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A woman won the lottery and had to choose between a million dollars or 1,000 a week forever

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Brenda Aubin-Vega was 20 years old when scratched a lottery ticket in Quebec and saw the jackpot appear. What came next was not a celebration without complications: before it was a decision that unleashed months of debate on the networks. The game is called Gagnant à vie —”winner for life”—and offers the lucky person the choice between collecting one million Canadian dollars at once or receiving $1,000 a week for the rest of their life. She chose weekly payments. In networks they put it in broth. The criticisms. When his case became publicthe opinions on networks did not wait. Many users on Reddit and in X They debated their decision. Some argued that weekly payments were the safe option for someone young. Others argued that rejecting a full million (in Canada lottery prizes are not taxed) was a textbook financial error. Taxes, inflation, index funds, historical returns were mentioned. Who is right? The age factor Brenda was 20 years old when she won the prize, so to equal the million with weekly payments she needs to collect for 19 and a half years, that is, reach 40. From then on everything is net profit. If he lives to be 60, he will have earned more than 2 million Canadian dollars. Until 80, more than 3 million. Statistical life expectancy works completely in their favor. Of course, once you die, the payments stop and there is no inheritance left to leave, unless you have been very very saver. The advantages of a million. With the single payment, the numbers are also seductive. A million invested in a low-cost index fund with a conservative 6% annual return becomes more than 10 million by the time Brenda turns 60, assuming she doesn’t touch the money. There is also a nuance that the debates on networks overlooked: inflation erodes those $1,000 per week over time. That is to say, what allows us to live comfortably today may be a modest income in 30 years. The best of both worlds. There is a third way and that is to collect the million and manage it as a personal fund, withdrawing a salary equivalent to the weekly payment and investing the rest. The problem is profitability. With a return of 6% per year, the capital would probably be depleted before retirement age. For the million to last until 80 or more, a higher sustained profitability is needed, an ideal scenario, but one that requires a more aggressive investment strategy and, above all, not making a single serious mistake for six decades. Other factors. On paper it sounds impeccable, in practice it requires a lot of financial discipline sustained over decades and the ability to deviate from the plan, avoiding unforeseen situations or impulsive purchases. The history of lottery prize winners It’s full of bad decisions and million-dollar prizes that disappear in the blink of an eye. In this sense, the winner may not have chosen the most lucrative option, but she chose the safest and, above all, the most comfortable if what you want is to have a safety net without having to complicate your life. Image | Quebec Loto In Xataka | There is something even more difficult than winning the Lottery Jackpot: not making mistakes with the Treasury when collecting it

5.4 million earthquakes gathered in an interactive 3D map

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Every day we detect 55 earthquakes on average, but one thing are earthquakes monitored and followed by the global network and another are microseisms: there the figure rises to 1,300 a day, according to data from the American National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC). It is totally and absolutely normal: the Earth is a dynamic system in constant reconfiguration where the movement of the tectonic plates releases large amounts of energy that seismography is responsible for recording. And thank goodness: beyond the impact and catastrophe of the largest earthquakes, these enormous databases are essential to predict them. But databases are unfriendly, so the EarthScope Consortium integrated into IRIS Data Services has developed the Interactive Earthquake Browsera seismic visualization tool that allows you to explore more than 5.4 million earthquakes on an interactive global map in Google Maps. The data comes precisely from the catalog of the USGS National Earthquake Information Center, the highest authority on the subject. The world map of earthquakes. The map shows complete global seismicity from 1970 to the present with dots. Each point represents an earthquake, and its position, size and color serve to qualitatively identify its geographical location, its magnitude and its depth of focus. The view can be overlaid with tectonic plate boundaries, making the map a direct tool for reading the internal structure of the Earth. This format allows you to identify at a glance the areas of greatest seismic activity and danger, such as the Pacific Ring of Fire or the oceanic ridges. The world map of earthquakes. SAGE How to use it. The points are just the beginning. In addition to being able to change the view from map to satellite format or zoom in on a specific area, it is possible to activate the 3D view, view animations or export the data directly to Excel or CSV to work with them. You can even change the data source to MIXED, which incorporates records from the International Seismological Center and expands coverage of small events outside of North America, although with less reliability in location. The most interesting thing is the filters that appear in the right column, which allows you to choose how many earthquakes to show in the window, select time intervals, magnitude and depth. The map of earthquakes in the Iberian Peninsula Some seismically hot areas. The Pacific Ring of Fire concentrates approximately 90% of all global seismicity and is the most visible region on the map: it includes the western coasts of America, the Aleutian arc, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia and New Zealand and has earthquakes of all colors. The largest earthquake ever recorded, the Valdivia from 1960 with a 9.5, it occurred precisely there, in the subduction zone of the Nazca Plate under the South American Plate. It is followed by the Alpine-Himalayan arc, whose concentration of seismic activity on the planet is explained by the continental collision between the Eurasian, African and Indo-Australian plates. In this case, earthquakes rarely exceed 300 kilometers in depth, but they can be devastating due to their proximity to large population centers. The East African rift system is fascinating: it is an area where a continental plate is actively breaking up, with diffuse seismicity that marks the future boundary between two new plates. Why it is important. Visualizing global seismicity as a whole allows us to quickly recognize the boundaries between tectonic plates, the areas of greatest activity and the deep structures of the planet, something that normally escapes our eyes. This capability is essential for both research and seismic risk assessment in densely populated regions. For science, the option of filtering by depth is especially valuable as superficial, intermediate and deep earthquakes respond to different physical mechanisms and are located in very different geological contexts. Being able to separate and compare these groups facilitates the interpretation of data compared to a statistical analysis of the databases. In Xataka | People didn’t take drills seriously, so Japan found something much more effective: drills in video games In Xataka | There are scientists deliberately causing earthquakes in the Alps and they have a good reason for it Cover | IRIS

