Month: May 2026

50 years later, the Soviet fire of the “Gates to Hell” is going out. And it’s not good news

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In 1971, in the heart of the Karakum Desert, a group of Soviet engineers observed how the ground was sinking under his feet after a failed drilling. What came next was not an immediate evacuation or closure of the area, but rather an improvised decision that, according to who witnessed itseemed like a quick solution to a specific problem. That choice, taken almost as another technical procedure, would end up having consequences that no one at that time was able to anticipate. The eternal fire goes out. During more than half a centurythe Darvaza crater has burned relentlessly in the middle of the desert, becoming an almost permanent image of inexhaustible fire that seemed to defy any natural logic. However, the most recent data show a clear change: the intensity of the flames has fallen drastically in recent years, losing more than 7% of its strength. What for decades was a constant spectacle begins to weaken, altering the perception of a phenomenon that many considered eternal. The origin between legend and Soviet heritage. The birth of the crater is still shrouded in all kinds of stories and uncertainty, although the most widespread and feasible version points to the accident. during Soviet drilling in search of gas in the sixties or seventies. According to this theory, the ground collapsed when it reached a pocket of natural gas and the engineers they decided to set fire to the site to prevent the release of toxic gases, convinced that it would be extinguished in a short time. Thus, what was going to last weeks lasted for decadesfed by an underground network of gas that never stopped flowing, giving rise to one of the best-known anomalies of the energy legacy of the former Soviet Union. From remote curiosity to global icon. Over time, the crater went from being a geological oddity to becoming a almost mythical destiny for travelers and explorers, despite the difficulties in accessing Turkmenistan. Its image, a gigantic burning cavity in the middle of nowhere, has fueled so much adventure tourism like internal propagandato the point of being used by country leaders as a symbol of power or control. The experience of approaching the edge and feeling the direct heat of the fire has reinforced its reputation as a unique place in the world. The attempt at control and doubts about its decline. For its part, the Turkmen government has years trying to control emissions from the crater, and attributes part of the recent weakening to new drilling nearby plants intended to extract gas. However, the independent analyzes They suggest that the loss of intensity could have begun before these interventions, which opens the door to natural causes that are not yet fully understood. This nuance introduces a key and dangerous uncertainty: it is not clear whether the end of the phenomenon responds to human action or to a change in the geological system itself. The unexpected twist: less fire does not mean less problem. Yes, because although At first glance, the reduction of the flames could seem like good news from an environmental point of view, the reality it is more complex. Fire acts as a mechanism that transforms methane (much more powerful as a greenhouse gas) into carbon dioxide, reducing its impact in the short term. If the flames subside, more methane could be released directly into the atmospherewhich would make progressive shutdown a potentially bigger problem. A fragile balance that is still active. Despite its weakening, the crater remains activewith visible flames and constant emissions that remind us that the phenomenon has not disappeared. The huge amount of gas accumulated underground suggests that the fire will not be completely extinguished in the short term, maintaining that strange balance between natural spectacle, industrial legacy and environmental problem. Thus, half a century later, the symbol of eternal fire begins to change, although its disappearance does not necessarily imply a more favorable end for the rest of the planet. Image | Stefan Krasowski, Tormod Sandtorv In Xataka | China’s first pipeline network is 4,000 years old and something revolutionary: it was built without the need for kings or nobles In Xataka | About to close, this remote mine in the Polar Circle has found a 2 billion-year-old yellow diamond that weighs 158 carats

The European Union is very clear about the future of its network infrastructure: there will not be a single Chinese device

