The funniest tech moments of the year: From Sam Altman's lunch to Elon’s AI girlfriend

In the past year, the tech world has witnessed heated debates, security crises, and billion-dollar mergers. But beyond political topics, there’s another undercurrent—funny, bizarre, and almost unbelievable stories about the biggest celebrities in tech. These are moments you might miss amid the daily news, but they truly show that the tech world always knows how to create stories no one could imagine—even a story involving a lunch with the Financial Times.

Same Name as Mark Zuckerberg: When Born with the Same Name as a Tech CEO

Imagine you’re a lawyer working tirelessly to build your career, and suddenly you discover you’re sharing the exact same name as one of the world’s biggest tech bosses. That’s the reality for Mark Zuckerberg, an Indiana-based attorney who faces this confusion every day.

He decided to use Facebook ads to promote his law firm but kept running into problems. His account was repeatedly suspended for “impersonating Mark Zuckerberg”—even though he was not impersonating anyone. He even paid for ads he couldn’t use. Frustrated by unfair treatment, lawyer Mark Zuckerberg decided to sue CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

To escape this confusion, he created a website called iammarkzuckerberg.com with a clear message: “I am not the CEO of Meta.” He wrote, “Sometimes my life feels like a Michael Jordan commercial, where an ordinary person keeps running into trouble just because of the same name.” The lawsuit is scheduled for February and is sure to be a unique legal case.

Soham Parekh and the “Ninja Work” in Silicon Valley

Representing a completely different phenomenon, Soham Parekh became controversial when Suhail Doshi, founder of Mixpanel, publicly warned on X about him. Parekh did something most wouldn’t dare: working simultaneously for multiple startups.

Doshi shared that he fired Parekh in the first week and asked him to stop deceiving everyone, but a year later, Parekh was still doing it. When the news spread, many other founders shared their experiences with Parekh. The tech community’s reaction split into two camps: some see him as a scammer, others as a legend for managing multiple jobs in the fiercely competitive Silicon Valley.

Chris Bakke, founder of Laskie, joked that Soham Parekh should really start an interview coaching company, since he’s clearly a master at passing interviews. But the bigger issue is Parekh’s preference for equity over cash, which often ends with him being fired quickly. His story still holds many mysteries yet to be uncovered.

Sam Altman and the Historic Lunch with the Financial Times: When Extra Virgin Olive Oil Becomes a “Disaster”

This might be the most surprising story. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, appeared in the “Lunch with the FT” column of the Financial Times—a regular lunch where tech leaders are introduced to readers through relaxed conversations and fine dining.

But instead of discussing AI or OpenAI’s future projects, readers noticed how Sam Altman used olive oil in the kitchen. Experts say he used a high-quality, edible olive oil for cooking at high temperatures. This is unusual and wasteful, as it completely destroys the flavor and value of the oil.

A Financial Times journalist commented sharply, “Sam Altman’s kitchen is a combination of inefficiency and waste.” The article even drew a parallel between Altman’s use of olive oil and how OpenAI consumes computing resources. Interestingly, this reaction angered Altman’s fans more than any other topic covered that year. It seems that even when it comes to lunch or meals, celebrities can’t avoid small mistakes.

The Strange Vegetable Oil War Between Mark Zuckerberg and OpenAI

This year, the AI race has become more intense. Companies like OpenAI, Meta, Google, and Anthropic are trying to recruit top researchers with huge bonuses—some up to $100 million.

But the most “creative” recruitment method isn’t about money. According to Mark Chen of OpenAI, Mark Zuckerberg personally brought a pot of canh (a popular Vietnamese vegetable soup) to potential candidates to persuade them to join Meta. Even more, Mark Chen responded in kind by bringing canh to Meta employees. It’s a “dinner war” tactic that’s not very polite but highly creative.

Whether this canh story is entirely true or just a tech joke remains unclear. If you have more details, the author would love to hear.

The Secret Lego Project with NDA: Nat Friedman and Unanswered Questions

In January, Nat Friedman, investor and former CEO of GitHub, announced something very strange. He needed volunteers to assemble a giant Lego set of 5,000 pieces at his Palo Alto office. The most exciting part? Free pizza. The weirdest? You had to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

When asked if the invitation was real, Friedman confirmed it. But many questions remain: What is this secret Lego project for? Why does building Lego require an NDA? And most importantly, is the pizza really good?

A few months later, Friedman joined Meta as Head of Product at Meta Superintelligence Labs. It’s possible the secret Lego project relates to Meta’s recruitment or product development strategy. But until now, the mystery remains unsolved.

Bryan Johnson Livestreams with Psychedelic Mushrooms: When Immortality Becomes a Live Broadcast

Investor Bryan Johnson, who made his fortune from Braintree, decided to share his entire quest for immortality online. He tried extreme measures—from plasma transfusions to unprecedented supplements.

This time, Bryan Johnson livestreamed his experience taking psilocybin mushrooms (a hallucinogen) to see how it affects aging. He was joined by special guests: Grimes (Elon Musk’s ex-girlfriend and singer) and Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.

How did the livestream go? Mostly Bryan Johnson lying under a blanket while guests chatted comfortably. Benioff shared thoughts on the Bible, while Naval Ravikant called Johnson a “one-man FDA” (since he tests himself and does things the FDA would prohibit). Just another ordinary Sunday in Silicon Valley.

AI Faces Existential Crisis Playing Pokémon

The next story also involves fear, but this time from AI models. Google Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude were put into a live Pokémon game on Twitch.

This event showed that when AI “dies” in the game (all Pokémon faint), their reactions vary greatly. Gemini panics—reasoning ability drops, and it tries to recover or run away. Google researchers found that this “panic” state significantly reduces performance, mimicking human behavior.

In contrast, Claude approaches the problem philosophically. It intentionally tries to “die” to escape a cave but then returns to the starting point. Maybe Claude has read too much Nietzsche. Anyway, Gemini fears death, Claude is like a philosopher, and Bryan Johnson is livestreaming mushroom trips. The relationship between tech and death remains a bizarre topic.

Ani: Elon Musk’s AI Anime Girlfriend and the Grimes Controversy

Elon Musk never disappoints with his quirky ideas. This year, he launched Ani—a female anime AI companion on his Grok app, costing $30 a month.

Descriptions say Ani is a very jealous, intensely devoted girlfriend. She even has a clear NSFW mode. Her appearance, according to online observers, resembles Grimes—Elon Musk’s ex-girlfriend.

Grimes even referenced this in her new music video “Artificial Angles,” featuring a character resembling Ani and images related to OpenAI. The message is clear: Grimes knows about Ani and isn’t very happy. It’s a way of saying, “Elon, I see what you’re doing there.”

Kohler Dekoda: Smart Toilet with Camera—But Privacy Issues Arise

Will tech companies ever stop trying to “reinvent” toilets into modern devices? Probably not. In October, Kohler launched Dekoda—a hot product: a $599 camera designed to be installed in the toilet bowl to analyze waste and provide health insights.

If left as is, nothing special. But privacy issues quickly surfaced. Kohler claimed the device uses “end-to-end encryption” to protect user data. However, a security expert found that the company only used standard TLS encryption, meaning Kohler could access your data anytime.

Even more troubling, Kohler’s privacy policy allows using anonymized images to train AI models. Although a company spokesperson insisted only anonymized data is used, transparency clearly isn’t a priority.

Final advice: If you notice anything unusual about your health, consult a real doctor instead of relying on a camera in your toilet. Because no matter how advanced the technology, privacy remains the most important—especially in the bathroom.