Month: December 2025

There are a lot of people going to libraries to look for books that don’t exist: an AI invented them

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Junk content made with AI is sneaking into every corner of the internet: it is ruining the authenticity of Etsythe Wikipediait confuses us search for an apartment in Idealista and of course plague social networks. He ‘slop’ of AI is reaching the real world, specifically libraries. What is happening. They tell it inScientific American. There are people going to libraries and archives in search of books or scientific articles that do not appear anywhere for one reason: they do not exist. International Red Cross has alerted to the situation and blames AI tools such as Gemini, ChatGPT or Copilot. They assure that “These systems do not conduct research, verify sources or collate information. They generate new content based on statistical patterns and, therefore, may produce invented results.” In Xataka He "AI slop" turned into art. A Chinese creator is copying the absurd aesthetics of generative AI, and it’s hilarious Fed up librarians. The research director of the Virginia library estimates that at least 15% of the queries they receive through mail are about documents and works generated by ChatGPT and similar tools. “For our staff, it is much more difficult to prove that there is no single record,” he says. A Bluesky user recounts a similar experience when a student asked him to find a series of references. After searching for a while without success, he asked the student where he got the list from and he confessed that it came from Google’s AI summaries. Made-up dating isn’t something that started happening the day before yesterday,In 2023 there were already discussions about it. Seattle University found that it is often very difficult to verify these invented quotes. The reason is that AI usually gives titles of magazines or books that exist, but what does not exist is the chapter or issue where the information is found. What it does is mix information to make it seem convincing, when in reality it is a dead end. AI and books. Invented references are not the only problem, there are librarians who also They criticize books created entirely with AI for being “incredibly bad” and we have recently learned of the case of South Korea and the resounding failure of its AI school book program. On the other hand we have the copyright problem. As with works of art, books too have been used to train AI without compensating their authors. A group of authors sued Anthropicfor this reason, but The judge ruled in favor of the company. {“videoId”:”x8jpy2b”,”autoplay”:false,”title”:”What’s BEHIND AIs like CHATGPT, DALL-E or MIDJOURNEY? | ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE”, “tag”:”Webedia-prod”, “duration”:”1173″} Papers on AI, made with AI. In an article by Futurism They said that a consequence of the AI ​​slop is that the papers that investigate AI themselves are made with AI. It is estimated that the number of papers on AI has doubled in recent years and journals such as NeurIPS have had to ask doctoral students to help them review them. There is a specific case of a researcher named Kevin Zhu who has participated in more than 100 papers in one year, an exorbitant figure for experts. To no one’s surprise, many of these papers are a real disaster full of made up quotes, blatant errors and sometimes hidden text to manipulate the review systems themselves. hallucinations. That AI invents things is quite common, they are the In AI jargon it is known as hallucinations and one of the weak points of language models; The advances are enormous, but the reality is that We still can’t trust AI and it is necessary to verify the information. Hallucinations are often the reason why those who use AI in their jobs are caught, such as the consulting firm Deloitte, which delivered a report to the Australian government that contained references to completely fabricated reports. Image | Cottonbro studio, Pexels In Xataka | The birth of an anti-reading movement: more and more people admit to using AI to summarize books (function() { window._JS_MODULES = window._JS_MODULES || {}; var headElement = document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)(0); if (_JS_MODULES.instagram) { var instagramScript = document.createElement(‘script’); instagramScript.src=”https://platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js”; instagramScript.async = true; instagramScript.defer = true; headElement.appendChild(instagramScript); – The news There are a lot of people going to libraries to look for books that don’t exist: an AI invented them was originally published in Xataka by Amparo Babiloni .

