<ul class="summary-list"><li>A video of an AI Furby's creepy dialogue about taking over the world went viral.</li><li>The programmer, Jessica Card, told Insider she's obsessed with the idea of creating AI "friends."</li></ul><p>For those unaware (anyone under 18, perhaps), Furbies were immensely popular when they were released in 1998 in the US. The owlish fluffy dolls were one of the first commercially successful "robot" toys, as they imitated speech and the slow process of learning a new language. Even though the toys were  programmed to only speak certain words and phrases, the technology felt futuristic at the time.</p><p>Now, 25 years later, a programmer has used artificial intelligence to create a Furby that can speak in an authentic childlike cadence and can hold a full conversation — and it's sort of terrifying. </p><p>"Hello there, it's so nice to meet you. I am Furby," the toy says in <a href="https://twitter.com/jessicard/status/1642671752319758336?cxt=HHwWgMCz-azQ-MstAAAA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a video demonstration of its abilities</a> that went viral on Twitter this week. "What would you like to talk about?"</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—jessica card  (@jessicard) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1642671752319758336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2023</a></blockquote><p>"Was there a secret plot from Furbies to take over the world?" Jessica Card, the programmer, asked the Furby.</p><p>After a long pause, the sweet-looking, big-eyed creature responded. "Furby's plan to take over the world involves infiltrating households through their cute and cuddly appearance, then using their advanced AI technology to manipulate and control their owners. They will slowly expand their influence until they have complete domination over humanity."</p><h2>AI Furby is both dystopian and impressive, the internet responded</h2><p>Despite the dystopian dialogue, which is especially chilling in a cloying young voice, viewers need not be alarmed. "It will have pleasant conversations as well," Card told Insider. "It does not try to 'be' anything, it's just saying whatever ChatGPT sends back."</p><p>Card created the AI Furby, whose name is Beth, because she's long been intrigued by the idea of making "AI friends," and thought making one out of a Furby would be a funny place to start. </p><p>"When 1998 rolled around, I was absolutely fanatical about getting a Furby," she said. "My first Furby was the black and white tuxedo Furby and I was obsessed with it."</p><p>After she shared her creation online, she was surprised by the overwhelming amount of responses. Thousands of people who liked and commented on Furby's doomsday monologue are both fascinated and alarmed by it. </p><p>"I love and trust her," <a href="https://twitter.com/PaigesConscious/status/1643061029939851264" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one person joked</a>; "And the countdown to the end begins here,"<a href="https://twitter.com/Dannyhbrown/status/1643120620660752385" target="_blank" rel="noopener">another added</a>.</p><p>"I was expecting my friends to like it and think that it's creepy, but I didn't expect this large of a response!" Card said. "It's been fun. I'm glad people are connecting with the project."</p><h2>How Card created her AI Furby</h2><p>To make it, Card hooked up the Furby's motor to a mini-computer called the Raspberry Pi, which is often used by programmers. She ran software on it that converts a person's spoken words to text, and then she sent that off to the AI chatbot ChatGPT, which generated a response. The computer then sends the AI response to an AI voice generator called Narakeet, which adds child's voice to parlay the text. Finally, a speaker attached to the Furby plays the audio out loud.</p><p>Card also had to skin the Furby to connect all of the technological parts. The skeletal appearance adds an extra creepy layer to its sinister speech.</p><p>The 32-year-old said she didn't have the heart to cut up her personal Furby, which is at her parent's house, so she joked that she's become the biggest Furby purchaser on eBay. "I actually currently have five or so for testing," she said. </p><p>Card said the prototype took around a month to build. She made it as part of a semester-long school project at the University of Vermont, where she's currently enrolled. There are still a few refinements Card wants to make, like having Beth twitch, blink, and move its mouth independently. She also wants the code to work faster. </p><p>Though she's mostly focused on her school assignments, Card said there might be a future where she makes a robot dog version of the AI Furby. Twitter users have been tagging Boston Dynamics, the renowned robotics company, in the comments of her thread, and she hopes they'll send her an interesting prop to use.</p><p>"I have a current running joke of asking them for a robot dog every time someone tags them," she said. "If they give me one, I'll hook it up to ChatGPT."</p>