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Europe is intensifying its battle against Chinese equipment, both in its electrical network and in its telecommunications infrastructure. The European Commission has again recommended earlier this week the exclusion of Huawei and ZTE equipment by local telecommunications operators, paving the way for a review of the Cybersecurity Regulation in which it is proposed mandatory elimination of high-risk suppliers. A new touch. The European Commission has started the week with a reminder: member states must exclude Huawei and ZTE equipment from their telecommunications network. In January of this year, Europe published a draft establishing the mandatory withdrawal of “high-risk suppliers”, posing a formal veto on Chinese telecommunications companies. It is a particularly sensitive issue in Spain, where communities like Catalonia have ignored European recommendations and they have renewed again recently with companies that use Huawei equipment. The Generalitat case. Last March, the Generalitat of Catalonia renewed its contract with XCAT. A budget of 127 million euros to maintain Huawei as the main equipment supplier, despite the EU notice and challenges from Telefónica and Cellnex that paralyzed the process for a few weeks. {“videoId”:”x9gqo70″,”autoplay”:false,”title”:”YOU ARE NOT GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR MOBILE if you are not using AI like this”, “tag”:”Webedia-prod”, “duration”:”617″} In addition to the Catalan case, practically a third of Spanish 5G networks are from Huawei, with an estimated replacement cost between 400 and 1,000 million euros. Beyond. It is not the only measure that Europe wants to implement against Chinese suppliers. The Commission also wants to protect itself in relation to renewable energies, vetoing access to community funds to those projects using converters made in China. “Our risk assessments have confirmed threats, including manipulation of electricity production parameters, interruption of electricity generation and even unauthorized access to operational data. In practice, this could mean a blackout, a remote blackout of Member States’ networks leading to nationwide power outages.” As with the network infrastructure, according to the Commission, this measure responds to a shield for security reasons, applicable from next November 1. Again, a blow to the giant Huawei, one of the main suppliers of solar inverters in Spain. In Xataka 6G is not being developed to improve mobile speed: it is geopolitics and China is going with the accelerator to the table The Chinese response. China is no stranger to the measures being prepared by Europe, and has made it clear that it considers these proposed acts to be discriminatory and harmful to trade. Without detailing his plans, he has made it clear that he will take countermeasures. The Swedish case. Decisions have consequences, and Sweden is a country that knows very well what happens if you ban Huawei on your telecommunications equipment. In 2020, the country banned the use of telecommunications equipment from Chinese manufacturers under the argument of national security. Although a priori this was a lifeline for Ericsson, the consequences were just the opposite. China retaliated, and China Mobile expelled Eriscsson from its network infrastructure, going from 11% market share to 2%. In case Europe hits China again. In Xataka | There is a crucial technology for the deployment of AI and China is also securing the lead: 6G (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 The European Union is very clear about the future of its network infrastructure: there will not be a single Chinese device was originally published in Xataka by Ricardo Aguilar .

raw power, outstanding camera and large capacity battery

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If you were waiting for the moment to make the jump to a high-end mobile phone, now is a good time to do it thanks to this offer that Amazon has. He Xiaomi 17 (the latest flagship launched by the Chinese manufacturer) has dropped in price and has gone from costing 1,099.90 euros to 899.99 euros. Although yes, it is a flash offer, so it will be available for a limited time. XIAOMI 17 – 12+512GB Smartphone The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A mobile phone with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor that offers plenty of power The heart of this Xiaomi 17 is he Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (accompanied by 12 GB RAM and 512 GB of internal storage). In addition to being 30% faster than its predecessor, it has made a giant leap in thermal efficiency thanks to the 3D IceLoop system. Although it is true that his older brother (the Xiaomi 17 Ultra) takes the 200 MP sensor, this standard Xiaomi 17 is not far behind. Incorporates a 50 MP main camera with a one-inch sensor and refined with LOFIC HDR technology, to control high lights in night scenes. Another of its surprising features is its battery. This has a capacity of 6,330 mAh, a capacity which is surprising in a body of just 8 mm. In addition, it supports fast charging at 100 W, so it is perfect if you want to charge your phone in the morning, while you have breakfast, before going to work. In real practice, it is a mobile phone that lasts a day and a half perfectly without going through the plug. If you want a compact high-end mobile (its screen is 6.3 inches), flat and extremely powerful, this Xiaomi is a good purchase option. In this new Xiaomi 17 family, you could say that this terminal has stopped being the “little brother” to become a very balanced option for the general public. ⚡ IN SUMMARY: offer for the xiaomi 17 today ✅ THE BEST Leica cameras: The Xiaomi 17 takes photos with organic texture and dynamic range (thanks to the LOFIC sensor) that look like they were taken from a professional camera rather than a smartphone. Battery: It seems like magic to integrate 6,330 mAh in such a thin design. In addition, its autonomy is enough for a full day (and then some). ❌ THE WORST The price… Xiaomi is no longer the affordable mobile phone brand that we were used to. This terminal fully enters the 1,000 euro barrier, competing head to head with Samsung and Apple. Secondary cameras… Although the main lens is superb, the wide-angle lens can be a step behind in low light situations, making the jump in quality between sensors noticeable. 💡 BUY IT IF… You are an avid photographer and value the natural color and manual control that Leica optics offer. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… Your budget is tight, since a Xiaomi T series or a high-end Poco can give you a similar (although not the same) experience at 70-80% but at half the price. Some accessories that may interest you for this mobile Olgary Case for Xiaomi 17 6.3″ The price could vary. We earn commission from these links XIAOMI Buds 5 – Wireless headphones 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 | Xiaomi In Xataka | Xiaomi 17 vs Xiaomi 17 Ultra: two similar brothers focused on very different audiences In Xataka | The new Xiaomi 17 versus the Samsung Galaxy S26: we compare the five models that will fight for the best Android of the year

Ibiza has evicted 200 people who lived in campers and caravans. Their big problem is that they are key workers for the island

