Month: September 2025

The true size of the microplastics that populate our life, exposed in this disturbing graphic

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We have a gigantic problem with microplastics. These elements seem to permeate everything that surrounds us: From tap water, lettuce either Even in the testicles and in Archaeological elements with centuries behind them. The difficulty in fighting them is that we would have to Put our consumption habits up to deal with this almost invisible enemy. And this graph prepared by Visual Capitalist It allows us to put the size of microplastics in context when comparing them with more everyday elements. In short: small. Talking about microplastics, it really encompasses very diverse particles. The larger ones measure about 5,000 microns, which are five millimeters. They are small, but perfectly identifiable to the naked eye. At the extreme are those who measure a micra, and there the identification is complicated because we are talking about 0.001 millimeters. In the graph (which takes data From agencies such as the EPA, the United States Environmental Protection Agency) we can see an expanded comparison that allows us to put a microplastic of a microphone with a particle of dust, the diameter of a human hair (about 80 microns) or a grain of sand (90 microns). If a hair seems ‘fine’ and is 80 times thicker than one of the smallest microplastics, imagine the size of that particle. The nanoplastic. There is another category: nanoplastic. Here we are talking about those particles that measure less than one micra and that enter a totally different scale. Nanopathic They are the result of the breakage of larger plastics such as food containers, Plastic utensils or any element produced with this material that we use in our day to day. As they break, they become more and smaller pieces that enter the Nanoscale when they measure less than one micra. There they cannot be purchased with more family elements such as a grain of salt, but directly with particles such as the Coronaviruswhich measures between 0.1 and 0.2 microns. Problem. Its dimensions make microplastics be omnipresentbeing the most tiny particles those that are even together with other suspended particles, Like the dust we aspire. The estimate is that an adult can ingest between 39,000 and 52,000 microplastic particles per year only for the diet, but other sources such as that air exposure should be taken into account. And there are more and more studies that alert other sources of microplastics. For example, packages we all use like tuppers. Also those who detach when cutting food into a plastic table are “easy” to identify and even correct with a change in our habits, but there are other microplastics that already They are finding in bottled water. Spain is one of the European countries that More bottled water consumesso throwing accounts seems bleak. Health. For now, more than damage there are worrying indications. Blood microplastics, lungs, placenta, heart, brain and in the aforementioned testicles have been found. There are already associations between these particles and conditions such as conical inflammation, oxidative stress or immunological alterations. It is investigated whether the presence of microplastics in the capillary vessels can increase the risk of heart attack or cardiovascular problems, but something that adds more spicy to the equation is that these nanoplastic could penetrate The biological barriers. As? Crossing cell membranes as a virus would do. And ecosystems. And, obviously, they are particles that are present in virtually any corner. There are agricultural soils, lakes and The oceans. Apart from the conditions similar to the human that could have other organisms, we are what we eat and Animals feed on elements containing microplasticsso those particles then end within us. As we say, there is increasingly a greater concern about the state of microplastics around us, but the big problem is that eliminating them seems especially complicated when, we look where we look, there are microplastics. The positive note? How to change large -scale habits seems complex, there are already those who are investigating Filters to reduce the amount of microplastics That come to us. In addition to much more invasive practices, as filtered with human blood… if you have a money. In Xataka | Japan has found a formula to overcome one of the biggest environmental problems: plastic that falls apart