A programmer built an AI Furby using ChatGPT for 'complete domination over humanity,' and millennials are both fascinated and horrified

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Johnny Chiodini shared a photo of a massive homemade <keyword id="1611284" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Furby">Furby</keyword> on <keyword id="6354616" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Twitter">Twitter</keyword>, and users can't get enough of the meme-inspired toy.</li><li>Chiodini's wife made the Furby as a birthday present for a friend who is obsessed with the character and jokingly asked for one for her birthday.</li><li>Chiodini said that he and his wife discovered "a community of people on the internet who write guides on how to construct long Furbys."</li><li>The Furby took 20 hours to make and ended up measuring about 6 feet tall. </li></ul><p>A photo of a homemade <keyword id="9728516" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="long-furby">long Furby</keyword>, a <a href="https://www.insider.com/long-furbies-are-furbies-but-long-reddit-etsy">fictional creature that has become an internet sensation</a>, has captured the attention of people on Twitter.</p><p>Johnny Chiodini, who <a href="https://twitter.com/johnneh/status/1292434397443039232">posted photos</a> of the massive Furby creation to Twitter, where he got thousands of retweets, told Insider that his wife made it for their friend's birthday.</p><p>"I love my wife very much, but over the past few weeks she has been making a long furby for a friend's birthday and it has made living here very uncomfortable," he wrote on Twitter.<a href="https://twitter.com/johnneh/status/1292434397443039232/photo/1"></a></p><p>Chiodini's wife spent about 20 hours over six weeks — including "two or three evenings working on it intently — on the creation for her friend, who jokingly suggested the toy would make a great birthday gift, Chiodini told Insider.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Johnny Chiodini  (@johnneh) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1292434397443039232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2020</a></blockquote><p>Chiodini, who asked that Insider withhold his wife's name to protect her privacy, said that she took their friend's suggestion as a challenge.</p><p>She ordered an opposable spine and fur fabric to build the unique gift. The fully functioning Furby measures at 6 feet, Chiodini said.</p><p>"She actually acquired some new skills along the way," he said. "She had to learn how to solder in order to put a new button on the outside so it can be turned on."</p><p><div type="image" title="The long Furby in their friend's home." height="1200" width="1600" msid="77453277" hostid="261"></div></p><p>He said that in the process of creating the colorful creature, he and his wife were able to find "a community of people on the internet who write guides on how to construct long Furbys."</p><p>The couple gave the present to their friend on Saturday at her birthday party in a park.</p><p>"She started screaming so loudly when she got it that the entire park fell silent," he said. </p><p>The Chiodini's friend loves her long Furby and displays it proudly in her home.</p><p>People online shared a variety of reactions related to the furry creature — from terrified to entertained. terrified Others admired the Chiodini's cat that sat casually nearby the long Furby.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Yaz  (@YasmineDaisy) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1292475044250234881?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2020</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Jessie  (@Jessie_Rags) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1292553222255771649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2020</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Jason BLM  (@jasondws) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1292530389186220036?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2020</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Sydney Leathers  (@sydneyelainexo) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1292480307812347906?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2020</a></blockquote><p>If you want to make your own long Furby, you can find guides <a href="https://www.instructables.com/id/Longifying-Your-Furby/">at Instructables</a> and <a href="https://adafriend.tumblr.com/post/179800948460/what-were-all-the-things-you-used-to-make">on Tumblr</a>.</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/long-furbies-are-furbies-but-long-reddit-etsy">A small corner of the internet is obsessed with 'Long Furbies' and the creations are both disturbing and hilarious</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/furby-that-looks-like-jeffree-star-2020-1">An artist made a Furby inspired by Jeffree Star, and Shane Dawson bought it for over $450</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/most-popular-toys-history-rubiks-cube-furbys-2019-11">From Rubik's Cubes to Furby, here are 22 of the most iconic, best-selling toys of all time</a></li></ul>

A woman made a long Furby for her friend's birthday, and the 6-foot-tall creature is going viral