UFOs are out there and the Government knows it

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It seemed that the times of documentaries about ufology and sightings of flying saucers had passed away, but nothing like a bit of conspiracies and encounters in the third phase to liven up the sales charts. This documentary, without support from any entertainment corporation, has climbed to the top of the best-selling and rented charts in just a few days. A truly strange phenomenon. What happened. Just two days after its launch for sale and rental on Prime Video in the United States (at the moment it is not with the platform’s general on-demand rate) the documentary ‘The Age of Disclosure’ established an unprecedented brand: No other non-fiction release had generated as much revenue in a comparable period. The film directed by Dan Farah toppled the brand held until then by ‘Free Solo’, the acclaimed Oscar-winning documentary about ropeless climbing by Alex Honnold and which you can watch on Disney+. The record. ‘The era of disclosure‘ not only dominated specific documentary categories, but simultaneously held the number one and two positions on the overall platform-wide sales and rental charts during its first eight days of availability. The truly amazing is that this commercial dominance occurred in direct competition with releases from major studios such as ‘Mission: Impossible – Final Judgment‘, ‘One battle after another’ and ‘Tron: Ares’, among others. What is it about? Dan Farah, who had produced things like ‘Ready Player One’, made his directorial debut with this project that took three years to complete, always under strict secrecy. After passing through festivals and a very limited exhibition in theaters at the beginning of the year, it began to arouse unusual interest (reflected in figures such as a trailer with 22 million views) and ended up on Prime Video. It raises the existence of a clandestine government program that for eight decades would have recovered and attempted to reverse engineer technology of non-terrestrial origin. Farah maintains that the main world powers maintain a silent competition to decipher these artifacts. The list of interviewees, totaling 34 people familiar with the subject, includes Marco Rubio, current Secretary of State of the United States; Kirsten Gillibrand and Mike Rounds, both senators active on intelligence committees; and James Clapper, former Director of Intelligence under the Obama administration. turning point. Renewed interest in UFOs has a specific date and explain massive success of the documentary. On July 26, 2023, the House Homeland Security Subcommittee organized a session in which David Gruschformer Department of Defense employee, declared under oath that during the exercise of his official duties he had received information about the existence of an initiative lasting several decades dedicated to recovering and studying ships of non-human origin. Grusch claimed to have conducted interviews with approximately forty people linked to these projects over a four-year period, who provided him with photographic evidence, official documentation, and classified accounts. The most shocking moment of his appearance came when, questioned by Congresswoman Nancy Mace, he confirmed that authorities with first-hand knowledge had informed him of the recovery of non-human biological materials in some of these alleged accidents. Not everyone is happy. The reception of ‘The Age of Disclosure’ puts the fracture between critics and public. On Rotten Tomatoesonly 30% of professional reviews rated the work favorably, while the public gave it a notable 92%. Among the fiercest critics are that of The New York Times which adopts a particularly skeptical stance on what the documentary tells or The Hollywood Reporterwhich posits that the documentary treats the claims as established facts and do not require additional corroboration. In Xataka | The countries that most believe in the visit of aliens, arranged in a curious graph

Smart glasses find their “iPhone moment” in China. The key to your success: payments

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In China, AI glasses allow you to pay by looking at a QR code and giving a voice command. Alibaba itself launched its Quark for $268, integrated with Alipay for payments and Taobao for purchases. Xiaomi presented its glasses with AI in June and they became the third best selling in the world in the first half of 2025, despite being available for only one week. The Chinese market for smart glasses is growing exponentially in the second half of the year, according to a study by BigOne Lab. Why is it important. After more than a decade of unfulfilled promises, smart glasses have finally found their reason for being. And it is something as prosaic as paying without taking your cell phone out of your pocket. AND It’s working in China like nothing else has before. in this sector. From the adoption for payments, the rest of the value proposition is built. The context. China’s digital infrastructure, where even the elderly use their smartphone for everything, facilitates adoption. QR codes are in all shops and Meta does not operate in China without a VPN, which has left the field clear for local companies to experiment without direct competition. Yes, but. The price is determining. Chinese glasses cost between 200 and 300 dollars, a price not too high. Xiaomi, RayNeo, Thunderobot, Kopin, Baidu and Alibaba compete in the Chinese domestic market. The payment functionality does not require very sophisticated screens or complex optics. All you need is a basic camera, voice recognition and connection to the payments ecosystem. This makes production much cheaper. The big question. Will we see something similar in Europe with Bizum? Mobile payments here are less ubiquitous than in China, but Bizum has achieved enormous penetration in Spain. If businesses adopted Bizum QR codes, as some already do, smart glasses could find their practical use here as well. The European ecosystem has advantages: stricter privacy regulation, greater consumer trust in traditional banking systems, and a population accustomed to incremental innovations. But it doesn’t have the density of QR codes that makes China the perfect terrain for this experiment. Between the lines. Chinese companies are not just developing hardware. They are creating the use case that justifies wearing smart glasses all day, and instead of looking for something spectacular and complex, they have found something much simpler and everyday: not having to take your phone out of your pocket. Rokid boasts that its glasses are not tied to a single generative AI model: they work with OpenAI, Llama, Gemini and Grok. They also offer simultaneous translation into English while someone speaks in Chinese. But none of that matters as much as the payment feature. And now what. Meta dominates the global market with a 73% share in the first half of 2025, according to Counterpoint. His success with Ray-Ban Meta This is explained by a design that is almost indistinguishable from normal glasses. In addition, Western manufacturers maintain advantages in chips. But Chinese companies have obvious advantages: many brands and models, rapid iteration, and the ability to adapt quickly to market changes. In Xataka | The POCO F8 Pro and F8 Ultra are a great change of direction for the brand. We spoke with POCO to find out what awaits us now Featured image | Xiaomi