The step of a Levantine town hall

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Surely once traveling through some point in Spain you’ve seen a Plate hanging on the facade of a historic buildingCity Council or train station indicating the altitude of that place with respect to the sea ​​level In the city of Alicante. Because Compare the altitude of a city like Pamplona or Soria with respect to the Levantine city is a question that has a scientific answer and that we are going to inevit today in Xataka. The first thing to keep in mind is that sea level is not the same or constant by the different tides, Nor is it much less the same throughout the earth. That is why each country takes as Reference level a specific point of its territory. It is what is known as zero level. And any altitude that you want to calculate in that country will be made compared to that data. Nor can we forget that The technology we have now compared to what existed two centuries ago it is not even for the same. Then there were no altimeters, which we now see anywhere: the car, the mobile, gas stations … that made calculating the altitudes of any place was a very laborious work that required an infinite patience. The task of choosing that reference point also occurred in Spain. Specifically, he fell to the National Geographic Instituteinaugurated in 1856, which was entirely dedicated at that time to elaborate precise topographic maps of the country. In a publication of the institution in the 10th Hispanic-Portuguese Assembly of Geodesia and GeophysicsThey explain that Alicante’s choice was not a coincidence. This article mentions that for the measurement to be as stable as possible, a low point had to be chosen so that negative heights were not produced, hence the sea level was chosen. So a site was sought on the Spanish coast in which The variations between low and pleamar were the minors possible. That is, I had to have Little maritime oscillation. That already completely ruled out some cities of the Cantabrian, because in places like Santander or San Sebastián the sea level can vary up to four meters during the day. Four years of manual measurements With that in mind, the scientists thought of the coast and the waters of the Mediterranean. Precisely Alicante, is inside a baywhere the daily variation of sea level is just a few centimeters. It was also found that this city was the best in terms of weather criteria, atmospheric pressure or seasonal variability. But the most curious thing about the IGN’s decision was not the choice of the city, but the specific place where they decided to establish the zero level. To know exactly where to locate it, They made daily measurements from 1870 to 1874 by handhelping only a strip on the queen stairs located in front of the port of Alicante. After almost four years of work, it was decided to establish that right point on the first step of the interior stairs of the City of Alicante. Specifically it was determined that this exact step It was 3.41 meters above sea. There a plaque was installed that says: “NP 1”. That is, precision level 1. since then, all the altimetry in Spain was measured according to the difference with this point, adding 3.41 meters. “From there, the altitudes were transferred to the rest of Spain through leveling lines and branches that would form the first high precision leveling network (Rednap),” Explain the institute In the report. Obviously, over time and the continuous expansion of the port network in Spain, the Mareographers have changed site, other new ones being built to achieve a continuity of the data series. In fact, today there are 10 operational stations throughout the country: Alicante 1, Alicante 2, Cartagena, Almería, La Coruña, Alborán (Isla de Alborán), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Island of Tenerife), Puerto de la Cruz (Isla de Tenerife), Los Cristianos (Isla de Tenerife), Puerto del Rosario (Isla de Fuerteventura). Image | Dean Milenkovic In Xataka | Two provinces, four municipalities, three regions: the most complex town in Spain is also that of Feijóo In Xataka | The Júcar Hydrographic Conference has been sacrificing thousands and thousands of fish from its reservoirs for months. And the worst thing is that it makes sense

Spotify is dealing with an avalanche of songs made with AI. So you have decided to react to mark the limits