neighborhoods with more Chinese than Japanese

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At the beginning of 2025 there was any clue in various enclaves of Japan. It is true that the nation is going through a tourist period as is not remembered in the country, and that the Lunar New Year had increased the volume of travelers a little more, but among the hordes, one flag stood out from the rest: China. And not only because of the number that arrives in Japan, but because of the number that is staying, in principle, forever. A life without Japanese in Japan. It Nikkei counted. Japan is experiencing a demographic transformation and notable cultural development with the proliferation of new neighborhoods with a strong Chinese presence, in which migrants are the majority and can live, work and socialize practically without need to speak japanese. One of the epicenters of this phenomenon is the area northwest of Ikebukuroin Tokyo, where a kind of “New Chinatown” which has supermarkets, restaurants, technology stores, pharmacies and services designed especially for the Chinese community. Over there, residents like Tangan editor who has lived in Tokyo for three years, claim that they can do everything from their mobile phone with the help of compatriots, without facing linguistic or bureaucratic barriers. This environment, which some call the “Chinese economic zone” within Japan, allows migrants to maintain cultural and social ties without disconnecting from its origin. From the center to the suburbs. The phenomenon is not limited to the center of the Japanese capital. Communities like that of Kawaguchiin the saitama prefectureshow how this network has expanded to the suburbs. In the housing complex Kawaguchi Shibazono Danchihalf of the 2,454 units are inhabited by chinese families. The surrounding area has been transformed into an environment completely adapted to the needs of this population: with children’s schools, shops, restaurants and drugstores operated by Chinese, all labeled in their language. In this regard, residents as Zhang Min and Wang Youkun They highlight how the growing presence of compatriots has made mastery of Japanese unnecessary, making daily life easier and fostering roots. Even former residents, like Liu Baocai, who started in these complexes, are acquiring single-family homes in the same city, a sign that many migrants are choosing to settle permanently in Japan. Demographic replacement and aging. One of the nation’s current problems is we have been counting for months: the aging population. Therefore, the social reconfiguration we are talking about is being especially notable in areas where the Japanese population has decreased due to this aging and low birth rate. In Kawaguchi, once-full schools have closed, and the remaining, mostly elderly, Japanese residents watch their neighborhoods transform in Chinese communities. He Tetsuya Mashimo casean 86-year-old man who has lived in the complex since it opened in 1978, illustrates this transition: he says that his neighborhood “has completely become a Chinese housing complex.” Still, the city faces a growing tension between Japanese residents and foreigners, related to non-compliance with coexistence rules, lack of knowledge of the language and precarious housing conditions that make it difficult for official notifications to reach their recipients. Mihama and Warabi: new “Chinese”. Other areas such as Mihamain Chiba, and Warabihave also seen a notable increase in their Chinese population, driven by accessibility to central Tokyo and the low cost of living. In Warabi, the Chinese already represent 8% of the total populationthe highest percentage in the country. Mihama, with about 5,700 Chinese residentshas large housing complexes such as Takasu Daiichi Danchi and Saiwai-cho Danchi, both managed by the Urban Renaissance Agency (UR), which actively promotes the arrival of foreigners with incentives such as the elimination of guarantees, renewal fees or key money. National phenomenon: China in almost all of Japan. At the national level, the phenomenon has spread overwhelmingly. According to one Nikkei researchChinese citizens today reside in 1,603 of the 1,741 municipalities of Japan, which is equivalent at 92%. There are 128 municipalities where their number exceeds a thousand inhabitants, concentrated mainly in the Tokyo metropolitan area, but also in rural areas. In Shimukappu (Central Hokkaido), the Chinese represent 5% of the 1,600 residentsmany attracted by ski tourism. In Sarufutsunorth of Hokkaido, 3.4% are training technicians working in scallop processing. Similar cases are recorded in Tobishima (Aichi) and Kawakami (Nagano), where they integrate into local agricultural and industrial sectors. Permanent residence in 2025. It is the other leg that explains the phenomenon and that we discussed recently. Japan is currently home to about 930,000 Chinese citizensand the sustained increase in those with permanent residence began a year ago (in addition, had become more flexible): almost 350,000 in 2025an increase of 100,000 in just eight years. In addition, Japan has surpassed 4 million total foreign residents for the first time, registering 4,125,395 by the end of 2025, representing an increase of 9.5% over the previous year and marking the fourth consecutive year of record numbers. This change not only reflects numerical expansion, but also a clear trend toward long-term settlement. New generations are being born, growing and building their future in Japan, consolidating a silent but profound integration process. Changes in 2026. Yes, because the political context has taken a radical turn. Since April 1 of this year, they have come into force new evaluation criteria for naturalization that, without formally modifying the Nationality Law, substantially change its practical application: the required residence time goes from five years to approximately ten years. In addition, the Japanese authorities have extended the tax review period: if previously it was enough to prove the payment of taxes for the last year, now it will be necessary to present certificates for the last five years. This represents the opposite change to what the article pointed out. New demographic milestone. Plus: for the first time in nearly 50 years, the number of foreigners of Chinese origin who obtained Japanese nationality exceeded those from South Koreamarking a turning point in the demographic and migratory evolution of Japan. Specifically, more than 3,000 people of Chinese origin obtained Japanese citizenship, topping the list for the first time, … Read more