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If you enter Idealista and you are looking for a home For rent in Ibiza the cheapest option right now, a 32 m2 studio in Sant Joan de Labritja with the kitchen almost at the foot of the bed, is 799 euros. And that, the ad warns, is only the price of “the winter season.” Looking ahead to spring and summer, things change. The next option, a 35 m2 studio, already costs 1,000 euros. From there up. Especially if you are looking for near Eivissa. With similar prices to many workers who keep the island’s hospitality and construction industry afloat they have no other choice than staying in cabins, shanties, vans or (hopefully) caravans. The problem is that they are often installed in unauthorized settlements that end up dismantled by court order. What has happened? That Ibiza has just expanded its (increasingly large) list of evicted settlements. He April 21 About twenty police officers went to the Sa Joveria site, near the Ibiza fairgrounds, to clear what was probably the largest settlement of substandard housing on the entire island. When the agents arrived there were barely any tenants left (the date of the operation was announced days before), but it is estimated that in Sa Joveria they have come to live (badly) more than 130 people who spent their daily lives in caravans, shacks, tents or vans camperized. Just a few days later, the April 29another judicial delegation moved to Can Misses to dismantle another settlement made up of caravans, tents and shacks. The photo was similar: when the agents arrived at the lot there were hardly any people left, but not so long ago more than fifty people lived there (it is estimated that between 70 and 80), part of them bounced from a previous eviction in Can Rova. The eviction left no incidentsbut it is a new reminder of the housing challenge that Ibiza faces. Are these the first evictions? Not at all. a few days ago Ibiza Diary took stock and counted at least half a dozen similar operations since 2024, including the last two in Sa Joveria and Can Misses. The list starts with what was probably the most dramatic episode of all: the eviction of Can Rova in the summer of 2024, when agents from the Santa Eulària police and the Civil Guard dismantled a settlement in which they lived hundreds of peopleincluding children. The episode ended with detained. In March 2025, a similar (more peaceful) operation was carried out in Can Raspalls and in July of that same year the scene was repeated in the es Gorg and Can Rova industrial estate (again). Now the authorities have returned to act in Sa Joveria and Can Misses, among other reasons due to the fire and pest risk what the settlement entailed. “Ibiza city has a major housing problem, but the administration cannot tolerate this becoming a habit of life,” argues the mayor, Rafael Triguero. Why is it a problem? Ibiza is not the only territory in Spain (or Europe) that deals with illegal shanty settlements. The problem is that there is a peculiarity on the island that is explained by its residential market: a good part of those who are forced to survive aboard motorhomes or vans parked in lots like Can Misses or Sa Joveria are not people at risk of ‘social exclusion’, without jobs or fixed income. It comes with reading the local press and the interviews with evicted people to understand that construction, hospitality and tourism workers also live in the towns. People with stable jobs and payrolls that exceed 1,000 euros per month. The problem is simply that their salaries are not enough to find housing. Or what they find (rooms in shared apartments in exchange for exorbitant rents) is less attractive than the prospect of living alone in caravans or vans. Are there testimonies? Yes. Recently The Country chatted for example with Ahmed, a 35-year-old immigrant from Western Sahara who works in a five-star hotel on the island. At least until a few weeks ago, before the eviction of Sa Joveria, at the end of his shift he returned to the cabin built with wood and cardboard that served as his home. The newspaper claims that 80% Of those who lived on the plot were Sahrawis who worked as seasonal workers in the construction and tourism sectors. Another similar case was that of Mohamed, 38 years old, installed in a tent. Also interesting is the experience of Yamile Elisabeth, a Venezuelan who has resided in Spain since 2019. Until her eviction, explains to elDiariolived in a van in Can Misses for which he paid 550 euros a month. “When you look for a rental, they easily ask for 1,000 euros and three or four months’ deposit to share a small space with five other people,” the woman clarifieswho claims that he works several hours a day cleaning a bank branch, although in reality he has training as a physiotherapist and last summer he earned 1,600 euros by working six days. Is housing that expensive? Not only is housing becoming more expensive in Ibiza, but there are a number of factors that have put special strain on its market. The first is its status as an island, with limited space. The second, its enormous demand for tourist accommodation, which even leads some homeowners to abandon them in summer (they temporarily move into caravans) to rent to visitors. The result is prohibitive income for many workers, including civil servants. Three years ago, in fact, the case of a firefighter at Ibiza airport who was forced to settle in a caravan was reported. “The only solution to save some money”, recognized the man, of Andalusian origin, in an interview with laSexta. Is there more? Yes. The problem, as remember our colleagues Motorpassionthe thing is that living in a caravan on the island is not that simple either… or economical. Laws like the 5/2024 vehicle control or that of the Rustic Land of … Read more

OpenAI already knows which device will replace our smartphone in the age of AI. It will be another smartphone, according to Kuo