forgot three Boeing 747s in Kuala Lumpur

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According to official data, More than 80 million passengers pass through airports such as the Adolfo Suárez Madrid – Barajas airport each year, while more than 19 million travelers pass through the Josep Tarradellas Barcelona – El Prat airport each year. With that volume of passengers, it’s not strange for people to lose things. The undersigned lost a jacket he loved forgotten at the Berlin airport. However, at least usually someone loses a 70 meter object long and 200 tons in weight, like those weighed by the three Boeing 747s that someone forgot in 2015 at the Kuala Lumpur airport (Malaysia). The three forgotten Boeings For more than a year, these giants of more than 70 meters long, they remained parked in a corner of the international airport in the Malaysian capital as if they were a simple lost object, accumulating fees and attracting the attention of the ground teams who saw them every day without anyone taking responsibility for them. Over time, that It stopped being just a curious anecdote among the runway operators and became a real administrative problem for the airport management through which more than 70 million passengers pass through each year. The airport space management company was obliged to reserve that space for the three aircraft, assume their tariff costs and try to clarify who was responsible for those three. Boeing 747‑200two configured for passengers and one for cargo. The most striking thing about the case is that they were not small planes within the reach of any user with a flight license, but rather they were three Boeing 747‑200which in its passenger version It can exceed 400 seats and reached a price of about 39 million dollars in the early 1980s. Even so, these three units, identified with the registration plates TF-ARM, TF-ARN and TF-ARH, were immobilized for more than a year and without anagrams or marks that related them to any of the companies that usually operated at that airport. Whose planes are these? Tired of accumulating debt and dust in equal measure, Kuala Lumpur airport authorities set out to find the planes’ owners. According to pointed Bloomberg, the first information indicated that one of the aircraft had carried out cargo tasks for Malaysia Airlines, which had rented it to the Icelandic Air Atlanta Icelandic. Given the impossibility of locating a clear owner through the usual means, the airport administration decided to resort to a method as simple as it is forceful: post an ad in the local newspaper Star Newspaper to ask the “missing” owner of the planes to come by the airport to pick them up. The message of the advertisement was clear: “If you do not collect the aircraft within 14 days from the date of this notice, we reserve the right to sell or otherwise dispose of the aircraft in accordance with the Civil Aviation Regulations 1996 and use the money raised to offset any expenses and debts owed to us under those regulations,” stated the published notice. As and how I collected Guardianthe Kuala Lumpur authorities had decided to take action to get rid of the three aircraft, and were preparing the ground to sell them to the highest bidder. “We have been in communication with the supposed owner, but he has not responded to us to remove the aircraft. That is why we are carrying out this process to legalize any action we want to take,” Mohd Isa, the contact person who appeared in the announcement, told the British newspaper Zainol. The case took a turn when the Swift Air Cargo company, a freight transport company, stated that those planes were theirs and that they had not “forgotten” them, but rather that they were in the middle of a purchase operation from a Hong Kong company that had not yet been resolved. From that moment on, what seemed like a simple case of inattention turned into a dispute over who was really the legal owner and who should be responsible for their particular “parking ticket.” Boeings rose to fame It is not usual for three aircraft the size of these Boeing 747s to be “forgotten” on the runway of an international airport, which is why the three aircraft were made famous all over the world. Since finally It was not possible to clarify who the real owner was.the airport carried out its threat and sold the devices to the highest bidder. According to published LuxuryLaunchesNowadays, airplanes have a very different use than that for which they were designed. One of them, the TF‑ARMwas transferred to Nanchang, in China, where it ended up becoming a valuable setting for training practices for students of the Jiangxi Aviation Technical and Vocational School. The TF-ARN has become a tourist curiosity in northern Dinghai District in Zhoushan He TF-RNA traveled to Zhoushan, in China’s Zhejiang province, and was transformed into a leisure attraction, while the TF‑ARH He didn’t go too far from that airport. It was taken to the Freeport A’Famosa Outlet shopping complex in Malacca (Malaysia), where it was converted into a curious space which combines a cafeteria, a shopping area under the name “Coach Airways”. The third Boeing 747 is a cafeteria next to a shopping center in Malacca (Malaysia) In this way, the three jumbo jets that for more than a year remained forgotten at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, adding unpaid fees of several million, ended up finding a second life as a tourist attraction, practical classroom and commercial experience, far from the initial idea that they would end up reduced to scrap metal. In Xataka | Saudi Arabia bought one of the most advanced Boeing 747s in the world: it will end up being scrapped after only 16 flights Image | Flickr (Slices of Light)

