OpinionI asked my MIT class to consider why some of the advances that MIT Technology Review’s journalists thought would change our world never really did—and what we can learn from the flops. January 12, 2026MITTR | Adobe Stock, Public Domain Every year, MIT Technology Review publishes a list of 10 Breakthrough Technologies. In fact, the 2026 version is out today. This marks the 25th year the newsroom has compiled this annual list, which means its journalists and editors have now identified 250 technologies as breakthroughs. A few years ago, editor at large David Rotman revisited the publication’s original list, finding that while all the technologies were still relevant, each had evolved and progressed in often unpredictable ways. I lead students through a similar exercise in a graduate class I teach with James Scott for MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning. We ask these MIT students to find some of the “flops” from breakthrough lists in the archives and consider what factors or decisions led to their demise, and then to envision possible ways to “flip” the negative outcome into a success. The idea is to combine critical perspective and creativity when thinking about technology. Although it’s less glamorous than envisioning which advances will change our future, analyzing failed technologies is equally important. It reveals how factors outside what is narrowly understood as technology play a role in its success—factors including cultural context, social acceptance, market competition, and simply timing.