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You open Spotify, you run with a song that you cannot stop listening and, nevertheless, the name of the “artist” sounds at all. You wonder if there is a band behind or if it is a Track generated by AIand the doubt is not trivial: the trained ear may detect it, but for millions of listeners the border has become blurred. With generators like Suno either You raising their creation quality, catalogs are filled and the context matters. This week, Spotify announced New policies to stop three fronts: “Slop”, impersonations and transparency on the use of AI. The company states that it wants to protect artists and prevent the public from feeling deceived, without prohibiting responsible use of these tools. In just a few months, music generators have become accessible tools capable of producing thousands of subjects ready to be uploaded to streaming platforms. We do not talk about master compositions, but about songs that meet the minimum to sneak into mass catalogs. The result is an avalanche that makes it difficult to distinguish between genuine proposals and simple algorithmic exercises. For stamps and artists, this saturation not only generates confusion among listeners, it also threatens to dilute income in a system where each reproduction counts to distribute royalties. Spotify’s plan against music made with AI Spotify frames its new rules in a simple idea: music has always been crossed by technology, from the multipist tapes to auto-tune. The current difference is that artificial intelligence evolves at a speed that generates uncertainty. In this scenario, the platform states that it wants to reinforce transparency and shield the confidence of listeners, while respecting the freedom of artists to decide how to incorporate these tools into their creative process. One of the most sensitive spotlights for Spotify is the impersonation of identity. The company has hardened its rules and clarifies that it will not allow songs that reproduce the voice of an artist without its explicit authorization. This includes voice clones generated with artificial intelligence, “Deepfakes” and any unauthorized vocal replica. In addition, new measures are tested with distributors to prevent music from foreign profiles, an increasingly common attack. The objective is that musicians can denounce quickly and maintain control over their own artistic identity. Another front that the platform wants to stop is spam. Spotify explains that some users try to manipulate the system by uploading songs of just 30 seconds to accumulate reproductions with Right to paymentor repeating the same theme with minimal changes in metadata. To combat it, in the coming months will deploy a filter that will identify this type of practices and stop recommending them. The company ensures that the measure is necessary to protect the distribution of royalties and remember that in the last 12 months it eliminated 75 million fraudulent tracks. The third leg of the plan is transparency. Spotify collaborates with DDEX, the agency responsible for setting standards in the music industry, to create a metadata system that reflects the role of AI in each song. The objective is that the credits indicate if artificial intelligence has been used in the voice, in the instruments or in the production, so that the listener knows clearly. As reported by the company, 15 seals and distributors have already promised to adopt this standard, although for now there is no release date. The real impact of the new rules will be measured over time. For artists, reinforcement against impersonation and spam can translate into a fairer environment to compete for attention and royalties. For listeners, promise is a clearer experiencewith credits that allow distinguishing which part of a song has been generated by Ia. Even so, there is uncertainty about its scope: from the possibility of errors in automatic detection to the difficulty that stamps and distributors adapt their processes quickly and homogeneously. Spotify will probably continue working after this announcement. The effectiveness of the filters and the adoption of the new credits will depend on the industry as a whole move in the same direction. AI will continue to evolve and new methods are likely to make control systems. In that scenario, the company will have to demonstrate that its measures not only slow the abuses, but also help maintain the confidence of the listeners and the value of artists’ work. Images | Xataka with Gemini 2.5 | @felirbe In Xataka | OpenAi wants to bill as much as Microsoft in five years. For this

One of the most downloaded apps for iPhone pays for recording calls to train AI models. It is a security disaster

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The sale of personal data is not a hypothesis, it is an expanding reality. Just look at Spotify: Recently a service appeared that paid those who delivered their profile and their listening summaries to resell them to technology companies. The approach was as simple as disturbing, because it became something as innocent as our musical habits. Neon Repeat the scheme, but transfers it to a much more sensitive land, telephone calls, where intimacy becomes the product. We are talking about an app that decided to convert phone calls into the new digital gold. His proposal is direct: “Speak, record and charge.” It promises users to win “hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year” simply allowing their conversations to transform into training material for artificial intelligence systems. The hook worked. In a matter of days he went from irrelevance to place Within the top three positions In the Social Networks category in the United States App Store. How neon works. The neon mechanism is designed for each call to translate into money. It promises to pay 30 cents per minute when two users of the app talked to each other, 15 cents if the call is with someone external and establishes a stop of 30 dollars daily. To this adds a referral system that offers 30 dollars for each new user. The recording, According to your policyalways affect the sender and, when both used neon, to both parties. Conditions of use. Beyond payments, the true neon reach is in its Terms of service. There the users give the company a “world, exclusive, irrevocable and transferable” license on their recordings. This permit includes rights to sell, modify, create derived works and distribute the audio in any format, present or future. To this is added a section of functions in beta, without guarantees or responsibility in case of failures. The amplitude of that assignment makes it difficult to foresee how far the use of the recordings can go. Where is available and how popular it is. Neon’s initial success was as fast as unexpected. At the time of writing this article, it is number 2 of the most downloaded social applications in the United States App Store. The application, however, seems restricted to that market: in tests carried out from Spain is not among those available or allows its download. The security failure. The story took an unexpected turn when a technical analysis revealed that Neon did not protect the information of its own users. As Techcrunch discoveredjust create an account and review network traffic with a tool like Burp Suite to access others. Shortly after the notice, the founder closed the servers and sent an email announcing a pause ‘for security’, not to mention the filtration. What was exposed was especially delicate: Telephone numbers associated with accounts Public links to audio recordings Complete call transcripts Metadata with duration, date and payments obtained Telephone numbers, recordings and transcripts are not accessible is not a minor failure. With this data, private conversations could be rebuilt and associated with specific people. The risks range from attempts to impersonate identity to the creation of synthetic voices. What Neon says in front of what we know, Neon defends that their processes protect users: anonymity of conversations, elimination of personal information and sale only to reviewed companies. However, the ruling showed that these systems are not infallible. The official communication after temporary closure spoke of “adding extra security layers”, but omits to recognize the filtration. Neon’s fall does not erase the background question: what price does our intimacy have when artificial intelligence demands more and more data? The model to pay for calls can reappear in other forms and other markets, because the need to train systems will continue to grow. What happened in the United States is an early warning that we are not talking about science fiction, but about real proposals that already touch the user’s door. The decision, ultimately, is personal. Images | Xataka with Gemini 2.5 | Screen capture | Neon In Xataka | A new generation of robots promises precision and efficiency. It also opens the door to cyberspage risks