It’s called Private Sale and it’s loaded with offers on cell phones, televisions and more

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When we get to December, we always say that we have already missed the jump on the best deals of the year as Black Friday has ended. As a general rule this is usually the case, although, like everything, there are exceptions. Today we have one of them in El Corte Inglés, which has been active for a few hours. your Private Salea promo loaded with offers that It will be available until December 15. We have very good discounts on both mobile phones and televisions, watches and practically any type of device we can think of. As always, below we show you a series of offers that right now present a great opportunity if you are looking to renew one of your devices or simply treat yourself: Samsung Galaxy S25 by 722.41 eurosa high-end phone ideal for people who prefer compact devices. Dreame L40 Ultra Robot Vacuum Cleaner by 424.15 eurosa top model that has a brush that extends to reach everywhere. TCL QLED 85P8K Smart TV by 849.15 eurosa brutal television both in image quality and size. Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro by 322.15 eurosthe best smartwatch that the Chinese manufacturer has. Nothing Phone (3a) Pro by 322.15 eurosa mobile phone with a unique design and very good features. Samsung Galaxy S25 The first device we bring is the Galaxy S25a very compact phone that, despite this, stands out for its power and performance. It has a 6.2-inch screen with 120 Hz refresh rate, the Snapdragon 8 Elite under the hood and comes with 12 GB of RAM. It has a triple rear camera system and, in addition to having a lot of AI thanks to Gemini and Galaxy AI, it comes with seven years of guaranteed updates. comes out for 722.41 euros (discount is applied automatically if we have logged in to El Corte Inglés and when putting the device in the cart). The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Dreame L40 Ultra Robot Vacuum Cleaner If we are looking for a robot vacuum cleaner and we want a high-end one, then this one may fit us very well. Dreame L40 Ultra. This one stands out for coming with a brush that extends to reach all corners (it also does the same with the mop). It has a very good suction power of 11,000 pascals and a battery that lasts, according to the manufacturer, up to 194 minutes of suction per charge. It is capable of overcoming obstacles of up to 2.2 centimeters and its charging base makes it easy to maintain, even including a tank to insert a cleaning product. In the cart, it stays on 424.15 euros. Dreame L40 Ultra robot vacuum cleaner with mop The price could vary. We earn commission from these links TCL QLED 85P8K Smart TV We also have very good options if we want a new television, like this TCL 85P8K. It is a Smart TV that uses QLED technology and is 85 inches, a brutal size to set up an authentic cinema experience in our living room. It has a 144 Hz refresh rate, making it a perfect model for gaming. All without forgetting that it also has the Google TV operating system. When you put it in the cart, its price stays at 849.15 euros., QLED TV 215.9 cm (85″) TCL 85P8K, 4K HDR Ultra HD, Smart TV by Google TV, voice control, compatible with Google Assistant, Google Cast The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro As an option if we want a top smartwatch, we have this Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro, which has only been in stores for a few months. It is a device with a very good 1.47-inch screen with a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, so we can see it without problems even if the light falls directly on it. It is loaded with sensors to measure our training and our health, but where it stands out the most is in autonomy: it lasts up to 21 days. Costs 322.15 euros Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro 46mm black rubber strap Smartwatch The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Nothing Phone (3a) Pro At the design level, there are few phones comparable to this Nothing Phone (3a) Pro. It is one of those devices that catches the eye, but it is also a very good phone. It has a 6.77-inch screen, Snapdragon 7s Gen3 processor and a 5,000 mAh battery that offers very good autonomy (and 50W fast wired charging). We have it right now in El Corte Inglés at its lowest price: 322.15 euros. Nothing Phone (3a) Pro (12+256 GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Purchaseddiction, Samsung, Nothing, Dreame, TCL, Huawei In Xataka | Best televisions in quality price. Which one to buy and seven recommended 4K smart TVs In Xataka | The best mobile phones, we have tested them and here are their analyzes