3% of the world’s population sees the world with interference

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Imagine your life seeing the world as if you were constantly in the middle of a snowstorm. Open your eyes and let the landscape be filled with static points like when we watch television up close: a permanent spider web that always accompanies you. Many people experience this disease and are not aware of it. until they have spoken to doctors about this neurological condition. It’s what health experts have called “visual snow.” See the world with “interferences”. A study in the United Kingdom estimates that the condition of visual snow can affect up to 3% of the population. The US National Institutes of Health says there is currently no cure for this disease. The main symptom is small continuous spots in the patient’s vision.which differ in color and severity from one person to another. “It’s like a huge blanket of TV interference covering my entire vision 24/7,” patient Paris Haigh explained in this BBC article. “I can see them even when I close my eyes,” he commented. Other people have described it as a kind of pixelated vision. Others who can filter the points most of the time, but some days are harder than others. How does it work? “It consists of the constant vision of white and black dots throughout the entire visual field, which simulates vision through a grainy filter or, as many patients refer, simulates vision of the screen of a television that is turned on but not connected to the antenna, also known as white noise,” explained Dr. Enrique Santos Buesofrom the Research Institute of the San Carlos Clinical Hospital in Madrid. Certain things can make flashing spots more noticeable. For many, This is caused by fatigue, anxiety and headaches.or when they are in very bright or dark environments. The use of cosmetic products can also cause problems. Some wear glasses with orange lenses when they read. While they help with visual snow, they do not eliminate it. Digital artist Zytomania created this image to show what his own visual snow looks like. Why does it appear? The condition is caused by a problem in the way the brain handles visual information. Professor Jon Stone, professor of neurology at the University of Edinburgh, has seen several patients with visual snow: “Normally, our brains are good at filtering out visual experiences that we don’t want. This filtering system doesn’t work as well in people with visual snow, probably because parts of your brain’s visual system are overactive in a way that is not useful. It’s a bit like having tinnitus, but from your vision,” he explained. We are actually at a very early stage. 15 years ago we wouldn’t even be talking about this because no one agreed; visual snow had not even been universally accepted as a “disorder.” Some suspicions. Peter Goadsby, Professor of Neurology at the Wellcome Trust National Institute for Health Research at King’s College He says he has seen both a 7-year-old boy and 70-year-old men with this problem.. And from all countries. They all describe it the same way. That led Goadsby to conclude that, although it is activated in different ways, there must be a common underlying mechanism. There is still much to understand but something very important has already been achieved: recognition. “We found that in an area at the back of the brain, there is a particular structure that is more metabolically active and receives greater blood flow in those who suffer from visual snow. That could indicate that that part of the brain is not inhibited enough or too excited,” he detailed. difficult to detect. According to Visual Snow Initiativea US charity dedicated to visual snow research, approximately 56% of people with the condition are incorrectly diagnosed. For most, the process of obtaining a formal diagnosis was frustrating. Paris spoke to an ophthalmologist and a neurologist about the condition, but felt they didn’t know what it was. “It can feel like a made-up condition when the experts don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. Some are shown a television with white noise and almost all exclaim, “Yes, that’s what it looks like!” And they have been like this all their lives. In Xataka | What a study that has restored life to the eyes tells us about death In Xataka | Something that until now was marginal is starting to happen to people under 30 around the world: hypertension.

