IF YOU'VE BEEN ON TikTok at any point in the past six months, chances are you've stumbled across them, as I first did during a fairly routine doomscroll one night this summer. For me it started with two videos somewhat incongruously tagged #homeremodeling and #housedesign. One of them featured a CGI man summoning a baby phoenix outside of a tree that he planned to turn into an apartment. Then a robotic AI voice started to narrate how the CGI man, identified as "Little John," was going to build it. Over the next 90 seconds, Little John transformed the tree into a maniacally space-efficient luxury unit in an AI-generated ballet of flying galvanized square steel, ecofriendly wood veneer, and expansion screws.
The other video, featuring nearly identical CGI and the same hypnotically flat AI narrator, followed the story of a couple with a billion children that, like Little John, decided it was time to improve their home. And those two videos were only the tip of the galvanized steel iceberg.
There are hundreds of accounts posting these videos to TikTok right now, and they've become immensely popular, racking up millions of views. Even the "character" of Little John has become a meme of his own, with people making skits where they pretend to be him.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November - December 2024-Ausgabe von WIRED.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November - December 2024-Ausgabe von WIRED.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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What's the future for Western 'super apps'?
Super apps create a single interface to unify a broad ecosystem of services such as messaging, e-commerce, and transport. With consumers making all of their purchases within one walled garden, the user engagement and data benefits for the app owner are obvious and substantial. These apps have become a major part of the Chinese technology landscape, so we asked two leading experts: Could the concept successfully break through in Western markets?
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Gravity, Children of Men, the best Harry Potter film-and now a seven-part miniseries?
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THE ULTRACOOL CASH GRABS OF BOOBI ALTHOFF
Now the Tik Tokker turned podcaster is out to prove her worth-by being herself.
THE MIDLIFE NOT -A-CRISIS OF MARK CUBAN
Though he's soon to be out at Shark Tank, the billionaire has a massive new \"disruption\" in the works. He's certain it'll save lives.
THE ALTERNATE UNIVERSE OF MEREDITH WHITAKER
It's free. It doesn't track you or serve you ads. It pays its engineers very well. And it's a go-to app for hundreds of millions of people.
THE SICK (AND SLOW) BURNS OF JOSH JOHNSON
The comedian tells jokes the way he found fame: slowly, and then all at once.
THE DAD-ROCK DIPLOMACY OF ANTONY BLINKEN
Two major wars. A rising China. Hackers everywhere. He's from the US government, and he's here to help.
INSIDE THE UNCANNY WORLD OF TIKTOK HOME REMODELING
Turn a tree into a luxury apartment. Retrofit a bedroom for a million children. The videos are bizarre-and going very viral. Who's behind them?
A FULL-TERM GIG
Hiring someone to carry your baby to term is a booming business. The market for surrogacy is expected to expand to $129 billion by 2032, fueled by older parents, rising infertility, and more same-sex families. Silicon Valley contributes to the growth too: Tech companies like Google, Meta, and Snap pitch in up to $80,000 toward the six-figure cost of the process.
