Welcome to our annual record of the worst, least profitable, and easily dumbest applied sciences of the 12 months.
We wish to suppose there’s a lesson in each technological misadventure. However when expertise turns into depending on energy, typically the takeaway is less complicated: it will have been higher to remain away.
Regrets—2025 had just a few. Listed here are among the extra notable ones.
—Antonio Regalado
A short historical past of Sam Altman’s hype
Every time you’ve heard a borderline outlandish concept of what AI will probably be able to, it usually seems that Sam Altman was, if not the primary to articulate it, no less than essentially the most persuasive and influential voice behind it.
For greater than a decade he has been identified in Silicon Valley as a world-class fundraiser and persuader. All through, Altman’s phrases have set the agenda. What he says about AI isn’t provable when he says it, nevertheless it persuades us of 1 factor: This highway we’re on with AI can go someplace both nice or terrifying, and OpenAI will want epic sums to steer it towards the suitable vacation spot. On this sense, he’s the final word hype man.
To know how his voice has formed our understanding of what AI can do, we learn nearly every part he’s ever stated concerning the expertise. His personal phrases hint how we arrived right here. Learn the complete story.
—James O’Donnell
This story is a part of our new Hype Correction package deal, a group of tales designed that will help you reset your expectations about what AI makes potential—and what it doesn’t. Try the remainder of the package deal right here.
Can AI actually assist us uncover new supplies?
One among my favourite tales within the Hype Correction package deal comes from my colleague David Rotman, who took a tough take a look at AI for supplies analysis. AI might rework the method of discovering new supplies—innovation that could possibly be particularly helpful on the earth of local weather tech, which wants new batteries, semiconductors, magnets, and extra.
However the subject nonetheless must show it could possibly make supplies which are really novel and helpful. Can AI actually supercharge supplies analysis? And what would that appear like? Learn the complete story.