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He doesn’t always get it right, but Ming-Chi-Kuo just made a particularly striking statement. According to your dataOpenAI is preparing its first “mobile AI agent”, a smartphone that will be quite different from the current ones not so much in form as in substance. If its predictions come true, we could be facing a device that will shake the pillars of the current mobile segment. Hello, “OpenAI phone”. Kuo states that mass production of this smartphone designed by OpenAI will begin in the first half of 2027. He also tells us that the SoC that will govern this device will be a customized version of the future MediaTek Dimensity 9600 manufactured with TSMC’s N2P process and that will theoretically arrive in the second half of the year. The mobile that wants to see the world. This chip will have some special features, such as an ISP (Integrated Signal Processor) with an HDR system that allows optimizing the visual perception of the world. It is logical: the mobile wants to become an integral part of our interaction with the world, and that visual capacity is critical. Two NPUs better than one. It will also have a dual NPU architecture to increase its AI computing capacity. It will theoretically integrate LPDDR6 memory and will have UFS 5.0 to avoid memory bottlenecks. If all goes well, Kuo says, between 2027 and 2028 30 million units will be distributed. Not anything else, but the plan seems incredibly ambitious. Paradigm shift. This type of device, Kuo points outwill doom the UI as we know it. The concept of navigating a patchwork of icons to perform independent tasks will be obsolete. The concept proposed by OpenAI understands that the user does not want to use an “application stack”, but rather achieve objectives through a centralized agent. This implies a radical redesign of the smartphone in which the screen stops being a menu of options and becomes a kind of mirror of what the user wants, of their “intentions.” We went from a manual interaction to a proactive inference, because the AI ​​is responsible for detecting what needs to be done to complete the action that the user needs. Without touching the screen. Task resolution rules over navigation. OpenAI being Apple. To achieve this OpenAI needs to control everything on this device, so similar to what happens with Apple and its iPhone. For an AI agent to function seamlessly, it needs access to sensors and device status in real time, something that current operating systems restrict by design. OpenAI wants to control both the hardware and the software to capture all the relevant information at all times. The technical barrier is not the AI ​​model, but that total control that also requires perfect management of memory and energy consumption. Apple, by the way, is in that same battle, although in a different way. The energy challenge. It seems logical to think that this device bases a good part of its capacity on AI models in the cloud, but also that it will have the ability to execute some tasks thanks to small local models. Hence having two NPUs that allow at least certain tasks to be executed on the mobile itself. That will be crucial precisely regarding energy consumptionbecause this AI that automates tasks by chaining them consumes much more computing than the usual interaction with an app today. App Store in danger of extinction. There is a particularly striking idea here. The app store economics faces existential disruption. The current model relies on friction: you need to open a specific app for each task, which justifies the 30% “tax” and the walled garden. If an AI agent can book a flight or order food by directly accessing the background APIs, the icon on the home screen disappears. The “app” stops being a destination and becomes an invisible tool. This not only threatens Apple’s revenue, but redefines mobile development towards an “API-first” ecosystem, where the graphical interface is irrelevant and competition is decided by agent efficiency, not UI design. Goodbye, privacy? And in this context, privacy could once again become the price of that “it’s so convenient to use a device like this” of these future mobiles. For an AI agent to be useful and function truly autonomously, it needs to know everything or almost everything about us. Our location, health, messages and of course the screen content at all times, among other things. The opacity of proprietary models will mean that we will never know what data is leaked to the cloud to “improve the service”, turning privacy into a variable controlled (once again) by the manufacturer. In Xataka | Microsoft has insisted on making Windows “agent.” His users have reminded him that they had not asked for it

Europe and Japan step on the accelerator of nuclear fusion and place the ball in the court of a strategic country: Spain