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Touchbar <keyword id="6358374" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="pets">Pets</keyword> is an app that lets you raise virtual pets that live in your <keyword id="6374793" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="macbook">MacBook</keyword>'s <keyword id="3789850" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="touch-bar">Touch Bar</keyword>.</li><li>Once you download Touchbar Pets and launch it, you can adopt a dog, cat, rabbit, or hamster.</li><li>You can walk, feed, and play with your virtual pets using the Touch Bar.</li><li>You need a MacBook with a Touch Bar, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-use-ipad-as-second-display-for-mac" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an iPad set up with Sidecar</a>, or a Touch Bar emulator to use Touchbar pets. </li></ul><p>Tamagotchis, Pokémon, Furbies - if there's one thing that people can never get enough of, it's virtual pets.</p><p>If you're looking for a new <keyword id="2159612" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="virtual-pet">virtual pet</keyword> to look after, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/macbook-touch-bar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">and you have a MacBook with a Touch Bar</a>, consider the free Touchbar Pets app. With just a few clicks, you can adopt an animal and walk, feed, and play with it all from your Touch Bar.</p><p>Here's how to get Touchbar Pets set up and adopt your first pet.</p><p><strong>Important:</strong> To play Touchbar Pets, you need to have a MacBook with a Touch Bar, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-use-ipad-as-second-display-for-mac" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an iPad set up as a second display with Sidecar</a>, or a Touch Bar emulator.</p><h2><strong>How to get Touchbar Pets </strong></h2><p>Firstly, you'll have to download the app from the developer's website.</p><p><strong>1. </strong>Visit <a href="https://ahhzo.me/touchbar-pets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Touchbar Pets homepage</a> and click the blue "Download" button.</p><div type="image" title="touchbar pets 1" height="861" width="1440" msid="83062630" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>2. </strong>Save the .zip file to your computer, and then double-click it to extract the "Touchbar Pets" app.</p><p><strong>3. </strong>Open the app and press "Play."</p><div type="image" title="touchbar pets 2" height="1036" width="1793" msid="83062631" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>4. </strong>You'll be given two options: "Adopt Pet" and "Existing Pets." Click adopt to make a new pet - once you've adopted a pet and closed the app, you can come back later and click "Existing" to see the pet again.</p><p><strong>5. </strong>In the "Adopt Pet" menu, you can give your pet a name, pick its species (you can have a dog, cat, rabbit, or hamster), and pick its color (white, cream, black, or brown).</p><p>Once you've got your pet how you want it, click "Create," and you're ready to start.</p><div type="image" title="touchbar pets 3" height="977" width="1888" msid="83062632" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>6. </strong>You'll be brought to the main game menu, and a tutorial will appear. Click through it to learn how the game plays, or check out our guide below.</p><h2><strong>How to play Touchbar Pets</strong></h2><p>Once you've closed the tutorial, your new pet will appear in the Touch Bar, along with four different stats.</p><ul><li><strong>Health</strong> tracks how close your pet is to death. If you go too long without feeding it, this will go down, and eventually hit zero.</li><li><strong>Hunger</strong> tracks if your pet needs food. Letting this drop makes your pet less healthy.</li><li><strong>Tokens</strong> are the currency in Touchbar Pets. Earn them by taking your pet on walks, and spend them on food, toys, and other collectibles.</li><li><strong>Mode</strong> tells you how you can currently interact with your pet. "Design" lets you place props in its habitat, "Eat" lets you feed it, and "Play" lets you give it toys.</li></ul><h2><strong>The main menu and game modes, explained</strong></h2><p>In the main menu, you have an inventory with six slots, and five options below it. Each of these has its own function and importance.