The 8 worst technologies of 2025

We like to think there’s a lesson in every technological adventure. But when technology becomes dependent on force, the conclusion is sometimes simpler: it was better to stay away.

That was the conclusion Elon Musk drew from his stay as instigator of DOGE, the insurgent cost-cutting initiative that took the chainsaw to federal agencies. The public protested. Tesla It was set on fireand drivers of his popular Cybertruck discovered that they were getting a thumbs up instead of a like middle finger.

After thinking, Musk said he wouldn’t do it again. “Instead of working at DOGE, I would basically be working at my own companies.” one interviewer said this month. “And they wouldn’t burn the cars.”

Sorry – 2025 was a bit of a year. Here are some of the most notable ones.

NEO, the home robot

1X tack

Imagine a metal servant filling the dishwasher and opening the door. It’s a dream straight out of science fiction. It will stay there, at least for a while.

That’s the hilarious and disturbing takeaway from the first reviews of NEO, a 66-pound humanoid robot that its maker claims will “reliably handle any of your chores” when it ships next year.

But as a reporter for Wall Street Journal I learned that NEO took 2 minutes to fold a jacket and couldn’t crack a nut. Not only that, but the robot was controlled the entire time by a person wearing a virtual reality mask.