Summer has been so hard that it has taken to the most summer ingredient in the salad: tomato

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The arrival of the rains this year seemed to bring a thread of hope to a battered agricultural sector for drought months. The news that comes to us could not be more different: grapes, citrus, bananas… For one reason or on the other, the crops are not fulfilling expectations, and the most recent example has been put by the tomato. 76 million. The tomato sector in Extremadura He has taken stock This year’s harvest and has not been precisely optimistic: a “ruin” is like the union of small farmers and ranchers from Extremadura (UPA-UCE) defined it in a Recent statement. The Extremadura Agrarian Organization figure at 76 million euros the annual losses of tomato producers after this year’s harvest. Double problem. The Sector Association points to A double problem: On the one hand, “ruinous prices (taxes by) the industrial sector”. Prices that, according to the association do not allow to cover the costs associated with production. The price problem is linked to the second of the problems of this campaign: that of production. According to association data, for this campaign the hiring for this campaign was based on an expected productivity of 93 tons per hectare on average. In Extremadura, real productivity has ended up being lower, about 82 tons per hectare. Lower productivity, lower production. This has been reflected in a bad harvest, with a production remarkably lower than that originally hired, 20% lower, according to UPA-UCE data. The main reason in this fall in production is for the sector, in meteorology. A climate not so propitious. Everything seemed to indicate that the meteorology would be favorable this year: months of elevated rainfall or, the less normal, they served not only to conclude the dry episode that affected our environment for several years; The hydrological bonanza also served for reservoirs to recover filling levels that had not been seen in years. However, the summer of 2025 was not consistent with what was seen in the previous months, but it brought us a Dry and very warm summera summer with two heat waves especially severe both in intensity and in duration. The result: weaker plants. And with more problems, they explain from UPA-UCE. Echoes from other fields. The story is repeated in several sectors. The arrival of the rains seemed to bring new hopes to the agricultural sector, however, the expected increase in harvest has also been translating into lower prices In origin, something that already supposed in itself a problem for many farmers. The problem has been even greater in sectors like grapeswhere expectations are not being met and now producers must face the low prices of a high offer, but with a lower production to the expected. In Xataka | During centuries Galicia was a thriving land of olive groves with unique varieties in the world. What changed it is still a mystery Image | Czapp ÁPád