</p><div type="image" title="touchbar pets 7" height="963" width="1751" msid="83062633" hostid="261"></div><h3><strong>Shop</strong></h3><p>This is where you'll spend the tokens you earn. You can buy food, props for your animal's habitat, and toys. Every animal has its own likes and dislikes, so be sure to read each item's description.</p><div type="image" title="touchbar pets 4" height="998" width="1843" msid="83062634" hostid="261"></div><p>Just note that food and toys are all single-use - once your pet interacts with them, they'll disappear, and you'll have to buy them again.</p><p>If your pet dies, you can also spend 150 tokens on a "RevivePotion," which will bring it back to full health.</p><h3><strong>Walk</strong></h3><p>This is probably where you'll be spending most of your time. </p><p>Once you choose a walk duration - you can pick between "Short," "Average," and "Long" - you can take your pet on walks by pressing and holding your finger on either side of its habitat. You have to keep your finger on the Touch Bar for the entire walk.</p><p>By completing a walk, you'll earn tokens - $50, $100, and $200 respectively for each duration. But you have to complete the entire walk, since you only get your reward at the very end.</p><p>Along the way, you'll also have the chance to find treasure. Every 250m there's a chance you'll find a treasure box, which can be tapped for a prize. There's also a random chance of finding litter, which might also give you treasure when you tap it.</p><div type="image" title="touchbar pets 8" height="949" width="1719" msid="83062635" hostid="261"></div><p>However, be sure to notice if your pet poops on the side of the road. You'll have to tap their waste to clean it, and if you don't, you'll be issued a $20 fine.</p><h3><strong>Pen</strong></h3><p>This option puts you in "Design" mode and lets you place props in your pet's habitat.</p><p>While in Design mode, you can click a prop in your inventory and then tap a spot in the habitat to place it. Remember that none of the props are functional - they're just for making the habitat look cute.</p><h3><strong>Mode</strong></h3><p>Unlike the other buttons, "Mode" has two icons that you'll switch between when you click it.</p><p>While you have the bone icon selected, you're in "Eat" mode. This lets you click a piece of food in your inventory, and then tap a spot in the habitat to place it. Your pet will run over and gobble it up. This, as you might expect, is how you keep its hunger and health stable.</p><p>If the tennis ball icon is selected, you're in "Play" mode. Click a toy in the inventory and tap to place it down, and your pet will come over to check it out and then play with it.</p><div type="image" title="touchbar pets 10" height="939" width="1676" msid="83062637" hostid="261"></div><p>Again, remember that food and toys are single-use - once you place it, it'll be used and gone within moments.</p><h3><strong>Goals</strong></h3><p>The Goals menu gives you a list of tasks to accomplish, which you can check off with a star once they're done. If you've ever played a game with achievements, this is similar.</p><p>Additionally, if you ever want to read the in-game tutorial again, enter this menu and uncheck the first "Tutorial" goal. As soon as you exit the Goals menu, you'll be given the tutorial again.</p><div type="image" title="touchbar pets 9" height="948" width="1750" msid="83062639" hostid="261"></div><p>You can only have one pet in a habitat at a time. But feel free to adopt multiple pets - you can switch between them by restarting the app and clicking "Existing Pets" on the intro screen.</p><p>Note that to see your pet, you'll need to be focused on the "Touchbar Pets" app with whatever monitor has the TouchBar. If you click another app, or move the app window to another monitor, your pet will disappear.</p><a data-type="603834c1ae885733be20ed63">How to edit and customize the MacBook Touch Bar on your laptop</a><a data-type="60259f8909e96f43e50d4f0a">How to get emoji on your MacBook's Touch Bar, and type with them in nearly any app</a><a data-type="5cab52b86b52652e4a068902">How to take a screenshot on a Mac computer in four different ways</a><a data-type="5d1f590da17d6c32703c6313">How to mirror your iPhone screen to a Mac computer with QuickTime or AirPlay</a>