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Europe and Japan walk hand in hand towards nuclear fusion commercial. They have been working together for several years in the JT-60SA experimental reactorthe largest magnetic confinement fusion energy machine that currently exists. However, this is not the only project in which they collaborate. They are also fine-tuning the LIPAc linear particle accelerator (Linear IFMIF Prototype Accelerator or IFMIF Prototype Linear Accelerator). This machine resides in Rokkasho (Japan). After having undergone a very ambitious update, it is ready to begin the final phase that will conclude with its commissioning in 2027. Its purpose is to test the limits of particle beam physics to pave the way for future fusion reactors. Europe and Japan began developing this 36-meter-long particle accelerator in 2007 with the aim of validating the design of an IFMIF-type machine (International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility) capable of acting as a neutron source. To achieve this, this device had to recreate the intense irradiation conditions that occur inside a fusion reactor. One of Europe’s most important contributions is a huge steel cryostat with magnetic shielding and a thermal shield that houses a powerful superconducting radio frequency system. This component serves to accelerate protons and deuterium nuclei until they reach a maximum energy of 9 MeV (megaelectronvolts), which will place them close to the high-energy neutrons that future commercial fusion reactors will produce. LIPAc is the precursor of IFMIF-DONES, which is already being built in Spain The knowledge that scientists hope to gain from LIPAc will be used in the development of IFMIF-DONES (International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility DEMO-Oriented NEutron Source), that is already being built in Escúzar, a town in the province of Granada. The heart of this facility is a linear particle accelerator that will cost approximately 450 million euros, although the Government of Andalusia will provide half of this money. However, this is the cost of the accelerator; The entire IFMIF-DONES project will cost around 700 million euros. Spain will contribute half of this capital. IFMIF-DONES is one of the three fundamental pillars of the nuclear fusion edifice in whose construction the European Union is involved. The other two are ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) and DEMO. The experimental nuclear fusion reactor that is currently being built in the French town of Cadarache aims to demonstrate that fusion at the scale that man can handle worksand also that it is profitable from an energy point of view. However, ITER does not aim to produce electricity. That will be the task of DEMO (DEMOnstration Power Plant), a facility that will take the technological advances that have been proven to work correctly at ITER and take them one step further to establish itself as the true precursor of commercial nuclear fusion reactors. However, without IFMIF-DONES there will be no DEMO, so right now Granada is the center of attention. The IFMIF-DONES linear accelerator will produce high-energy neutrons with the intensity and irradiation volume necessary to test candidate materials To fully understand the role of the IFMIF-DONES project, it is necessary to briefly review the fundamentals of nuclear fusion. One of the greatest challenges faced by technicians involved in the development of nuclear fusion reactors using magnetic confinement, such as ITER, is to recreate the conditions necessary for them to operate inside the vacuum chamber of these sophisticated machines. deuterium and tritium nuclei fuse. However, this is by no means all. When this reaction takes place, the fusion of a deuterium nucleus and another tritium nucleus triggers the production of a helium nucleus and a neutron that is ejected with an energy of about 14 MeV. The problem is that the neutron lacks a net electrical charge, so it cannot be confined inside the magnetic field which, however, does manage to retain the deuterium and tritium nuclei, which have a positive electrical charge. This is the reason why when it originates as a result of the nuclear fusion reaction, this neutron is ejected towards the walls of the vacuum chamber with enormous energy. This particle is very important because in practice it will be closely linked to the production of electrical energy in nuclear fusion reactors, but, at the same time, it represents a very aggressive form of radiation that can significantly degrade the materials used in the reactor. The components that will be most affected by the direct impact of high-energy neutrons and the most intense heat flow are the internal wall of the vacuum chamber and the blanket. The components that will be most affected by the direct impact of high-energy neutrons and the most intense heat flow are the inner wall of the vacuum chamber and the blanketwhich is a mantle that covers it and whose purpose is to regenerate the tritium that must be used as fuel in the nuclear fusion reaction. This is why it is crucial to develop new materials that are able to withstand the neutron flux and therefore ensure that the reactor will have a long operational life. This is, neither more nor less, the purpose of IFMIF-DONES. And to carry it out it is necessary to set up facilities designed to allow the technicians involved in the project evaluate the properties of candidate materials to intervene not only in DEMO, but also in future commercial nuclear fusion reactors. The mission of this project invites us to intuit what the heart of IFMIF-DONES is: a source capable of producing high-energy neutrons with the intensity and volume of irradiation necessary to test the candidate materials. And this neutron source will be nothing more than a linear particle accelerator that will help IFMIF-DONES scientists to test, validate and qualify the materials that in the medium term should reach future electric energy production plants through fusion. Image | Fusion for Energy More information | Fusion for Energy In Xataka | ITER has faced one of the great challenges of nuclear fusion: preventing plasma at 150 million ºC from destroying the reactor

Anthropic and OpenAI know that where AI is making money is in companies. They have found a way to squeeze that strategy