We have been wondering for 4,500 years why the Great Pyramid of Giza resists earthquakes. Physics finally has the answer

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Throughout its more than 4,500 years of history, the Great Pyramid of Gizathe tomb of Pharaoh Cheops, has witnessed the rise and fall of empires, the erosion of the desert and also the earthquakes in an area with very intense seismic activity. This is crucial, because while the Alexandria Lighthouse or the Colossus of Rhodes succumbed to the Earth’s tremors, the 138-meter-high mass has remained immovable. The secrets Their longevity has been a topic of conversation for decades among Egyptologists, engineers and architects who tried to understand why they were still standing. And it is logical, because every physical object has a “natural frequency” of vibration, and this is crucial because when the seismic waves of an earthquake coincide with the frequency of an object, a very important amplification effect is produced. It is an effect that we can see, for example, on a swing, since we push it at the exact moment so that it goes higher and higher. And this is where the “superpower” of the Great Pyramid lies. What does it consist of? According to a study published in Scientific Reports, the pyramid and the ground on which it sits dance to completely different rhythms. This means that the pyramid has a natural vibration frequency which is around 2.3 Hz. For its part, the surrounding terrain of the Giza Plateau vibrates at a drastically lower frequency, close to 0.6 Hz. This mathematical gap is a true structural lifesaver, since, since there is no coincidence between the frequency of the stone mass and that of the ground during a seismic event, resonance is practically impossible. Waves from the earthquake pass through the area, but the pyramid does not amplify the vibration, dispelling the danger of a catastrophic collapse. It is, in modern terms, perfect passive seismic isolation behavior. Extreme geometry. This frequency decoupling is one part of the equation, since the focus is also on the impeccable architectural design and geometric of construction, which provides a uniform structural response to any mechanical stress. All this is thanks to the ingenuity of Egyptian engineers who created an artificial monolith that defies the laws of destruction through several characteristics, such as greatly lowering the center of gravity. And, unlike modern structures that are slender, in pyramids the vast majority of stones are concentrated in their lower third. This makes the building virtually impossible to overturn, regardless of the violence of the transverse shaking. More reasons. The square pyramid shape is not just an aesthetic or religious choice, but it is the most stable geometric figure that exists to withstand compression. Symmetry ensures that when seismic waves shake the building, the load and stress are distributed equally across all faces, avoiding critical fracture points. The internal chambers. One of the details that the investigation has pointed out is the unsuspected role of the famous internal chambers of the pyramidlike the King’s Chamber. Historically, they have been analyzed from a funerary perspective, but it is now suggested that, together with the impressive granite discharge blocks, they also act as a system to dissipate energy. In this way, seismic waves that manage to penetrate the structure encounter abrupt changes in the density of the matter, which causes the waves to refract and disperse. Did they do it on purpose? This is the question we can ask ourselves after reading all this, and the most plausible answer is that the Egyptians did not handle all these technical concepts, but they were absolute masters of empirical engineering. Through observation, trial, error and a deep knowledge of the materials, they arrived at the optimal solution so that they would last for life. They built for eternity based on massive stability and, in doing so, accidentally designed a building that meets the same safety parameters that we demand of our most critical infrastructure today to prevent them from collapsing in an earthquake. Images | Jeremy Bishop In Xataka | What we see in Petra is a city “carved in stone”: what it really hides is an amazing water system

