studies faces and then makes its own.

These aren't the familiar kind of deepfakes, which manipulate images of real people.

GANs create nonexistent people.

businessinsider.com/artificial-int…

🤖 @hollyherndon (an experimental musician and artist) doesn't think AI is nefarious or will ruin art.

These technologies are here to stay, she told @kneelingbus for @thisisinsider recently, and we might as well learn how to live with them. ⬇️

businessinsider.com/ai-midjourney-… 🎼 Last year, Herndon launched a project called Holly+, a tool that enables other artists to make music using an AI-generated likeness of her voice.

The works created using @hollyplus_ are essentially vocal deepfakes sanctioned and encouraged by Herndon.

businessinsider.com/ai-midjourney-…

🔎 Solving how to search for things was the key to the web’s integration into mainstream life. Now, it seems as if our ability to locate and retrieve info is getting worse instead of better.

Why is search so bad? Adam Rogers (@jetjocko) explains. 👇

businessinsider.com/search-web-ema… 📧 Email search sucks

Email is a sort of special case. Users often remember a few details, like who sent an email or when they sent it, but sometimes they misremember. They mostly want to find emails that are recent — except sometimes they don’t.

businessinsider.com/search-web-ema…

.@StepankaMatto said she made $200,000 by selling her farts in Mason jars. 💨

After a hospital visit, she has pivoted to selling the fart jars as NFTs.

insider.com/reality-star-m… Matto, 31, made headlines around the world when she announced that she'd have to retire from selling her farts in jars.

She had said she was hospitalized while trying to keep up with the skyrocketing demand. 🏥

insider.com/reality-star-m…

Analysis | @Nike is diving into the metaverse.

While @Meta’s recent name change might have pushed Nike to go public with some of its plans, the sportswear giant has been laying the groundwork for its virtual ecosystem for years. 👇

businessinsider.com/analysis-of-ni… Nike's patents suggest a world of intelligent electronic shoes, digital sneakers, virtual drops, and avatars.

Patents don't always result in new products, but they give a decent map of a company's efforts — and for Nike, the possibilities seem endless.

businessinsider.com/analysis-of-ni…

These sneakers are made of garbage.

And for $110, they will be shipped anywhere in the world.
According to the company that makes them, each pair contains 10 plastic bags and 12 bottles.

Can footwear made from trash compete in a billion-dollar industry with big names like Nike and Adidas?

New York City used to go through 23 billion plastic bags per year before banning them in 2020.

As New Yorkers adjust to the ban, one designer is turning single-use bags into luxury totes. Can this help reduce worldwide waste?
The idea to make totes out of plastic bags came to Alex Dabagh one night when he was taking out the trash.

With nearly 3 billion people using its service, Facebook has to make some major choices when it comes to content moderation.

Rather than applying resources equally, Facebook reportedly divides countries into tiers to decide how moderation is handled.

businessinsider.com/facebook-ranks… In one example from internal Facebook documents reviewed by @verge, a group at Facebook met in late 2019 to discuss how best to focus moderation resources around the world ahead of several major elections.

businessinsider.com/facebook-ranks…

.@Facebook recently finished a fiber-optic cable connection on the Oregon coast that links the US to Asia.

But the major technical achievement was marred by a massive fluid leak, at least two sinkholes, and more. 👇

businessinsider.com/facebook-under… The "Jupiter" project gives the social-media giant a high-speed internet connection to Japan and the Philippines by connecting many miles of undersea cable to the Oregon coast in the small coastal enclave of Tierra Del Mar.

businessinsider.com/facebook-under…

YouTube has managed to escape the thrashings delivered to other Big Tech social media platforms.

But pressure is building on @Google's fastest-growing business. 👇

businessinsider.com/youtube-ceo-su… In 2017, as YouTube reeled from an increasing number of scandals on the platform, it created Roomba. Like its namesake vacuum cleaner, it was designed to keep spaces clean and eliminate messes.

businessinsider.com/youtube-ceo-su…

🛥️ Laying thousands of miles of undersea internet cable requires a specialized vessel and an underwater plow the height of a two-storey building.

Here's how the tech giants are doing it.

businessinsider.com/google-faceboo… Often, @Google and @Facebook invest in cable projects along with a consortium of other companies, although Google has five privately owned cable projects underway.

businessinsider.com/google-faceboo…

An Air Force veteran, a childhood cancer survivor, a geoscientist, and a tech billionaire.

Meet the four people chosen to orbit Earth in the first-ever all-civilian space mission. 🚀

businessinsider.com/spacex-final-m… Chris Sembroski, Hayley Arceneaux, Dr. Sian Proctor, and Jared Isaacman will ride aboard the Dragon spacecraft launched into orbit by @SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.

.@SpaceX is earmarking the liftoff of the Inspiration4 mission for no sooner than Sept 15.

businessinsider.com/spacex-final-m…

NFTs have generated billions of dollars and one NFT sold for nearly $70 million.

We talked to crypto-art investors including @mcuban to figure out what's driving people to spend millions on NFTs, despite no guarantee their value will increase. Thread. 👇 businessinsider.com/why-are-people… Last week, digital artist Mike Winkelmann — more commonly known as @beeple — made history when he sold a crypto art piece for nearly $70 million.

Watch. 👇

https://twitter.com/BusinessInsider/status/1371559096151797761

From NBA highlights to @elonmusk rapping about it, the talk around non-fungible tokens are inescapable right now.

To learn more about the future of NFTs, we talked to some Gen Z VCs.
👇
businessinsider.com/8-gen-z-vcs-pr… 📝Before we start, let us explain what a NFT actually is:

NFTs are unique digital assets stored using blockchain technology that cannot be destroyed or duplicated.

💫The potential for NFTs go way beyond its current digital art form.

Now onto our 8 VCs! businessinsider.com/8-gen-z-vcs-pr…

.@Apple made it through the pandemic with more acclaim than bruises; it became the first US company worth $2 trillion, despite temporarily closing retail stores.

CEO @tim_cook has proven his chops, but it's time to look forward to the next decade.👇
businessinsider.com/apple-tim-cook… Apple is tackling a category of products that are far removed from their comfort zone. A pair of smart glasses and a foldable phone are in the works, according to media reports, as well as an autonomous electric car.
businessinsider.com/apple-tim-cook…

What’s the deal with Big Tech and Texas?

@Oracle is moving its headquarters from Redwood Shores, California, to Austin, Texas.

The move is the latest in a string of tech giants fleeing Silicon Valley for the Southern state. 👇 businessinsider.com/oracle-moving-… 💡 Big Tech has a long history in Austin, Texas.

Here's how the industry has ballooned in the state capital — and why "Silicon Hills" is so appealing to workers and companies alike. businessinsider.com/austin-texas-s…

Have you ever wondered what makes up a lava lamp or lies beneath an anthill? Well Tech Insider found out. Here's #WhatsInside 👇

The Mariana Trench is the deepest point on Earth and is home to some of the strangest creatures alive #WhatsInside While there may be some unique sea creatures lying at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, common turtles can be equally as fascinating. Did you know that a turtle's shell is as much a part of its body as our rib cage is ours? Find out #WhatsInside

Have you wondered about the biggest tech stories and what's going on with them? Follow this thread to see everything #Untangled 👇

This is everything that's wrong with USB-C cables How @Apple's absence changed CES forever

[Thread] 👇

@Apple has finally released a battery case for the latest iPhones, and it costs $129. This comes after previously releasing batteries for $29, which may have affected their sales.
read.bi/2SXAiwz According to @Apple, the Smart Battery cases are compatible with wireless charging pads, and can power an iPhone for up to 21 hours of internet use.