Welcome to our annual list of the worst, least successful, and downright stupid technologies of the year.
We like to think that there’s a lesson in every technological misadventure. But when technology becomes dependent on electricity, sometimes the solution is simple: it was best to stay away from it.
Regrets—there were some in 2025. Here are some of the more notable ones.
-Antonio Regalado
A Brief History of Sam Altman’s Promotions
Every time you’ve heard a borderline bizarre idea about what AI would be capable of doing, it often turns out that Sam Altman, if not the first person to articulate it, was at least the most inspiring and influential voice behind it.
He has been known as a world-class fundraiser and motivator in Silicon Valley for more than a decade. Overall, Altman’s words set the agenda. What he says about AI is rarely proven, but it does reassure us of one thing: the path we are on with AI can either be great or terrible, and OpenAI will need epic sums of money to lead it toward the right destination. In this sense, he is the ultimate preacher.
To understand how his voice has shaped our understanding of what AI can do, we read almost everything he said about the technology. His own words reveal how we got here. Read the full story.
-James O’Donnell
This story is part of our new Hype Correction Package, a collection of stories designed to help reset your expectations about what AI makes possible – and what it doesn’t. Check out the rest of the packages here,
Can AI really help us discover new content?
One of my favorite stories in the Hype Correction package comes from my colleague David Rotman, who took a close look at AI for content research. AI could transform the process of discovering new materials – innovations that could be especially useful in the world of climate tech, which requires new batteries, semiconductors, magnets and more.
But the field still needs to prove that it can create materials that are truly innovative and useful. Can AI really supercharge materials research? And what will that look like? Read the full story.