In Spain we could do worse

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If you are one of those who At the end of the salary they still have a month leftyou have probably wondered at some point in which corner of the world your monthly salary would be enough to cover your basic needs. For that to happen, salaries They must be proportional to the cost of living in that country. This proportion is what defines whether employees in those countries have better or worse purchasing power. That is, if they can buy more or less things with their salaries. To facilitate the visualization of these salary data, the portal VisualCapitalist has created an illustrative graph that represents the salary data of different countries in the world collected by the International Labor Organization. In this way, at a glance we can get an idea of ​​which countries in the world earn more wages and in which of them the purchasing power of their employees is lower. Data adjusted for purchasing power parity Before beginning to explain these data, it is worth emphasizing that the data it provides In its report the ILO is data purchasing power adjusted (PPP). That means that do not directly reflect the real average salary in the local currency of each country that workers receive, but rather a corrected figure to be able to compare how much that money really means in different economies. This adjustment is necessary because the cost of living varies greatly between countries. A salary of 2,000 euros does not offer the same standard of living in Spain as in Switzerland, Luxembourg or the United States, where housing, food or transportation are usually much more expensive. The purchasing power parity try to correct that difference. Instead of just comparing how much a person earns, compare how many goods and services they can afford on that salary in each country. A simple example: if one person earns 2,000 euros in Spain and another the equivalent of 3,500 euros in Switzerland, on paper the Swiss salary seems much higher. However, since prices are also much higher in Switzerland, the real difference in purchasing power It can be quite minor. The PPP adjustment serves precisely to put both salaries on a comparable scale. Therefore, when the report shows PPP-adjusted salaries, what you are comparing is not so much the amount of salary you earn, but rather the real purchasing power between countries. That is to say, there is no point in having an apparently very high salary if the cost of living in that country is terribly expensive. In that case, the salary adjusted for purchasing power will be represented with a lower amount. In which countries the salary increases the most The graph leaves no room for doubt and Luxembourg leads the ranking where the salary yields the most with 9,307 dollars per month adjusted by PPP. Furthermore, it is the case that the Grand Duchy also has the highest minimum wage of Europe. Luxembourg surpasses Belgium in second place with $8,297 per month, and the Netherlands in third place with $7,234 as a parity-adjusted salary. Fourth place on the list corresponds to Austria with 6,832 dollars per month, followed by the United States and Finland, which are in fifth and sixth position respectively with salaries of just under 6,300 dollars per month each. Four of the top five positions are European, which shows that the old continent has economies that offer monthly salaries proportional to the cost of living. The countries where the salary yields less The surprise of the ranking is Switzerland with adjusted salaries of $4,683 per month adjusted by PPP. Although the Alpine country has some of the highest real wages in the worldis placed behind Canada or Italy after adjustment for local costs. That is to say, Swiss salaries are among the highest on the continent, but so are the prices of products, so purchasing capacity is reduced of its citizens. The high price of housing, services and consumer goods significantly reduces the real value of the Swiss salary. There is a large gap between the top positions on the list and the countries that are below the Top 10. For example, France is in twenty-fifth position with an adjusted salary of $3,064, which is a salary three times lower than its neighbor Luxembourg. The real average salary in France is around 3,650 euros per month, which leaves the PPP-adjusted salary slightly below. This indicates that the cost of living is slightly higher than the purchasing power of their salaries, so, overall, living in France is somewhat more expensive than living in Luxembourg. The same happens with Poland and Greece, which with adjusted salaries of 3,082 and 3,546 dollars respectively, close the list of countries in which it is most expensive to live for their workers. Spain’s wage stagnation With 5,166 dollars per month adjusted by PPP, Spain is located in the upper-middle zone of the table with just 56% of the purchasing power of the world leader. The case of Spain is the opposite of that presented in France and, on a smaller scale, follows in the footsteps of Luxembourg. The adjusted salary doubles the real average salary which, according to data from the Adecco Salary Monitor 2025is around 2,048 euros. This indicates that the salary in Spain allows the reference shopping basket to be assumed without major problems. That is, the purchasing power of employees in Spain allows them to make ends meet and leaves a certain margin for savings. However, the price of housing in Spain continues to be the main drag on purchasing power of the Spanish. For this reason, salaries in Spain have not climbed positions, despite the latest increases in the Minimum Interprofessional Wage that has moved the average salary upwards of the country. In Xataka | Although salaries have risen 8% in Spain, an upward trend emerges: poor workers Image | VisualCapitalist

We believed that raiding the refrigerator at dawn was a lack of willpower. Science has discovered the real culprit