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We end users no longer matter much to the AI ​​giants. These companies are confirming that income is currently in the professional world, and they are already making moves to conquer that segment. And if they have to do it company by company, so be it, because now OpenAI and Anthropic are a little less AI companies and a little more consulting. AI is more business than ever. Anthropic and OpenAI have understood that the real business of AI is not currently in individual $20 subscriptions, but in integrating their AI models into all types of corporations. Both companies have almost simultaneously launched alliances with other companies to provide consulting services. The objective is simple: to stop being external web tools to become the “operating system” of thousands of businesses through these exclusive sales channels. Anthropic on the one hand… The company led by Dario Amodei has formed a joint venture with Blackstone, Goldman Sachs and Hellman & Friedman valued at $1.5 billion. This new firm will act as a consultancy bringing Claude directly into the operating environments of mid-sized businesses, from mid-sized banks to local manufacturers to healthcare systems. These companies have committed to provide $300 million each for AI engineers to work closely with these clients to integrate custom solutions. …and OpenAI on the other. In turn, Sam Altman’s company has not been slow to replicate that initiative with the creation of the so-called The Development Company, an entity valued at about 10,000 million dollars. It is backed by funds such as TPG, Bain Capital and SoftBank. Theoretically, OpenAI has already raised $4 billion to accelerate the adoption of its AI models in more than 2,000 companies that are already part of those investors’ portfolios. The initiative is led by Brad Lightcap, until now COO of the company, and who wants to make the GPT family models an integral part of the operations of all types of companies. Engineers on the line of fire. To promote these strategies, both companies are adopting the so-called ‘Forward Deployed Engineer’ (FDE) model, a deployment system that was already popularized by Palantir and that consulting firms traditionally use. Instead of simply selling an API, Anthropic and OpenAI will send their engineers to work with doctors, financial analysts, or IT staff so that their AI models can be seamlessly integrated into those professionals’ real-world workflows. Going public as a goal. In recent months we seem to be experiencing a race against the clock towards the IPO in both cases. With absolutely stratospheric valuations (OpenAI 852 billionAnthropic hanging around 900,000 million), the pressure to justify these figures to the public market is immense. The integration of programming tools such as Claude Code has been a clear driver of recent growth, but the real gold mine is in the automation of processes in sectors such as health or finance. If you are joint ventures fail to scale quickly, the valuation bubble could deflate before those IPOs. Conflicts of interest. When a venture capital fund invests in a technology provider and simultaneously pressures its portfolio companies to adopt that same technology, competition ceases to exist. Many companies will not have much real choice based on product quality. What is reinforced here It is that “circular economy” in which innovation is not chosenbut is imposed by financial and business interests. The customer does not buy because he needs the tool, but because his own financial owner has a stake in whoever supplies that tool. But wouldn’t AI automate everything? The dependence on the FDE model is paradoxical. Theory tells us that software must be infinitely replicable at zero marginal cost. However, these alliances show that AI is still not smart enough to operate without direct human supervision. We need someone to teach us how to use it well, the companies say, and both OpenAI and Anthropic are going to take advantage of that need even if what we really have is luxury personalized consulting. For now, AI will be more part of the services offered by a consulting firm than a truly autonomous “plug and play” tool. New Job: Deployment Engineer. Now Anthropic and OpenAI will not only be AI companies: they will also be consultancies in need of manpower. That also serves as an example that although AI theoretically will eliminate jobswill also create new ones. Here we face a growing demand for “deployment engineers” —OpenAI already requests them—, professionals who are precisely in charge of adapting these AI models to the needs of companies that want to implement them in their daily lives. And the data, what. There is another fundamental problem: medium-sized companies will not have much capacity to manage their data sovereignty. For Claude or GPT to function properly in the business, they will need access to critical workflows, medical records, or sensitive financial data. And when one cedes that control to third parties, they remain vulnerable. Not only that: the security of this data is compromised because in order to process it, it must leave and be processed in the cloud of an external provider. The AI ​​models of these companies can also probably learn from these processes, although it is reasonable to think that Zero Data Retention policies will come into play (“No data retention”). Image | TechCrunch | Wikimedia Commons In Xataka | The White House wants to review new AI models before anyone uses them: first the Pentagon, then the rest of the world

Chinese electric cars already have massages, karaoke and even a refrigerator. The next step is an under-seat toilet.