Madrid had a plan to put all cars without a DGT label off the road in 2026. It has changed its mind

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In 2024 it was December 12. In 2025 it was December 11. 20 days after all cars without a label were prohibited from entering the city of Madrid, the capital’s City Council has once again confirmed that those who are registered in Madrid will be able to continue driving for another year. That is to say, like last yearwith less than three weeks left before the ban would exclude unlabeled cars registered in Madrid and those registered outside the city, the City Council has extended the extension that will allow them to continue circulating. So, who can and cannot circulate in Madrid? What does the great ZBE that is now Madrid look like? In September 2024, a figure began to move: 1.2 million cars circulating in Madrid were going to be left out if the ban on any car without an environmental label circulating in the capital was activated, as planned, in 2025. This figure was, as we contrast in Xatakafalse. Or inaccurate, at least. In reality, the Madrid City Council estimated that there were 246,000 vehicles that were going to be left out of circulation in the city. This year, The figure that had moved was 300,000 cars which does not seem real because it would imply that the vehicle fleet of gasoline with more than 25 years and diesel with more than 19 years has grown in the city in the last year. In fact, Borja Caravante, delegate of Urban Planning, Environment and Mobility, has assured that prohibiting the circulation of cars without environmental label of registered in Madrid would only affect about 14,000 or 15,000 vehicles, according to words collected by The Country. The Madrid City Council alleges, therefore, that the measure would have a “low impact” and that they therefore prefer to extend the exception to the rule. Whatever the vehicles may be, the truth is that if the ban were applied, no car without a label could circulate in the capital, regardless of whether or not the car is registered in the city. And the thing is, right now, the only cars without a label that can circulate in Madrid are those registered in the city. That is, it is not enough to reside in the capital, it is necessary that the car be registered in the city. If not, there is no possibility of moving with a car without a label except for few exceptions, such as going to a hotel in the city. In summary, right now there are two possibilities for cars without a label and they will remain active next year: If the car is registered in Madrid: it can circulate If the car is not registered in Madrid: it cannot circulate In addition, it must be taken into account that cars without a label (whether or not they are registered in the capital) cannot enter the Central District Special Protection Low Emission Zone (what was previously Central Madrid). Only cars with an environmental label can enter this space. Of these, in addition, the B and C labels have the obligation to park in a parking lot, so only the ECO and Zero emissions vehicles have total freedom of movement. If you want to know more details, in this Guide to know if your car will be able to circulate through the Madrid ZBE in 2026 We clarify all these concepts. Photo | Jordi Moncasi and NuKi Chikhladze In Xataka | The intrigue of cars with the DGT B label: what we know about whether or not they will be able to enter large cities