Cosplayers Carnival, stuffed blades and a crowded city

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“We had to come,” Pedro and María tell me, who hope patiently in the crowded bus on the way to the Comic-within the distant Palace of Congresses of Malaga, half an hour from the city center. Crowded with Wolverine, Leias, Narutos and Wednesday Addamswe squeeze among the Malaga who usually take that bus every day at the same time, but with much less carnival on board. The vehicle no longer admits more passengers and the driver has to stand up to shout to the row of (very obvious) attending the Comic-with that stay on land because there are nothing but behind comes another bus that goes directly to the Palacio de Congresos. The disappointment faces are inevitable, but Better that they get used tobecause comic-with is 5% aspiration, 5% expiration, and the remaining 90%, queue. To access the halls of acts, to enter the Congress Palace itself, to get food or drink water and, inside the exhibitors zone, to buy in stores. And not everyone is happy with the management of queues, which as we have often explained in reference to the attraction parks, It’s an art. In any case, good humor prevails among most attendees, crowned by extravagant headdresses, rubber prostheses, impossible wigs Or, why not, very economical costumes bought of urgency in Aliexpress. That is, above all, lto Comic-Con Fiesta: A parade of disguised people, in tones and styles that are the most sophisticated to the most homemade, and that give a colorful and unique environment to the event. “I come from Galicia with my partner, it was he who introduced me to this world, although it was already something that was inside me, I like to disguise myself since I am little,” Patricia tells us, perfectly dressed in Wonder Woman. “It was a very important event, always in the United States and here for the first time, and had to come,” he tells us, almost repeating the words of Pedro and María. Rubén has also come for free, but in an almost more extreme key, wrapped in a sophisticated (but completely homemade) characterization of Vegeta, ‘Dragon Ball’: “I have always been interested in the cosplay, but it is my first time.” And he has also attended the margin of societies or tribes: “When the tickets came out, and since I didn’t want to accompany any friend, I came alone” It is a very particular mixture of ingredients, which allows to see Batman taking a picture with the protagonist of ‘Silksong‘, While the improbable meeting is enlivened by the frantic concert, at the blow of the Sid of Comodore 64, of Narcisound interpreting the oriental melodies of ‘The Last Ninja’. That clash of generations and interests is what gives life to an event like this. To buy That and the merchandising. The merchandise, which would say yogurt of ‘Spaceballs’ (wink for fans that already exceed quarantine): in the area of ​​tenderetes and blast we find stuffed animals of cats out of the darkest memes of the Internet, stickers of the ”K-Pop Demon Hunters‘, authentic katanas but skipped at 45 euros and, of course, the inevitable funkos. It was these collectible dolls that starred in one of the first controversies of the edition: collector specimens that were only sold in the event disappeared quickly, when a few buyers hired with all the specimens available after tail hours. This stands area is the most busy edition, and where they are mixed as an exquisite post-capitalist temptation the darkest hobbies of visitors and the merchandising more unlikely. But not everything were creep purchases: visitors also crowded to get on the motorcycle of ‘Tron Ares’ (sequel to which an exclusive advance will be seen in the next few days), to take a photo in front of a Colossal Bowser de Lego or to search in the video game drawers, in the occasional second -hand store. They were not the most extravagant positions: a bank promoted manipulation with the photos made in their own stand… that was located next to the Artist Alley, the area of ​​refuge and compadre of the cartoonists, who commented with suspicion the lack of forecast of the organization by locating the bank of the bank just there, next to the guild that with more fear contemplates the advent of the generative IAS. It is also part of the nature of the comic-with: a bite of essences that, very often, take to kill. Because, obviously, not everything is kawaii pink. Complaints about the tails, as we said above, have been constant Among those who have. approached to the Palacio de Congresos: they are the minimum common denominator of each corner of the event, as some visitors have discovered with disgust (a quick walk through The social networks of the Comic-Con It allows to take the pulse to discontent). This was expressed by Azahara, which has a couple of hours ahead to access the Funkos store: “I usually go to the Barcelona manga hall, and although so many people are not there, it is also a multudinary event, and it is much better organized. You make queues, but they are fluid, orderly queues.” Pedro and Maria also agreed: “The issue of queues is worse than normal, really.” It might seem that l30,000 visitors a day calculating the organization may have partially overwhelm the eventwhich has also received abundant complaints about the prices and shortage of food, at a critical hour in which they were generated … more queues. On the back bus, with the sun at half-mast communicating that it is fine for today of hobbies and sponsorships, the fatigue marks the disheveled (and unmasked) faces of Spider-Man and Deadpool, both with signs on the face of a battle much more bloody than those we see in Marvel movies. They have made more queues than the human body is willing to tolerate in one day. Header | Xataka In Xataka | 27 jewels of the European comic that are worth discovering

The reactive the great debate on universal basic income. And the question is whether it is feasible to create it: Crossover 1×23