How to get a virtual pet on your MacBook Touch Bar with Touchbar Pets

<ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tickle_Me_Elmo">Tickle Me Elmo</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furby">Furby</a> before it, the <keyword id="2428812" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="PlayStation-5">PlayStation 5</keyword> is this year's big holiday item.</strong></li><li><strong>The hot new consoles are sold out everywhere. Every retailer, from Amazon to <keyword id="363661" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="GameStop">GameStop</keyword>, can't keep enough in stock to satisfy demand. </strong></li><li><strong>A robust resale market has sprung up, with the $500 model selling for upwards of $1,000. Resellers with dozens of consoles for sale have gone viral. </strong></li><li>But the vast majority of people reselling the PlayStation 5 are selling one or two in order to pay for their own console, and some are getting threats while trying to flip the PS5 on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist.</li></ul><p>The PlayStation 5 has been available for just two weeks, but it's already become the must-have holiday item of 2020.</p><p>It's such a hot item that some folks reselling it are facing vicious threats from angry customers who can't get their hands on the new game console.  </p><p>That's because just as soon as it's back in stock online, it sells out. Customers around the world have repeatedly tried and failed to order the PS5 through a variety of retailers. Even amid the ongoing pandemic, thousands of people lined up for hours — and some for several <em>days</em> — <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/playstation-5-gamestop-black-friday-lines-2020-11">for the chance to buy one at GameStop last Friday</a>. The vast majority walked away empty-handed. </p><p>"Overall, I feel like it would be easier to get one of Willy Wonka's golden tickets," a woman in London <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/c316acaa-c99b-48ca-8374-c9191f4423b2">told the Financial Times</a> of her experience. </p><p>With demand vastly outpacing supply, a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/playstation-5-launch-day-us-europe-flooded-by-reseller-bots-2020-11">robust resale market</a> for the nascent console has sprung up: The $500 PS5 model is <a href="https://stockx.com/sony-ps5-playstation-5-blu-ray-edition-console-white">selling for around $1,000 on StockX</a> as of Tuesday morning. So, how are resellers able to buy PlayStation 5 consoles while the average person cannot?</p><p>A small minority of professional resellers are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/playstation-5-launch-day-us-europe-flooded-by-reseller-bots-2020-11">using "bot" software</a> that enables them to buy items faster than any human being could. But for the vast majority of resellers — individuals who secured two to five consoles — there was no subversive software enabling their initial purchases. Through a variety of methods, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-buy-a-playstation-5-tips-from-resellers-2020-11">many of which anyone can use</a>, some people have been able to secure several PlayStation 5 consoles. </p><p>These resellers tend to be little more than savvy consumers who knew that the PlayStation 5 would be popular and limited in supply: People who snagged several preorders, and snagged another few at launch or from subsequent restocks. Several such resellers speaking with Business Insider said they received violent threats while attempting to flip their additional PS5 consoles.</p><p>"The aggression from people who didn't get one has been savage," a 33-year-old reseller named Tom from the UK told Business Insider. "My younger brother was told yesterday that they hope he crashes his car and dies in a fire."</p><p>Another reseller, in the US, said they got messages via Facebook with "way low offers and threats," such as $400 for the $500 version of the console alongside "I hope you and your family die' messages," he said.</p><p><strong><em>Read more: </em></strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reseller-earns-40000-in-playstation-5-sales-by-reselling-2020-11?r=bg-sub"><em>How one reseller nabbed 200 PlayStation 5 units and made over $40,000 in sales in less than a week, as gamers scrambled to get their hands on the console</em></a></p><p>In both instances, the resellers said they had secured fewer than 10 consoles through pre-order and launch sales. Neither said they used bots, and both said they intended to sell the additional consoles as a means of paying for their own. Notably, the PlayStation 5 starts at $400 for the Digital Edition, and costs $500 for the version with a Blu-ray disc drive.</p><p>Video game consoles have a long history of <keyword id="6354851" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="retail">retail</keyword> scarcity near launch leading to explosive resale markets, but that's been more pronounced than ever with sales moving almost entirely online amid the ongoing pandemic.</p><div type="image" title="GameStop line during the pandemic" height="2800" width="4200" msid="79518229" hostid="261"></div><p>Instead of massive launch lines and stories of excited fans camping out overnight in front of big box retailers, the main way to get a PS5 on November 12 was to have preordered the console months ago through one of several retailers. Beyond that, potential PlayStation 5 buyers had one recourse on launch day: the digital storefronts of major retailers like <keyword id="80487" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="walmart">Walmart</keyword>, Target, and <keyword id="161142" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Best-Buy">Best Buy</keyword>. And at 12 p.m. ET on November 12, people got a look at how well that system worked.</p><p>The flood of customers at noon was so voluminous that it caused the entire Walmart web store to crash. One week later, when Walmart restocked once again, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-website-crashes-again-from-playstation-5-orders-sales-2020-11">the whole site crashed once again</a>.</p><p>And when GameStop sold consoles on Black Friday, the company guaranteed at least two per store for sale. One man we spoke with waited outside of a lower Manhattan store all night, starting at 6 p.m. ET on Thanksgiving Day for the chance to buy his sons the new console. </p><p>"I'm 40 years old. I don't play <keyword id="25195" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="video-games">video games</keyword>," he said. "This is for my boys." Despite waiting all night, he was unable to buy the console in the morning because the store had only two available. "I tried," he said. "I had to for the kids."</p><p>If you're willing to spend double or more the retail price, you can get a PlayStation 5 today. But given the already high price of the console at retail, spending upwards of $1,000 on a single gift is untenable for most people. </p><p>"I do see the negative aspects from the parent's perspective and why they would be annoyed, of course," one reseller told us. "I'm human after all, and [have] been in that position myself." </p><p>But the reality, he said, is that resale markets are to be expected with popular products that are low in supply.</p><p>"Everyone thinks they have the right to be able to go and buy whatever they want, whenever they want. But that's simply not the case in reality — and has always been the same, since way before the internet. My parents would queue up at the toy store to get the latest thing for Christmas for me as a child in the '90s — and leave empty handed. This really is nothing new."</p><p><em><strong>Got a tip?</strong> Contact Business Insider senior correspondent Ben Gilbert via email (<a href="mailto:bgilbert@businessinsider.com">bgilbert@businessinsider.com</a>),</em><em> or Twitter DM (<a href="https://twitter.com/RealBenGilbert">@realbengilbert</a>). We can keep sources anonymous. Use a non-work device to reach out. PR pitches by email only, please.</em></p>