We already know when the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS will be closest to Earth and so you can try to see it

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One of the great protagonists that we have in the sky right now is the comet 3I/ATLAS that has received attention both from science and from fans of everything that surrounds us beyond the atmosphere. And what makes this comet be very interesting It is precisely its origin that does not belong to our environment and also that after its passage it will never return. This makes seeing it from Earth be something unique and that no one will ever be able to repeat again. Getting closer. Right now we are on the verge of its peak moment with us: its closest approach to Earth will occur next week, and this makes many people want to have an idea of ​​how to witness its passage. The appointment will be next December 19. An impossible trajectory. To understand what we are seeing, we have to look back a couple of months. Orbital calculations placed this comet at its closest point to the Sun at the end of last October, passing slightly inside the orbit of Mars. And this was where we had the first big meeting. On October 2, the HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) managed to photograph to the comet from a distance of about 30 million kilometers. It is not common for us to have “eyes” on another planet watching for comets, but the geometry was perfect to capture and visualize it. And all these images have been fundamental to know exactly how and when it will reach our environment. How and when. The date to mark on the calendar is December 19, 2025. A Friday that will be historic since it will be the moment in which 3I/ATLAS makes its closest approach to Earth, being at a distance of 270 million kilometers. Something that removes any type of risk of impacting the planet. The eyes are useless. Looking up and seeing the comet will not be possible, but you will need to be minimally equipped since it does not have colored tails or anything similar. That is why you will need to have a medium or large caliber telescope that is capable of capturing a lot of light. All this accompanied by dark skies, since light pollution in cities makes its detection impossible due to its low brightness. In addition, it is important to have tools such as mobile applications that can guide us where to aim in order to know where we will see it. Although it is also important to have the NASA information about its location. The best sites. In the northern hemisphere, which is where we are, the comet will be visible before dawn. But to do this it will be necessary to also find the best places with dark skies and no light pollution. Traditionally in Spain we can have different characteristic sites such as the Teide observatory or mountain ranges that are very high like in the Pyrenees to be in optimal conditions to see it. Likewise, online monitoring through large observation centers can also be an option in the event of not having the appropriate equipment or location. Images | THAT In Xataka | It went from a supposed alien ship to definitely a comet. Now 3I/ATLAS surprises again with another possibility

The polar vortex collapsed for just a few hours, but it showed us how unstable this winter is coming

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Although it sounds complicated, the stratospheric polar vortex is, quite simply, the Earth’s large system of cold air and low pressure. One to the north and one to the south, rotating around the poles, acting as a barrier that keeps the frigid air away from the temperate zones of the planet. . And that’s exactly what happened in November. A sudden warming of the Arctic stratosphere (rises of up to 30 degrees in a few days) caused a huge mass of air to enter the troposphere and, in response, the westerly winds plummeted from strong values ​​to almost 0 meters per second. El vórtice se paró. Something extremely rare at the end of November. And it’s not just a scientific curiosity; but it entails a brutal redistribution of air masses. However, the vortex did not break completely: it was a quick and strong blow that left the system in stand-by, but it started again relatively quickly. That’s why, the spectacular consequences that were expected So? While it is true that the warming was “historical”, “very rare” for the dates on which it occurred and “very abrupt”, it must be understood (above all) as a warning that the atmosphere is very unstable this winter. Like a wake-up call: something we have to monitor. What the models say. As explained by MeteoVigothe models indicate that the strength of the stratospheric winds (the “muscle” of the vortex) will decrease again in the coming days; But facing the last days of December (around the 26th) the vortex will tend to recover a more circular shape and an intensity close to the climatic average. And what does all this mean? For Europe (and specifically for Spain), the vortex is something important: determines the probability of cold winters, anticyclonic blockages in high latitudes and trains of Atlantic storms. That is to say, if the vortex strengthens heading into December there will be less probability of extreme arctic irruptions and, possibly, a greater weight of storms. However, all scenarios are open: the models continue to draw the busiest winter of the time. Image | In Xataka | The last hope of winter in Spain is desperate, but increasingly possible: the breaking of the polar vortex