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One hears about Universal basic rent and inevitably thinks that It’s money that gives you free. The idea goes far beyond that, but one thing is true: with the rise of AI and the potential revolution of robotics, the debate about this option is more rising than ever. And precisely this 1×23 crossover is dedicated to talking about universal basic income, its origins and what it means. And to do so are Jaume Lahoz and Carlos Santa Engracia, presenters of Crossover, and a server, Javier Pastor, to dissect the theme. The truth is that we are increasingly facing a future in which AI and automation can help Create ultraproductive companies. In that scenario it is likely that the impact for employment and society will be enormous, and that is where a Universal basic rent You can raise a solution to that “mass and forced unemployment.” In the episode we talk in addition to the Pilot experiments That there has been in various countries, and also how Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is especially interested in this area through its controversial Worldcoin project. Like everything, in the idea that projects universal basic income there are clear advantages and of course also risks. Will we become a society Like the one painted ‘wall-e’? ¿We will all gorditos And without moving from a chair that levita and takes us everywhere? Phew. On YouTube | Crossover

It is if bosses really make the schedules that claim their employees

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The debate on working hours in Spain is again in the center of attention after the statements of Antonio Garamendi, president of the CEOE, in the Forbes Spain Economic Summitwho defended the culture of effort in response to proposals to reduce working hours. “Do you think Carlitos (Alcaraz) works 37 and a half hours a week? No. Is the culture of effort, to know what you lose and what do you want.” The response of the representative of the main employer in Spain maintains the line of opposition to the proposal of Reduction of workday that Congress knocked down a few weeks ago. However, what caught the attention was Garamendi’s negative to openly declare if he worked more than 40 hours a week that the law marks. Reactions to Garamendi’s statements. The comparison that Garamendi between Carlos Alcaraz, a professional tennis player, and the vast majority of the active population has unleashed reactions from both the Ministry of Labor and the unions. The second vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, He has pointed out That Garamendi “with rampant machismo does not know what it is to work 40 hours a week”, ensuring that it will not “allow those who charge for 25 times the minimum wage give us lessons of the reduction of working hours.” For his part, Pepe Álvarez, general secretary of UGT, has described Garamendi’s statements of “unfair, provocative, populist and surrealist”, and added that “never in our country the young people have worked so hard to reach the end of the month.” Beyond the working day. Leaving aside the allegation for the culture of the effort of the majority employer representative in Spain about the culture of employees’ effortthe data From the Active Population Survey (EPA) show that employees in Spain, in addition to their ordinary working days, made a total of 7,009,800 overtime, which is an increase with respect to 6,935,300 of the same period of 2024. Of those hours, 2,821,300 of hours a week were unpaid overtime. That is, the employees worked hours beyond your daybut their company did not pay them. According to a prepared report By CCOO in September 2024, with this surplus of extra hours they could have created up to 62,880 full -time jobs. Last year, about 419,000 employees dedicated an average of 6.3 hours a week to work without remuneration. How long do bosses work? While the figures of the working day for employees are collected in Dozens of annual statisticsthere is no formal record of the hours dedicated by the bosses and owners. It is common that, when asked, they respond that their day is 24 hours and that they work “from sun to sun”. However, independent studies indicate that effective work hours can be significantly lower than those received or declared by the leaders. According to an investigation of the London School of Economicsthe ceos who claim to work more than 55 hours per week, actually only dedicated about 35 hours to real professional taskswhile the rest of his time was distributed among personal activities, leisure, gym and institutional events. What is working? The definition of what is work and what is not, It is perfectly defined in the different laws that regulate the working day and the duties of the workers. When any discrepancy arises, justice does not hesitate to draw that limit in detail between it What is working time and what does not. However, these limits do not seem to apply with the same precision to entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs who direct their companies who, without hesitation of their zeal and sacrifice, are not governed by the same time controls and rules that its employees. This lack of control makes subjective valuations over time and effort that, objectively, could be considered effective work time. The Turbojornadas of Elon Musk and 996. In Silicon Valley, the CEO’s tendency to present themselves as supermpleados capable of making 120 hours a week without flavor has its maximum representative in Elon Musk. Recently, other businessmen from Silicon Valley, Like Lucy Guohave begun to advocate for days of 80 to 100 hours a week under the called “996“(From nine in the morning to nine at night, six days per week) as a paradigm of the culture of effort. However, again, which is never specified How many of those hours are dedicated to productive tasks directly related to their work at the head of their companies. We have an example in Elon Musk himself, which after demanding more than 80 hours signals (and free) to his employees in Doge, he had to see how Tesla investors asked him, at least, Spend 40 hours a week to exercise from CEO from Tesla to get it out of the crisis. The work perception bias. According to An analysis made by him Bureau of Labor Statistics From the US, overestimation can reach up to 10% in the self -perception of time dedicated to labor tasks. This distortion affects both employees and managers, who, moved by the desire to impress or strengthen the culture of effort, may consider that they work much more than they really do. In the Spanish context, this bias can aggravate the narrative raised by Garamendi and the Marathyan Day defendersbut concrete data from official sources and international studies indicate that the perception and reality of effective work hours They can be separated for several percentage points. The problem is that, as there is no Official registration of hours worked For bosses and owners, the doubt of whether their days really meets the standards they publicly defend for their templates. In Xataka | NOr you need more hours in the day. All that is needed is to understand how the brain works to work better with less Image | DVIDSFlickr (Emiliano García-Page)