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If you can’t hold back the urge to urinate while you’re in the car, the normal thing to do is wait until you make a stop at the next gas station to relieve yourself. That’s normal, and then there is Seres, the Chinese manufacturer of Aito cars, which has patented a rather peculiar solution: add a toilet integrated into the cabin that unfolds like a drawer. Exploring other areas. China has one of the most saturated electric car markets and competitive on the planet. Dozens of brands fight for the same type of audience and differentiation has become a race without limits: from massage seats and karaoke systems, even integrated refrigerators, giant screens…If everyone is doing the same thing in infotainment, why not explore the next territory? And this seems to be the conclusion reached by Seres, the Chongqing-based company that manufactures Aito brand vehicles. A portable toilet. According to they count From CarNewsChina, the Intellectual Property Administration of China granted Seres authorization for this patent on April 10. The device consists of a toilet integrated under the passenger seat that is extracted using a system of sliding rails (something similar to a drawer) manually or by voice commands. When not in use, it is completely hidden under the seat, without taking up additional space in the cabin. How it works inside. According to collect The BBC, which had access to the original document presented to the Chinese authorities, the system includes a fan and an extraction tube to evacuate odors to the outside of the vehicle. The waste is collected in a tank that must be emptied manually. In addition, it incorporates a rotating heater that evaporates urine and dries solids. Is for when the car is stopped. Before too vivid mental images arise, it is worth clarifying: the design is designed so that you stop as soon as possible and start with the task. According to CarNewsChinaSeres’ own engineers specify in the patent report that the objective is “to satisfy the needs of users during long journeys, camping or during prolonged stays in the vehicle.” Endless traffic jams, overnight stops or campsites without facilities are the intended use cases. It’s not as crazy as it seems. Toilets in cars are very rare, but it would not be the first time they have been seen in a car. In fact, just as account BBC, in the 1950s, a special version of the Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith already included a toilet under the back seat. There are also those who have modified their car to include one, such as this owner of a Toyota 4Runner. What Seres is proposing now is, in essence, a more technologically sophisticated version of an idea that already existed seventy years ago. Obstacles. Just because the patent exists does not mean that it will reach production. CarNewsChina points out several important technical obstacles, including integrating drainage pipes into compact chassis (especially in electric ones where the battery occupies a large part of the floor), guaranteeing the durability of the rails or achieving an airtight seal that prevents odor leaks. And then there’s the psychological barrier, which is basically convincing passengers that it’s perfectly normal to use the bathroom just inches from where the rest of the family sits. Seres is not going through its best moment. The company is going through a difficult time. According to data of China EV DataTracker, deliveries of Aito M9its high-end SUV, have fallen 44.2% year-on-year for three consecutive months. Seres and Huawei plan to soon launch a renewed version of the model to stop the decline. And in this context, these types of patents can help the brand, not even to make them a reality, but to try to generate conversation around its vehicles. Cover image | Polestones and Aito In Xataka | You buy a second-hand car, you pay for it and the police confiscate it: this is how the ‘twin’ car scam works

Ukraine is bringing its drones dangerously close to Moscow. And he is doing it with an unusual weapon: Grand Theft Auto V

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In 2002, during a US military exercise known like Millennium Challengea retired general managed to surprise to a technologically superior fleet using unconventional tactics and unexpected means, and did so to the point of virtually “sinking” several ships in a matter of minutes. That simulation left an uncomfortable conclusion For many strategists: in certain scenarios, it is not always whoever has the most means who wins, but whoever best understands how to adapt to new forms of combat. From video games to the real battlefield. The story They told Insider. Apparently, Ukraine has found a totally unexpected way to accelerate the training of drone pilots and perfect its field of action: video gamesand in particular in the environment achieved by Rockstar in Grand Theft Auto Vwhere operators perfect reflexes, coordination and decision-making in simulated scenarios. This practice does not replace military training, rather it complements it, and reveals the extent to which modern warfare is absorbing skills born outside the traditional sphereincorporating a generation accustomed to controls, screens and virtual environments. What begins as a simulation ends up moving to real operations where there is no margin for error, consolidating a combat model in which the line between game and war turns increasingly diffuse. Drones are approaching Moscow. In parallel to this training with GTAV, the range of the Ukrainian drones has been growing steadily until reaching areas ever closer to the political heart of Russia. They remembered in Forbes that deep attacks inside Russian territory, some a few kilometers away of the Kremlin, are breaking the perception of invulnerability that protected Moscow for years. The campaign does not seek only to destroy objectives, but to demonstrate penetration capacity and generate constant pressure that forces us to redistribute defenses and assume that the conflict is no longer far away, but increasingly closer. Victory Day under a new shadow. Yes, because the proximity of May 9, one of the most symbolic events For the Kremlin, it adds a particularly delicate dimension to this development. The parade is not only a military display, but a key piece in Russia’s narrative of power and control, and any alteration, even indirect, would have a disproportionate impact. The fact that it is being contemplated reduce its scale or modify Its format reflects the extent to which the drone threat has changed the strategic calculus, turning a celebration designed to project force into a potential point of vulnerability. A defense saturated and tested. The truth is that although Moscow remains one of the most protected spaces of the world, the accumulation of attacks is straining your systems defensive. Multiple layers of air defense, designed to intercept threats, now face a constant stream of drones seeking to overwhelm them, identify gaps, and wear them down over time. This approach does not depend on a single decisive blow, but on prolonged pressure that forces Russia to defend more and more points at the same time, progressively eroding its response capacity. Putin, more isolated and more protected. In fact, this week they explained in the Financial Times that, in this context, security around Vladimir Putin has visibly tightened, reflecting growing concern about possible attacks, including those carried out with drones. How much? Apparently, the president has reduced their movements, spend more time in bunkers and operate under stricter security protocols, while their environment is subjected to increasingly rigorous controls. This evolution not only responds to physical risks, but also to the need to preserve an image of control at a time when the conflict begins to feel closer to the center of power. The psychological war that accompanies technological warfare. Beyond the material impact, the Ukrainian drone campaign is having a increasing psychological effectboth in the political elite and in Russian society. Each raid that breaks through defenses reinforces the idea that no place is completely safe, weakening a narrative built on distance and control. If you want too, while drones continue to advance and pilots train even in virtual worlds like GTAVthe war enters a phase where the perception of risk it’s so important as the real damage, and where the pressure on Moscow increases just when it most needs to project stability. Image | Wiki In Xataka | Ukraine has just opened the last Russian missile and is still amazed: the real enemy has a “friendly” face In Xataka | Russia has named Ukraine’s most fearsome drone: they call it Zhduns and it doesn’t need to show itself, just wait

It never grew that much outside of China but it never fell that much inside China.