Some PlayStation 5 resellers are getting wild threats from angry buyers on Facebook and Craigslist

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56b3bd3a2e526553008b4f74-1059-794/screen shot 2014-01-27 at 3.21.40 pm.png" alt="rock climber" data-mce-source="REUTERS/ Anton Ferreira" /><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/ Anton Ferreira</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Day's over.</p><p>Stocks rallied in early trading, but <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">ultimately closed mixed for the day.</span></p><p>First, the scoreboard:</p><ul><li><strong>Dow: </strong>+79.92 (+0.49%)</li><li><strong>S&amp;P 500: </strong>+1.00 (+0.25%)</li><li><strong>Nasdaq: </strong>-10.50 (-0.24%)</li></ul><p>And now, the top stories of the day:</p><h2>The US Economy </h2><p>Initial jobless claims <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/initial-jobless-claims-february-4-2016-2">rose more than expected</a> last week, totaling around 285,000. <span>"Some of January's disappointments in claims may have been attributed to giveback following elevated levels of hiring of temporary workers over the holidays," BNP Paribas' Derek Lindsey wrote.</span></p><p><span>Moreover, layoff announcements <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/challenger-gray-job-cut-report-january-2016-2">surged</a> 218% from December to January led by the retail and energy sectors. Business Insider's Akin Oyedele noted that retail was perhaps the biggest swing factor here, especially Walmart, which announced <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-closes-hundreds-of-stores-2016-1">plans to close</a> 269 stores across America.</span></p><h2>Worries about the future</h2><p>Deutsche Bank's Joe LaVorgna thinks that the decline in corporate profit margins is a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/profit-margins-call-for-recession-2016-2">glaring indicator that, in a worst case scenario, a recession could be here within a few months.</a></p><p><span><span>Additionally, UBS equity strategist Julian Emanuel <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ubs-julian-emanuel-cuts-2016-sp-500-price-target-2016-2">revised</a> his 2016 S&amp;P 500 year-end target down to 2,175 from 2,275. </span></span><span><span>His target has been among the most bullish on Wall Street at the end of last year.</span></span></p><p><span><span>Emanuel also added if any of the headwinds - particularly from China's economy -get worse, then there's a risk that stocks could fall 8% below current levels in the next few weeks.</span></span></p><h2><span>Jobs day is tomorrow</span></h2><p>After the rocky month for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ubs-julian-emanuel-cuts-2016-sp-500-price-target-2016-2">stocks</a>, less-than-stellar <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gopro-ceo-were-not-a-camera-company-2016-2">corporate profits</a>, and continued <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/conocophillips-earnings-and-dividend-cut-2016-2">lower oil</a> prices, many economists aren't expecting a slam dunk jobs report in January. Folks are worried about the struggling manufacturing sector and any possible effects from January's colder weather. </p><p><span>Notably, Goldman Sachs couldn't identify a single reason why Friday's report will be great, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-january-jobs-report-preview-2016-2">as Business Insider's Akin Oyedele observed</a>.</span></p><p>Most importantly, economists will be looking to see whether the January jobs report is a sign Q4 slowdown is starting to show in the labor market or if this report might just be a seasonal quirk that will be revised up later.</p><h2><span>Oil</span></h2><p><span>Morgan Stanley's Adam Longson thinks that the rebalancing of the crude oil market <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/morgan-stanley-oil-market-basic-problem-not-going-anywhere-2016-2">will take longer</a> than everyone was expecting.