OpenAi wants to bill as much as Microsoft in five years. For this

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OpenAi projects to enter 2030 about 200,000 million dollars. It is almost the same as Microsoft invoices today, 245,000 million dollars. A company that this year will touch the 12,000 million dollars believes that it will multiply its income in less than five years. To contextualize excess: Apple took four decades to reach those figures. Google, two decades. Openai intends to do so in decade and a half of life, with a nuance: Until three years ago I did not invoice or one hundred million. His “zero moment” was in 2022. The planned growth graph, published by The InformationIt has many layers. The excessive ambition is just one of them. The income is triggered exponentially, but the computer costs – both training as an inference – grow almost linearly. This equation only works if Openai ceases to be what it is today: a company that sells access to LLMS for 20 dollars a month. It needs to be something else that goes much further. The question is not whether they can multiply their income by 17, but what they have to invent to justify such assessment. The secret is in the agents. But not what we imagine. Openai does not aspire to sell you a smarter chatgpt. Aspires to replace entire departments. Deep Research The model already hints: do not charge for consultation but for work done. If a report that previously required three Junior analysts for a week now does an agent in a few minutes, supervised by a single employee, how much is it worth? It is not worth $ 20 of a subscription. It is worth $ 50,000 that these salaries cost. Multiplied by each department of each company of Fortune 500 … Suddenly, the 200,000 million do not seem science fiction. They seem to conservatives. But here comes the existential paradox of OpenAi: pato capture that value need their models to be irreplaceable, unique, unattainable. However, every month that passes, the gap with Claude, Gemini or Deepseek narrows. The Commoditization of the AI It is not a future threat: it is already happening. How do you justify monopoly prices when your product is becoming water or electricity? Openai’s response seems to be the speed: Arrive first. Dominate the market. Create dependence before others can react. It is the old strategy of companies such as Uber or Amazon: losing money to buy market share, praying so that when profitability comes, you are the only one standing. Plan B is in vertical applications. They will not sell generic but specific solutions: The complete customer service system of your company. The educational platform of your university. The legal co -pilot of your office. Each vertical, a new market of billions. This is where the numbers begin to make sense. Microsoft 365 generates Microsoft almost 100,000 million annually. The World Business Software Market Billón approaches. If OpenAI captures just 20% replacing traditional software with intelligent agents, it reaches its goal. You don’t need to invent anything new. You just need to make everything that exists obsolete. Openai’s real bet is not as technological as temporary. They are buying time with 350,000 million in computer costs, betting on the AGI “Or something similar enough, that For something Altman has been moving the goal for some time– It arrives before the money is over. If they get it, those 200,000 million will be an anecdote. If they fail, we will have seen the most spectacular bubble in technological history. And the fascinating thing is not that Openai is trying. Is that everyone who imports –Microsoft, Oracle, Softbank, the US government– They seem to believe they can achieve it. Outstanding image | Adolfo Félix In Xataka | The alliance between Oracle and Openai does not go only from data centers: it goes from advanceing Google, Apple and Microsoft on the right

