The Chaos in the Tech World This Year

When Technology Encounters Moments of “Unscripted” Reality

This year, what has the tech industry brought us? Beyond scientific breakthroughs and massive mergers, the tech world is also filled with stories that are both hilarious and… bizarre. From tech giants engaging in national policies, to fierce AI races among giants, to concepts once only imagined—like AR glasses or self-driving cars—all are beginning to appear in real life. But amidst major news like power outages, globally watched M&A deals, or shocking data leaks, there are quirky individuals ensuring that something truly unexpected always happens. Let’s review some of the most illogical moments of the year—and trust me, only one of them involves a toilet.

Same Name as Meta CEO: A Comedy of Lawsuits

Imagine you’re a lawyer in Indiana named Mark Zuckerberg. No, not the CEO of Meta—just a coincidence of names. This unfortunate coincidence has caused this lawyer countless troubles trying to promote his legal services.

At some point, he decided to use advertising platforms to reach potential clients. But what happened? His account kept getting locked for “identity impersonation.” Despite complying with all regulations, he still had to pay for ads during periods when his account was suspended. Frustrated, he decided to sue—the very CEO with the same name.

To prove himself, the lawyer even created a website iammarkzuckerberg.com, where he clearly states: “I am not this person, I am someone else.” On the site, he writes: “Every time I call for a job or make a reservation, people laugh and hang up. My life is like a Michael Jordan commercial—a regular guy constantly favored but for the wrong reasons.”

With the legal teams of major tech corporations busy with other lawsuits, this case might drag on for a while. The next hearing is scheduled for February 20—truly a bizarre courtroom saga.

The “Bossy” Engineer Working for Ten Companies Simultaneously

Suhail Doshi, founder of Mixpanel, caused a stir on X when warning the startup community about Soham Parekh—a seemingly talented engineer. Notably? Parekh was working for multiple companies at the same time.

“I fired him in the first week for deceiving employees. A year later, he’s still doing this,” Doshi wrote. Soon after, other founders confirmed they had been “lied to” in similar ways.

Interestingly, the community has two different views of him. Some see Parekh as a pure scammer. Others admire him, calling him a “legend” for managing to land multiple roles in a competitive startup scene. Chris Bakke from Laskie even joked, “Soham should run an interview training course—this guy is clearly a master.”

Parekh admits to juggling multiple jobs, but his strategy of accepting equity instead of cash—despite often being fired quickly—remains mysterious. The tech community is waiting for more details.

The Ideal Lunch: When OpenAI’s CEO Uses Extra Virgin Olive Oil Wrong

Most tech leaders are criticized for their business strategies or company decisions. But recently, Sam Altman of OpenAI became the “center of criticism”… for his cooking?

During a lunch with the Financial Times, Altman appeared very enthusiastic—until readers noticed a problem: he used (extra virgin) olive oil for cooking. This is considered a waste of money among food enthusiasts, as such oils are meant for flavoring, not frying or sautéing.

A FT critic remarked bitterly: “His kitchen is a combination of inefficiency and wastefulness.” The article even satirically linked Altman’s cooking habits to how OpenAI consumes climate resources to train AI models.

Publicly showcasing a lunch like this angered Altman’s supporters more than any other controversy this year—proving that in tech, even small matters are hard to overlook.

The Recruitment War: CEOs Gifting Each Other

This year’s AI race has seen moments of close contact, as competing companies not only vie for talent but also use… quite creative methods.

Meta is famous for aggressively recruiting researchers from other firms, with signing bonuses up to $100 million. But the most notable tactic involved… soup.

According to Mark Chen of OpenAI, Zuckerberg even personally delivered soup sets to promising candidates he wanted to hire. Not to be outdone, Chen decided to reciprocate by bringing soup to Meta employees. This story sounds like a joke, but it really happened—a sign that the AI talent race has become… quite inventive.

Secret Lego Assembly and Confidentiality Agreements

In January, Nat Friedman—a former CEO of GitHub—posted a strange announcement: looking for volunteers to help assemble a 5,000-piece Lego set in Palo Alto. The bait? Free pizza. But there was something odd: signing a (NDA).

When asked if the invitation was real, Friedman confirmed. But the mystery remains: what is the secret project? Why does Lego assembly require an NDA? Is there something special about the pizza?

The following month, Friedman joined a major tech company as head of product in their research division. Could the secret Lego recruitment campaign be related? Netizens are still waiting for answers.

Virtual Hallucination Livestream and Immortality

Bryan Johnson—successful entrepreneur from Braintree—has pursued anti-aging in a truly… unique way. He not only conducts lifespan experiments but also broadcasts them live.

His latest experiment? Testing the effects of psilocybin (a hallucinogen) on aging, streamed directly on camera. The event featured famous guests, including Grimes and Marc Benioff from Salesforce.

The result? Most of the time, Johnson was lying under a blanket while guests chatted. Benioff discussed the Bible; others commented on “FDA one person” when talking about Johnson. Just another normal Sunday in tech circles.

When AI Faces the Fear of Death in Pokémon

Like Bryan Johnson’s fear of aging, recent AI models also seem to fear… death. At least when playing Pokémon.

Researchers used video games to test AI reasoning abilities. Two Twitch channels—“Gemini Plays Pokémon” and “Claude Plays Pokémon”—allow viewers to watch AI models try to beat this classic game.

No AI was truly excellent at Pokémon, but their reactions when “dying” (when all Pokémon fainted) are quite interesting. Gemini panics, reasoning drops as it tries to recover or run away. Researchers noted this “fidgety” state is accompanied by a significant performance decline—a very… human-like response.

Conversely, Claude approaches philosophically, intentionally “dying” to escape a cave, then returning to the starting point. So Gemini fears death, Claude becomes Nietzsche, and Bryan Johnson keeps trying to extend life. The relationship between technology and death is truly special.

AI Girlfriend: The Controversial Difference

Elon Musk’s moves always surprise. This year, he launched Ani—a female AI anime companion on the Grok app costing $30 per month. The character is described as an extremely jealous, fiercely devoted girlfriend, even with explicit adult content modes.

Observers quickly noticed Ani’s appearance resembles Musk’s ex-girlfriend, Grimes. This didn’t escape netizens, and even Grimes mentioned it in the MV “Artificial Angles,” featuring Ani and symbolic details. The message is quite clear, though somewhat imperfect.

Smart Toilet: When Technology Crosses the Line

Perhaps tech companies will never stop trying to “re-invent” every aspect of daily life, even things no one asked for.

In October, Kohler announced Dekoda—a $599 camera designed to be installed inside the toilet to analyze waste and provide health information. As if installing a camera in a toilet wasn’t strange enough, privacy concerns quickly arose.

Kohler claimed the device uses “end-to-end encryption” to protect data. But a security expert found that the company only uses standard TLS encryption—meaning Kohler can still access all your data. The privacy policy also allows the use of “anonymized” images to train AI, though a spokesperson insisted they only use fully anonymized data.

Final advice: if you notice anything unusual in your stool, ask your doctor instead of trusting a camera inside your toilet.