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BYD finds itself facing a diatribe unimaginable just a year ago. While its sales skyrocket outside China, it manages to sell fewer and fewer cars in its own country. Whatever its future, we are experiencing a key moment in a company that aspired to be one of the five major car manufacturers worldwide. The data. 455,707 cars. These are how many BYD has sold outside of China so far in 2026. A spectacular growth of 59.8% year-on-year and a solid basis to reach the 1.5 million units that the company wants to sell outside its country this year. 1,003,039 cars. These are the ones that BYD has sold within China so far in 2026. A not inconsiderable drop of 26.4% year-on-year and a solid concern for a company that has already been declining in sales for eight consecutive months in its country, reaching in some cases a decline of up to 42%like last March. Both data are brought CarNewsChinawho collect data from companies inside and outside the Asian country. Why does it fall? That BYD has been falling for more than eight months in a row is no coincidence. The Chinese State has left aside extensive subsidies for the purchase of electric cars or plug-in hybrids, known as “new energy”. That has slowed down the market and, of course, who has hurt the most It is the leading company that, in addition, does not sell other types of cars either under the BYD name or under any other of its brands such as Denza either Yangwang. The company is by no means the only one that falls into the Chinese market. No subsidies, national sales have suffered but the context has been complicated for the company since companies like Geely (which have surpassed him in sales) They have a broader catalog of technologies and some cars like the BYD Dolphin Surf (Seagull in China) are much less competitive without aid since the market rewards large and technological cars at a low price. However, the great advantage of this model is in the price and not so much in what it offers in its infotainment systems. Why does it grow? The positive side for BYD is that its arrival in new countries and sales where it was recently established seem to be going at a very good pace. As we said, outside of China They have already sold more than 400,000 carswhich falls within the roadmap to sell 1.5 million cars outside of China this year. BYD has entered these countries with a formula that lays the foundations for continued growth: contained price (compared to its rivals) for medium and large-sized electric and plug-in hybrids. This is leading them to good numbers in Europe but also in Latin America. In both cases BYD is already working to produce locally and not bring your cars only from China. It must be remembered that their electric vehicles are still punished with tariffs in Europe but their plug-in hybrids do not have that problem. To this we must add that its capacity to update models is very high, as seen with the BYD Atto 2. And how is it going in Spain? Spain is one of the most important countries for BYD outside of China. It is strange because we are not a country with high levels of plug-ins but we are an interesting market because we value price a lot. And, there, the BYD Dolphin Surf It is priced low enough to be a bestseller in countries like Spain. So far this year, it is the third best-selling electric car and the first “non-Tesla.” But, in addition, BYD also has the Signal U and the Atto 2 to the two best-selling plug-in hybrids in our country. Why is it worrying? BYD faces a challenge: needs to continue growing. At least, that’s what they thought themselves. In 2025 they became the company that more electric cars sold worldwide. In 2024 they already touched it but they set a goal that was not met last year and that, barring any surprise, will not be met in 2025: manufacturing 5.5 million cars. Getting into the five million car club would mean positioning BYD as one of the five largest manufacturers in the world. In 2025, that position will be occupied by Stellantis with 5.6 million cars, a conglomerate that has 14 brands under its umbrella. By just 50,000 units, BYD failed to surpass Ford, but the most painful thing for the company is that it remained at 4.6 million cars sold. An insufficient figure for its prospects but unimaginable a few years ago. But it’s not alarming. Although the results within China are not good, the company has demonstrated the ability to adapt to new environments. The company has two great strengths: its businesses go beyond automobiles and its potential growth outside of China is enormous. The brand has the right product for markets where, like the Spanish market, price is valued above other incentives. In Latin America, Chinese cars are making their way for this reason. And in North America, Mexico and, above all, Canada has opened the door to companies arriving from China. In Europe, BYD’s growth continues. In countries like Spain it is obtaining great results but in others it is still establishing itself. But, in addition, they will soon be able to tighten the price of their cars when the assembly lines of Hungary and Türkiye start walking And everything indicates that the brand does not want to stay here, There are already rumors that they want to buy the Dresden Glass Factory for which Volkswagen is looking for a new owner. Photo | BYD and aboodi vesakaran In Xataka | It turns out that the “good, pretty and cheap” electric car does exist and is manufactured in China. So Citroën has stepped up

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