lots of energy and very cheap

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It seemed like the United States had the upper hand in the AI ​​race. Having the most advanced chips is undoubtedly an important asset, but there is something even more critical: having energy to power those chips. And if anyone has energy, it’s China. master move. The control that the US exercises over NVIDIA and other advanced semiconductor manufacturers seemed to make this power a great candidate to win the AI ​​race. However, in this game of geopolitical chess, China has moved a piece that challenges that reality. The Asian giant’s strategic advantage is not in the chips, but in something more fundamental and massive: a colossal and enviable energy supply. Lots of energy and very cheap. Between 2010 and 2024, China increased its energy production more than the rest of the world combined. Last year alone it generated more than twice as much electricity as the United States, which is saying something. That difference has made OpenAI I already spoke of the “electron gap” (electron gap), and that translates into a brutal cost advantage for data centers: while an operator in Virginia pays between 7 and 9 cents per kW/h, their Chinese counterparts pay 3 cents. The long term works. China has shown that Your long-term strategy continues to bear fruit. In this case, this energy advantage is not an accident either, but rather the result of state planning that crystallized in the plan of 2021 known as “Data from the East, Calculation from the West”. What they did was take advantage of the vast energy resources of the country’s interior, especially in regions like Lower Mongolia, to power data centers that serve demand in the more populated eastern part of the country. What were once just steppes are now in many cases infinite wind farms and transmission lines that supply energy to more than 100 data centers in operation or under development. Power makes up for lack of advanced chips. For Chinese companies, access to cheap energy is especially important. In fact, since you cannot match the performance of advanced chips like the H100 with your own chips, what you do is group thousands of your own less advanced chips, taking advantage of the fact that what is “left over” is energy. We have the perfect example in Huawei’s CloudMatrix 384 cluster that makes use of your Ascend chips. It consumes four times more energy, and although that would be an unsustainable waste for the US, for China it is a viable way to compete. Satya Nadella already warned of the problem. China continues to invest in expanding its network and that electron gap can widen. Morgan Stanely predicts that around 560 billion will be spent until 2030, and Goldman Sachs affirms that in 2030 China will have 400 GW capacitytriple what global data centers will need. The room for maneuver to continue expanding that facet without problems. Meanwhile, some executives like Microsoft’s Satya Nadella already warned weeks ago that it doesn’t matter if the US has the most advanced components when there is no power for so many chips. Time is in China’s favor. The contrast between both powers is clear. The US has the technology, but its energy expansion is hampered by bureaucracy and insufficient energy transmission capacity. This has precisely made AI companies look for chestnuts with solutions like SMRbut time is on China’s side because they continue to work tirelessly on the development of its own advanced chips of AI and manufacturing technologies latest generation. The longer that race lasts, the more opportunities there will be for the Asian giant to close the component gap. Image | Antonio Garcia In Xataka | In the midst of a trade war, there is a battle that China has already won: that the world depends on its new energy