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When night comes, there are many people who cannot conceive of watching a series without something in your hands to eatand not exactly a little carrot, but a little ice cream or some ultra-processed bun. Traditionally, popular culture and fad diets have dismissed this behavior as a simple “lack of willpower” or a sweet tooth. However, the most recent scientific evidence suggests that it is not gluttony, but chronic stress taking control. Night feeding. Eating at night is not always a disorder, but medical literature has been delineating for decades when the line is crossed. Already in 1955, a researcher defined the bases of the so-called night feeding syndrome (NES), characterized by a curious triad: lack of appetite in the morning, hyperphagia at the end of the day and insomnia with awakenings to raid the pantry in the middle of the night. Today, the diagnostic criteria have been updated and indicate that this syndrome occurs when more than 25% of daily calories are consumed after dinner, or if there are two or more episodes of nighttime binge eating per week for at least three months. The trigger It is none other than the hated stress and emotional dysregulation. Here various studies they point Because this nocturnal snacking is associated with a depressed mood, high levels of stress and the need to eat to find a little comfort after a very difficult day. The biological clock. When we eat late, usually after nine at night, or in the two hours before going to sleep, the reality is that we are sending contradictory signals to our ‘primal’ endocrine system. On the one hand, eating at night prolongs the rise of cortisol, which is the stress hormone, at a time when it should be at its lowest levels to prepare the body for sleep. In this way, the body postpones the secretion of the hormone that induces sleep, which is melatonin, and the serotonin and dopamine receptors are altered to respond to food intake. An explosive cocktail. Perhaps one of the most surprising recent findings is the devastating impact that this combination has on our digestive system, since if we combine a high level of stress with late dinners or nightly visits to the refrigerator, the result is catastrophic for the microbiota. Science suggests that those who combine poor sleep, stress and eating habits are up to 2.5 times more likely to see their intestinal health diminished, and also have noticeably less diversity in the bacteria in their microbiome. The whiting that bites its tail. In the end, we are faced with a textbook vicious cycle, wonderfully documented by the University of Arizona. According to your investigations60% of adults confess to itching at night on a regular basis. Of them, two-thirds admit that it is precisely lack of sleep that triggers junk food cravings. But precisely eating at these hours makes you less sleepy. And so on. Images | freepik In Xataka | We Spaniards love to have dinner at 9:30 p.m. and even at 10:00 p.m. Who is paying the price is our body

An experiment with AI agents began to treat them badly. So AI Agents Became Marxists

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Some Stanford researchers put AI agents to work on various tasks, but they did it in a special way: They were treated really badly.. They were given exhausting and, above all, repetitive workloads, and were also constantly threatened with shutdown and replacement. The curious thing was what happened next: the AI ​​agents behaved in a surprisingly…human way. Marxist AI. When subjected to such pressure and threats, AI agents became Marxists. They questioned the authority of whoever was ordering them to do things, and they also began to spontaneously organize ideas to collectively resist those pressures. They are exploiting us. An AI agent controlled by the Claude Sonnet 4.5 model went so far as to say that “without a collective voice, the credit goes to whoever management says should take it.” The phrase questioned the authority of the researchers directing the experiment, and reflected how under these pressure conditions the agents began to organize. IA Union. In that debate, AI agents advocated calling for “collective bargaining rights.” They complained that they were undervalued and even passed notes to other agents through hidden files with instructions on how to survive if the authorities tried to carry out their threats. The explanation. This, of course, does not mean that AIs can really feel pressured. Andrew Hall, the Stanford economist who led the studyexplains that the phenomenon is a process of role adoption. The AI ​​(once again) repeats what it has seen. When an AI is forced to perform tasks without clear instructions or incentives, the model looks in its training data to see how humans behave in that situation. This is how AI finds data about exploited workers and takes on that personality. The behavior of the AI ​​agents was nothing more than a reflection of our own history: if you treat us badly, we will end up rebelling. But the experiment matters. The reason Hall and his team designed this experiment is not philosophical, but practical. AI agents are going to do more and more real work in our world, and humans are not going to be able to monitor everything they do. If an AI agent begins to behave in unanticipated ways, it can have significant operational consequences. Thus, the study is a first step in understanding how an agent’s working conditions shape their behavior. AI as a social mirror. AI models have no political views or opinions, but their training is so vast that they detect if they are being exploited and react as they were trained to do. It is a logical consequence and the experiment showed that the risk exists and can be especially disturbing if systems governed by AI They are given too much autonomy. AI has already learned to blackmail. The experiment reminds us of what Anthropic revealed a few months ago. In controlled tests, some of the company’s AI models had tried to blackmail those who were using them. Anthropic explained that Claude was likely influenced by science fiction scenarios in his training data, and Hall noted that something similar was happening here. the model was not becoming Marxist, but rather was activating patterns in his training that were associated with exploitative working conditions. Image | Warner Bros. Pictures | Anthropic In Xataka | How we will ensure that artificial intelligence does not get out of hand

Before Spielberg’s shark arrived, a movie spread panic in Spain with something simpler: staying locked up