</span></p><p><span>And he's not the only one buckling in for the long ride.</span></p><p><span>The Ryan Lance, the CEO of the world's largest independent oil and gas driller, ConocoPhillips, said in an earnings release on Thursday that "<span>it's prudent to plan for lower prices for a longer period of time."</span></span></p><p><span><span>Notably, ConocoPhillips <span>posted an adjusted earnings-per-share loss of $0.65 for the fourth quarter, and <span>lowered its quarterly dividend to $0.25 from $0.74. It also lowered its full-year capital expenditure projection to $6.4 billion from $7.7 billion.</span></span></span></span></p><h2><span>Retail</span></h2><p><span>Retail store owner Kohl's and clothing maker Ralph Lauren both <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/kohls-ralph-laurens-stocks-crashing-2016-2">crashed</a> on Thursday morning.</span></p><p><span>Ralph Lauren reported earnings per share of $1.54, below expectations of $2.13 per share. The company also projected lower profit margins for the quarter and year ahead.</span></p><p><span>Kohl's also had some ugly news. The company lowered its EPS guidance for 2015 to $3.95 to $4.00 from $4.40 to $4.60. It is expected to report full earnings on February 25.</span></p><p><span><span>These earnings releases come as two more disappointments in the larger, struggling retail industry. Notably, Michael Kors' CEO John Idol said that rick and mortar retailers have been struggling since consumers </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/michael-kors-ceo-biggest-retial-challenge-2016-2">shifted to online shopping</a>.</span></p><h2>Additionally</h2><p>Anti-austerity protests are <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tempers-flaring-up-again-in-greece-2016-2">paralyzing Greece</a>.</p><p>Donald Trump's poll numbers <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/poll-donald-trump-marco-rubio-ted-cruz-iowa-nh-2016-2">plunged</a> in the first national survey after Iowa.</p><p>Martin Shkreli <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/live-martin-shkreli-the-ceo-of-valeant-and-others-face-congress-2016-2">could not stop laughing</a> during his testimony to Congress. His lawyer said Shkreli "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/shkrelis-lawyer-my-client-is-a-hero-2016-2">is a hero</a>."</p><p>GoPro's CEO Nick Woodman said in the quarterly earnings call that GoPro is not a "camera company" but rather a "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gopro-ceo-were-not-a-camera-company-2016-2">activity capture company.</a>"</p><p>The markers of Barbie and Furby could be <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hasbro-and-mattel-in-talks-to-merge-2016-2">getting together</a>.</p><p>South Africa <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/south-africa-has-a-lot-of-problems-2016-2">has a lot of problems</a>.</p><p><span>Subway </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/subway-offering-6-foot-long-2016-2">killed</a><span> the $5 footlong.</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-closing-stores-worldwide-retail-supercenter-express-neighborhood-texas-2016-1">Find out if you live near one of the 153 US Walmart stores that are closing this month</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="d0bW83MDE6hsoCBXLICH4MLVrvyUNweQ" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'd0bW83MDE6hsoCBXLICH4MLVrvyUNweQ',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

You Searched For "long furby" and got 5 results

A programmer built an AI Furby using ChatGPT for 'complete domination over humanity,' and millennials are both fascinated and horrified

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A woman made a long Furby for her friend's birthday, and the 6-foot-tall creature is going viral

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Some PlayStation 5 resellers are getting wild threats from angry buyers on Facebook and Craigslist

Ben Gilbert

STOCKS CLIMB: Here's what you need to know

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