According to science and tech media at any rate:

From RealClearScience, the #1 junk science concept:

There’s a general rule when evaluating potential pseudoscience: if it isn’t physics, and it has the word “quantum”, it’s probably BS. That rule seems to hold for a California inventor’s “quantum coal reformers”, which he says will produce emission-free hydrogen and synthetic graphite from ordinary coal. West Virginia’s Economic Development Authority awarded Omnis Fuel Technologies a $50 million low-interest loan for the project.

As the Wall Street Journal detailed in an in-depth exposé, Omnis and its founder Simon K. Hodson have consistently delayed and fallen behind on deadlines. Hodson likely really believes that his invention could work, and it just might (thought we’re not holding our breath). Still, the saga has all the trappings of a science-based scam: present a grand vision complete with hard-to-understand lingo, raise gobs of money, and fail to deliver over a long, drawn-out process while offering nuggets of hope all along the way. The government of West Virginia and other wealthy investors have fallen for it.

Ross Pomeroy, “1. West Virginia falls for coal quantum reformers.”, December 17, 2024

That’s good advice about non-physics use of “quantum” concepts.

From MIT Technology Review, 2024’s worst technology failure (of eight):

Google’s Gemini AI image feature, launched last February, had been tuned to zealously showcase diversity, damn the history books. Ask Google for a picture of German soldiers from World War II, and it would create a Benetton ad in Wehrmacht uniforms.

Critics pounced and Google beat an embarrassed retreat. It paused Gemini’s ability to draw people and agreed its well-intentioned effort to be inclusive had “missed the mark.”

The free version of Gemini still won’t create images of people. But paid versions will. When we asked for an image of 12 CEOs of public biotech companies, the software produced a photographic-quality image of middle-aged white men. Less than ideal. But closer to the truth. Antonio Regalado, “Woke AI blunder,” December 17, 2024

How about we don’t trust AI to do our thinking for us in the first place?

From Wired, the year’s worst hack:

Espionage operations are a fact of life, and relentless Chinese campaigns have been a constant in cyberspace for years now. But the China-linked espionage group Salt Typhoon carried out a particularly noteworthy operation this year, infiltrating a slew of US telecoms including Verizon and AT&T (plus others around the world) for months. And US officials told reporters earlier this month that many victim companies are still actively attempting to remove the hackers from their networks.

The attackers surveilled a small group of people—less than 150 by current count—but they include individuals who were already subject to US wiretap orders as well as state department officials and members of both the Trump and Harris presidential campaigns. Additionally, texts and calls from other people who interacted with the Salt Typhoon targets were inherently also caught up in the espionage scheme.

Lily Hay Newman, “China’s Salt Typhoon Telecom Breaches, December 26, 2024

See also: Last Year Saw the Worst Telecom Hack in Our Nation’s History (Heather Zeiger)

Despite all that, Happy (upcoming) New Year!