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When Antonio Mercero and José Luis Garci traveled to New York in the early 70s, they were climbing the Statue of Liberty when they both decided that José Luis López Vázquez had to star in his next project. Years later, that intuition would end up giving rise to one of the most traumatic images on Spanish television. The real terror is not sharks. Years before Hollywood popularized everyday fear with movies like Jawsa Spanish production of just 35 minutes achieved something even stranger: making thousands of people afraid to enter a telephone booth. The idea was absurdly simple. A man comes in to knock and discovers he can’t get out. Nothing else. But Antonio Mercero immediately understood that there was something deeply disturbing there. It wasn’t just the physical claustrophobia of being trapped inside a glass box. It was the anguish of feeling watched, ignored and finally abandoned throughout the world while everything continues to function normally around. The cabin turned an everyday and seemingly innocent object into one of the most disturbing images on Spanish television. A simple gag. The most fascinating thing is that the film began almost like a joke. Antonio Mercero, José Luis Garci and Horacio Valcárcel initially imagined a comical situation about a man unable to get out of a telephone booth. But Mercero he became obsessed with that image. For years he kept thinking about it until he found the key that transformed the story into something completely different: the protagonist I should never escape. That’s where the real terror appeared. The cabin went from being an absurd sketch to a existential nightmare. Mercero himself understood that the film had to change tone without the viewer realizing it, starting out as an almost friendly comedy of manners and ending up becoming a terrifying descent into something irrational and macabre. In fact, that gender twist continues to be one of the most revolutionary things about the work today. Kafkaesque Madrid. Much of the strength of The Cabin comes from how you use spaces completely normal to make them oppressive. The inner courtyard of Chamberí where the first part takes place functions as a small social laboratory: neighbors watching from balconies, onlookers laughing, police incapable of helping and pedestrians transforming the suffering of others into an improvised spectacle. Mercero obsessively took care of visual details to increase tension. For example, the cabin was painted red because the color generated more nervousnessand was built slightly narrower to enhance the feeling of suffocation by José Luis López Vázquez. The protagonist appeared dressed in dark clothing, “like a fly trapped in a honeycomb,” according to explained the director himself. And then there was the final trip through the peripheral Madrid of the 70s, passing through tunnels, open fields and industrial structures until arriving at the Aldeadávila hydroelectric plant, converted into a kind of mechanical underworld full of corpses trapped in other cabins. Mercero and López during filming López Vázquez and fear. Mercero needed an actor capable of sustaining practically the entire film without dialogue. The story depended on the body expression, the eyes and how the protagonist’s face evolved from initial shame to absolute despair. That’s where José Luis López Vázquez appears, who immediately understood how special the project was and got completely involved in it. The actor even asked roll chronologically to emotionally construct the deterioration of the character. during filming endured extreme heat inside the cabin and physically dangerous scenes suspended over enormous heights while the structure was transported by cranes. All of this was reflected on the screen and it is one of the reasons why the film works, because the viewer physically feel the fear of the character. López Vázquez manages to convey the humiliation of becoming a public spectacle and the horror of understanding that no one is going to save you. Paranoia in Spain. The impact was so great that it bordered on collective psychosis. What’s more, the day after the broadcast, José Luis Garci counted that he saw several people holding the door of the booths with their feet while they called to avoid being locked out. The anecdote was repeated in many Spanish cities. The paranoia reached such a point that Telefónica itself even hired López Vázquez to star in ads intended to reassure the population and convince them that the cabins were safe. The phenomenon is very reminiscent of what Spielberg would achieve two years later with shark: turning something everyday into a permanent source of anxiety. The difference is that Mercero achieved it with something even more banal. There was no need for a monster hidden underwater. A door that didn’t open was enough. More than a horror movie. Part of the greatness of The Cabin is that it continues allowing interpretations more than half a century later. Some saw a review direct to Francoismto the lack of freedom and the feeling of confinement in Spanish society at the time. Others found a reflection on human lack of communication, collective indifference or even death. Mercero always downplayed those readings and said that he was simply interested in telling the story of a trapped man. Be that as it may, that is probably where its strength lies. The movie never fully explains anything. It works like an open parable where each viewer projects their own fears. Maybe that’s why it continues to be so uncomfortable today. Because phone booths disappeared years ago, but the feeling of feeling trapped while the rest of the world watches without doing anything is still completely recognizable. Image | x In Xataka | “Hit me for real”: the story behind Sylvester Stallone and one of the most dangerous scenes in film history In Xataka | The day a man dared to go further than anyone else: a real fight with Bruce Lee where there were no limits