the target is on the ground

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The tensions between Venezuela and the United States have entered a acceleration phase which reminds, by its form and its atmosphere, of something very different from any other operation against drug trafficking and more so in the moments prior to a major crisis. Certainly not an ordinary diplomatic dispute. An oil tanker and the arrival of a battalion predict a scenario of conflict. Venezuela, the US and a shadow. The tanker seizure off the Venezuelan coast (justified from Washington as a legal act against sanctioned crude oil trafficking and denounced by Caracas as “international piracy”) has functioned as a starting shot for a spiral that had been brewing since months ago. That said, the real turning point, the one that marks a qualitative leap in the US position, is the arrival in Puerto Rico of a contingent almost complete EA-18G Growlersairplanes electronic warfare without equivalents in the region and whose presence is rarely associated with simple training or routine deterrence missions. Venezuela, going through its own political earthquakes following the disputed 2024 election and domestic and international pressure against Maduro, now finds itself staring at a board on which American moves, for the first time since the 1962 crisis, suggest something more than a message: suggest preparation. The Growler as an omen. They were counting this morning on TWZ that the EA-18G Growler deployed in the reactivated base of Roosevelt Roads, in Puerto Rico, are a first-order technical and doctrinal indicator. They are not planes of symbolic presence nor devices suitable for anti-drug patrols. Its mission is different: penetrate the enemy electromagnetic spectrum, suppress air defenses, blind radars, cut communications and open corridors for deeper operations. In an environment like Venezuela, where Russian defense systems of different origin (including Buk-M2, Pechora-2M and S-300VM) make up a complex network, the presence of Growlers is the logical prelude to any action that seeks neutralize anti-aircraft capabilities and prepare the space for precision attacks, insertion of special forces or rescues in hostile territory. And much more. The analysts also recalled that the mixture of ALQ-99 pods and the new NGJ-MBcapable of updating software and modulating AESA antennas to counter evolving threats, indicates that what is deployed in the Caribbean is not an improvised reinforcement, but rather a specialized cell in modern electronic warfare. The region, accustomed to sporadic naval deployments or exercises, had not seen such an unequivocal sign of operational readiness since the most tense years of the Cold War. The hit of the tanker. The boarding operation of the oil tanker Skipper (with Navy helicopters dropping equipment on its deck, official footage released almost in real time and Trump statements qualifying it as the largest seizure ever made) is not an isolated event. It is a global political message that combines judicial pressure with military demonstration. Venezuela interprets it as a direct attack and a violation of its sovereignty, and Washington exposes it as part of a international sanctions network against Venezuelan and Iranian oil. In both cases, the effect is clear: the tacit containment threshold that existed until now has been broken. For Maduro, who urges the population to become “warriors”, the episode serves as a narrative tool to reinforce its internal legitimacy and denounce the American desire to appropriate the country’s resources. For the United States, the message is the opposite: the era of tolerance for sanctioned oil networks is over, and any maritime intermediation will be treated as a legitimate objective. In other words, the clash is frontal, symbolic and strategic. Aerial choreography. The recent flights of F/A-18 Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers circling over the Gulf of Venezuela complete the new military landscape. They were not timid raids or simple patrols: they reached less than 20 nautical miles from the coast and acted with flight patterns designed to test, provoke and record reactions. The F/A-18 operated with the RHINO callsignwhile the Growler, under the name GRIZZLY2carried out loops aimed at capturing signals, searching for active radars and mapping possible defense nodes. They told the BBC experts like Greg Bagwell, which is a classic intelligence operation prior to an intervention scenario or, at the very least, a warning that the United States can degrade Venezuelan defenses at will. Venezuela, aware that every electronic emission, every activated radar and every radio response can be recorded, analyzed and exploited, faces simultaneous psychological and technical pressure: any movement reveals useful information for an adversary that dominates the electromagnetic spectrum. Massive deployment. Plus: presence in the Caribbean from USS Gerald R. Fordthe largest aircraft carrier in the world, along with B-52 and B-1 strategic bombers that they have skirted the coast Venezuela in recent months, composes a military device that cannot be interpreted as mere symbolic deterrence. As we countthe reactivation of Roosevelt Roads (closed since 2004) and its use for F-35 operations confirms that the American return to the Caribbean responds to a longer-term strategic design. with some 15,000 troops deployedspecial forces in rotation, ships of various types and capacities and a constant flow of tactical aircraft, the US military structure in the region increasingly resembles a prepared platform for multiple options: from specific attacks to prolonged pressure operations, including the total interdiction of Venezuelan oil trade. The political factor. There is no doubt, military tension is intertwined with a internal political crisis in Venezuela that has further eroded the legitimacy of the regime. While Maduro denounces attacks and invoke resistancethe awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to María Corina Machado It symbolizes the international recognition of the Venezuelan opposition and its demand for democratic transition. The United States, for its part, maintains a reward on Maduro 50 million dollarshas intensified accusations of links with the Cartel de los Soles and has multiplied lethal operations against vessels supposedly linked to drug trafficking. In this climate, any additional steps (such as a total oil blockadedescribed by analysts as an act of war) could precipitate an unexpected reconfiguration of the internal and regional balance. A game where the United States affirms that … Read more

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