The eruption of a volcano was synonymous with danger 100 years ago. Today has made Iceland a theme park

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Exactly one year ago, Iceland took a unexplored path In his fight against mass tourism: in essence, tell the truth to the visitor. Thus began a marked campaign For a slogan: “No one will save you if you fall”, which unequivocally came to confirm the hordes of the dangers of getting too close to an erupting volcano. Today, Iceland wonders if it was worth “opening” both the world. The awakening that changed everything. In 2010, when Eyjafjalajökull volcano interrupted air traffic European with an ash cloud that paralyzed the continent, Iceland went from being a remote island and evoked in Nordic sagas to become a global stage. The images of glaciers, black beaches and hot springs spread by international chains aroused the curiosity of the world in a country that had just suffered the blow of The financial crisis. With the campaign Inspired by Icelandthe government and tourism industry They took the moment. From then on, the landing of low -cost airlines and Viral phenomena In social networks (including a Justin Bieber video clip between waterfalls and aircraft remains) they catapulted the island to essential destination. Mass tourism. In just fifteen years, the number of visitors went from less than half a million to More than 2.3 million annuallymultiplying the local population several times during the high season. Tourism revitalized villages, generated employment and transformed the economyto the point of becoming the Main motor of the country. Locations Like Vikonce agricultural, they saw how the stables gave way to guest houses, improvised coffees in school bus and attractions of adventure. Immigration accompanied This boom: in some municipalities, foreigners are already a majority, and the arrival of new residents has even caused an unexpected “baby boom”. For many mayors and local businessmen, current problems are preferable to the decline of peoples that previously seemed condemned to abandonment. The identity dilemma. However, obviously not everything is good news. Tourism has contributed economic vitality, employment and infrastructure, but also tensions. Farmers complain about visitors who enter their lands or feed horses without permission, even causing deaths of animals. In Vikthe massive arrival of foreign workers has altered the social and urban fabric, with prefabricated homes that change traditional aesthetics. Even in schools they have had to Put posters to prevent tourists from photographing children. In the environmental plane, basic systems as the sewer They have been overwhelmed. Many Icelanders recognize the prosperity that tourism has given them, but they wonder how much local culture can resist without diluting. Iceland as theme park. More than a decade later that Eyjafjalajökull Cover the European sky with ashes and put the country on the global map, many critics argue that the island has run the risk of becoming in a “volcanoes theme park.” The geysers, glaciers and mountains of fire are today part of an itinerary Almost prefabricated, driven by low -cost airlines and Instagram selfies, which concentrates crowds in a handful of iconic landscapes while other regions remain outside. What was previously perceived as an indomitable and mysterious territory has become a tourist decoration subject to the logic of rapid consumption, where the eruption that attracted the world was transformed In advertising claim permanent. For many Icelandic, the paradox is evident: the volcano that saved the economy now threatens to devour the essence of their country. The future. Thus, academics and analysts propose Diversify the routes and offer deepest experiences linked to the history and culture of the country, to prevent tourism from reduced to a handful of “postcard places.” Regions such as Western Fjords or Fisheries North are still relatively on the sidelines, although the opening of direct flights could change the situation. The issue, according to many Icelanders, is not to close the door to visitors, but rethink the model: Attract those who want a longer and more conscious experience, instead of fast visits dictated by social networks. The national phrase Þetta Reddast (“Everything will work out”) reflects the resilient optimism of the country, although now faces the most uncomfortable question: Can Iceland continue to receive the entire world without sacrificing what made it unique? Image | Pexels, Berserkur In Xataka | “No one will save you if you fall into the volcano”: Iceland reopens one of its greatest claims with the best anti -tourism slogan In Xataka | In Barcelona, ​​the anti-tourism movement is adopting a radical tactic: harass tourists down the street

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