I exposed the most EXPENSIVE Tech Fails

The speaker, a self-proclaimed French jewel thief lacking jewels, sets out on a metaphorical heist of the Louvre, highlighting its immense security and priceless treasures. However, the narrative quickly shifts to a real-life incident in October 2025 where four thieves, using a furniture lift and high-visibility vests, successfully stole the French crown jewels in broad daylight. This audacious daylight robbery was facilitated by significant technological failures at the Louvre, including an outdated cybersecurity system running on Windows 2000 and CCTV cameras that were inconveniently facing the wrong direction, leaving a critical blind spot. Adding to the security lapse, the password for the entire video surveillance network was simply "louvre." The thieves escaped with jewels valued at $102 million, prompting the Louvre's president to attempt resignation. The speaker rates this tech fail a 5 out of 10, pondering the financial implications of larger technological blunders. This leads to an examination of Dyson's ambitious electric car project. In 2016, James Dyson invested heavily in developing an electric vehicle with a 600-mile battery range, a holographic display, seven seats, and ergonomically redesigned seats, reflecting his personal disdain for poor lumbar support. However, the project's extensive rework led to a projected break-even price of $275,000 per car. After burning through $900 million of his own money, Dyson was forced to scrap the entire endeavor, earning a 6 out of 10 for the tech fail. The narrative then explores reputational damage, exemplified by Taco Bell's 2025 implementation of an AI-powered drive-through system. This system proved comically inept at taking orders, famously misinterpreting a request for "18,000 water cups." The AI's failures went viral, with a YouTube repost of the breakdown garnering nearly 30 million views. Taco Bell's chief digital officer acknowledged the system's shortcomings, stating they would "think carefully about where not to use AI going forward," a sentiment the speaker finds obvious, especially after McDonald's also canceled its AI drive-thru due to similar blunders. The focus shifts to Will Smith, who inadvertently sparked an AI controversy during his music tour. A video from his tour appeared to feature an AI-generated crowd, leading to accusations of embellishing attendance. The AI-generated elements, like specific signs and a narrative of Will Smith helping someone survive cancer, were scrutinized. However, it was later revealed that the crowds were real, and the AI had been used by his social media team to create a highlight reel, introducing unintended distortions. This error resulted in widespread mockery and solidified his reputation as the "AI crowd guy," earning a 4 out of 10. Elon Musk's Tesla Optimus humanoid robot is then discussed. Musk's claim that Optimus would account for 80% of Tesla's value and that two were already working was met with skepticism. A product demo featuring a robot serving drinks was criticized for its awkward movements, particularly its hand gestures, which suggested it was remote-controlled by a human operator, a tactic Tesla has reportedly used before. This, combined with Musk's pursuit of a one trillion dollar payout contingent on shipping a million bots, raises questions about the authenticity of the robot's capabilities. The video then highlights Nothing's controversial marketing for their Phone 3. Demo events showcased photographs purportedly captured by the phone, but upon closer inspection, a DSLR camera was visible in the reflection of one image. Further investigation revealed all sample photos were publicly available stock images. Nothing claimed they were placeholder images intended for replacement but were mistakenly sent to stores. This incident is labeled a costly and avoidable PR blunder for an underdog company. Nvidia faces criticism for alienating its gaming audience by prioritizing AI companies. Their DLSS 5 technology, designed to enhance game visuals through AI, has been criticized for altering artistic intent. For instance, facial features in games were modified by the AI, overriding the developers' deliberate aesthetic choices. Nvidia's CEO defended the technology as a tool for artists, but developers reportedly learned about these alterations simultaneously with the public, damaging Nvidia's reputation among gamers, who are now rated 5 out of 10 and considered to be "in hell." The segment on ransomware attacks discusses Digital Mint, a company specializing in negotiating ransom payments. However, in 2023, three Digital Mint employees used their insider knowledge to carry out ransomware attacks on five American firms, demanding millions. When victims contacted Digital Mint for help, they were assigned to one of the perpetrators, Angelo Martino, who negotiated with himself. The companies collectively paid $75 million, including a non-profit that paid $26.8 million. The three employees face prison sentences, and Digital Mint's reputation is severely tarnished. A more terrifying incident involved Sammy Azduffal, who developed an app to control his DJI robot vacuum with a PS5 controller. His app accidentally gained control of over 7,000 DJI robot vacuums worldwide due to DJI's unencrypted data and lack of authentication. This granted him access to cameras, microphones, floor plans, and locations. Fortunately, Azduffal was ethical and reported the vulnerability to DJI, receiving $30,000. The speaker emphasizes the potential catastrophe had he been malicious. The episode then features a Surfshark VPN advertisement, highlighting its "Dosos" technology for dedicated private data lanes and a promotional offer. The segment returns to OpenAI, specifically ChatGPT. OpenAI is being sued for copyright infringement by authors and publishers for allegedly training its AI on pirated books. Leaked messages revealed employees were aware of and discussed deleting datasets of pirated books, dubbed "Books 1" and "Books 2." A court ordered OpenAI to hand over these messages, which could lead to substantial damages. The speaker notes a similar lawsuit against Anthropic resulted in a billion-dollar settlement. OpenAI's short-form video app, Sora, is presented as another major failure. Launched in 2025, Sora aimed to create AI-generated content. Sam Altman granted users permission to use his likeness, leading to embarrassing deepfakes mocking him. Sora generated $2.1 million in revenue but cost $15 million per day to run, with a 66% user drop in the first 90 days. This failure also resulted in the loss of a billion-dollar investment deal with Disney. Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter is revisited, focusing on a lawsuit by investors. Musk's public tweets questioning Twitter's user base (claiming they were bots) caused Twitter's stock to tank, leading investors to sell their shares at a loss. However, Musk was forced to complete the purchase. The investors are now suing Musk, with a jury finding him liable for misleading them with his "stupid tweets," potentially owing up to $2.6 billion. Finally, Meta's metaverse project, specifically Horizon Worlds, is dissected. Meta invested heavily in VR, with Horizon Worlds as its central hub. Despite efforts to create an alternate reality for work and play, user interest waned. Meta initially announced the removal of Horizon Worlds from the Quest App Store but later reversed the decision, citing fan support. The total loss for Meta's metaverse project is revealed to be a staggering $80 billion, an amount comparable to ending world hunger for a year. The speaker concludes with a sarcastic "Cheers, Zuck."