Episode Title:A Year of Tech Failures - and What They Can Teach Us

Podcast Host:Paddy Dhanda

Guest:Charlotte Jee, News Editor at MIT Technology Review

Episode Summary:In this episode, Paddy is joined by Charlotte Jee to explore MIT Technology Review’s annual list of the worst tech failures. From astronauts stranded in space to AI image generators gone rogue, the episode dives into the most memorable missteps of 2024 — and what they reveal about the state of modern technology.

Charlotte shares behind-the-scenes insights into how the list is compiled, the common patterns behind tech failures, and why humility, simplicity, and user empathy are more important than ever.

Key Topics Covered:

✔️ Boeing’s Starliner disaster and the fragility of modern tech ✔️ AI slop, shrimp Jesus, and the dangers of unchecked generative tools ✔️ CrowdStrike’s outage and the ripple effects of a single update ✔️ Why 80% of cloud features go unused - and what that says about product design ✔️ The growing disconnect between tech creators and users

Notable Quotes:

🔹 “Tech loves repeating the same mistakes - and we love pointing them out.” 🔹 “AI will always hallucinate. That’s not a bug - it’s the product.” 🔹 “We’re building faster than ever, but not necessarily better.”

Resources & Links:

🔗 Read the MIT Technology Review list: MIT Technology Review  🎧 Listen now on Substack, YouTube, or your favourite podcast platform.

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