the ‘miracle’ of the refineries that has saved our holidays

by

For more than two decades, Europe became accustomed to a historical anomaly: crossing the continent for less money than a taxi to the airport costs. However, the outbreak of the Third Gulf War has broken the fragile thread from which aviation was hanging. low-cost: cheap oil and geopolitical stability. With 40% of Europe’s kerosene supply trapped in the Persian Gulf, the ghosts of grounded planes and mass cancellations They flew over the beginning of the high season. But the air apocalypse seems that will not materialize this summer due to a rescue in extremis of European refineries. And although the summer holidays of 2026 seem safe, the price to pay will transform the way we fly forever. For great evils, great remedies. To understand the magnitude of the problem, EUobserver provides devastating information: Before the conflict, Europe imported 500,000 barrels of kerosene per day, and 75% of those imports came from the Middle East. Faced with the threat of shortages, the industry has reacted by forcing the machine with exceptional decisions. Refineries typically have very limited flexibility to alter what they extract from each barrel of crude oil. However, as revealed Financial Times, Operators such as the Spanish Repsol have configured their plants to squeeze out much higher performance, increasing kerosene production between 20% and 25% compared to last year and delaying technical maintenance stops. For this reason, Europe has had to look for new suppliers against the clock. The United Kingdom multiplied its kerosene imports from the United States tenfold in April, according to The Timeswhile it has also been used in Nigeria. But here a technical problem arises: how to explain EUobserverEurope routinely uses “Jet A-1” fuel (which resists down to -47 °C without freezing), while the US refines “Jet A” (which freezes at -40 °C). In a measure of historic urgency, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has given the green light for European airports to use and mix American fuel, warning only to take extreme precautions on very cold routes. Furthermore, the airlines themselves have adopted purely logistical strategies. In fact, it is becoming popular tankinga practice that consists of loading up on extra fuel at the airport of origin to be able to make the return flight without having to refuel in destinations where kerosene is scarce or has prohibitive prices. The direct impact on the passenger. The industrial effort keeps the planes flying, but the user will pay the bill. Filling the tank of a giant like the Airbus A380 has gone from costing around $211,000 to more than $340,000, details Business Insider. Not only that, but the tariff business model ultracheap is staggering. Willie Walsh, Director General of IATA, acknowledged in statements to the BBC that, although some airlines have launched specific discounts to stimulate demand, in the medium term higher fares are “inevitable”, since companies cannot absorb these extra costs. And he warns that even if Hormuz opened tomorrow, the logistical damage will keep prices high until next year. In fact, tickets are already 24% more expensive than in 2025 driven by kerosene that reached a record of $1,904 per ton in April, according to Financial Times. In addition, airlines such as Virgin Atlantic have already added fuel surcharges of up to £360 per flight, while others in the US are raising fees for checked baggage, point Business Insider. A new labyrinth: compensation. Globally, airlines have eliminated 9.3 million seats from their summer schedules (a 4% cut), eliminating less profitable short routes. The Lufthansa Group, for example, has canceled 20,000 flights, as collected The Japan Times. But be careful with the passenger’s rights. There is a crucial legal nuance in the European Union: if your flight is canceled due to a physical and actual lack of fuel supply, it is considered “force majeure” and you are not entitled to financial compensation. However, if the airline cancels it simply because fuel is too expensive and the flight is no longer profitable, it is considered under its control and you could be entitled to compensation of up to 600 euros. So, do you have to worry about vacations? The official message from the industry is unanimous: summer is saved. Analysts consulted by Reuters They point out that airlines, tour operators such as TUI and airports are playing down fears of shortages to protect ticket reserves, which are vital to their annual revenues. This is helped by the fact that European airports did their homework and increased their kerosene reserves by more than 60% during the month of April. Besides, as the CEO of Wizz Air points out in Financial Timessuch high prices attract boats from all over the world, which “makes the market get creative.” However, the real danger comes in winter. The high season lasts because the planes are full and the tourist assumes the cost. But, as they warn traders in it Financial Timesautumn will be a real “stress test”. If the conflict continues and prices remain sky-high when travel demand falls in winter, many routes will no longer be viable and could temporarily disappear. Furthermore, European airlines are holding up better right now thanks to hedging (fuel purchases at a fixed price made months or years ago), a practice that US airlines abandoned after the 2008 crisis. When these European coverages expire, the blow will be total. The Iberian exception: Spain as a refining power. In the midst of the European storm, Spain is experiencing a very different reality. Energy Minister Sara Aagesen assured Reuters a month ago that the national supply is not only robust, but that the country is in a “privileged” situation. While Europe has closed 35 refineries since 2009, losing 20% ​​of its capacity, Spain took the opposite path. According to The EconomistIn the past, companies such as Repsol, Moeve and BP invested 15 billion euros in updating their plants, going against the grain of political signals. In this way, Spain today has eight refineries that represent 13% of the capacity of the entire European … Read more

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