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“We fear we are not fast enough to adapt”

July 4, 2026 by usatoday24

Few companies are putting as much money on the table as Meta in the AI race: it failed miserably with the multiverse, so it changed its goal and directed all its efforts to artificial intelligence. In fact, to win it invested more than 14 billion last year alone of dollars in one operation. However, it is not where I expected. This situation is not to the liking of Mark Zuckerberg, who has been self-critical regarding the pace of advances in agentic AI. What’s happening. The CEO of Meta acknowledged to his staff in an internal meeting last Thursday that the profound restructuring that the company has carried out is not going as well as they thought. The reason? AI agents have progressed as quickly as expected, according to a recording seen by Reuters. Zuckerberg acknowledged that the company’s reorganization had not been as “clean” as he had hoped and that executives misjudged the timing of the changes, intended to fund investments in AI infrastructure and capitalize on efficiency gains from AI-assisted work. This restructuring plan began to take shape at the beginning of the year and at that time, Meta’s main managers had a concern: “Not acting quickly enough to adapt” to the advantages of agentic AI. Why is it important. Because Meta is one of the most aggressive companies when it comes to betting on AI agents as a driver of corporate restructuring, with large layoffs and internal reassignments justified precisely by that transition. That its own CEO publicly admits that results are not coming clearly calls into question the industry’s widespread narrative about the quality and speed of the “agent revolution.” One fact: at this moment big tech companies are spending more than 700 billion dollars. Context. The Meta thing is being a drain: at the beginning of the year it fired 10% of its staff: about 8,000 people said goodbye to the company. Likewise, also relocated 7,000 workers to AI teams. We knew what the objective of this movement was (not very “clean”, in their own words) and now we have discovered its motivation: the fear of managers of being left behind by the competition. The reason for his optimism at the time was an external tool with enormous potential: Anthropic’s Claude Code. In detail. Of those more than $700 billion that big tech companies are investing in AI, Meta plans to invest up to $145 billion in AI infrastructure this year alone. And Zuckerberg predicts that the reward is just around the corner: according to ReutersMeta expects to realize significant benefits from these investments within three to six months. While this arrives, the human layer is dealing with friction: in the upper echelons, with frustration and uncertainty and a rarefied atmosphere in the workforce (some They say they work “in the gulag”) Yes, but. First of all, this is a leak of a recording obtained by Reuters and Meta has not yet made any statements. On the other hand, Mark Zuckerberg recognizes the delay, but remains optimistic about the account it brings him: he maintains that it is a matter of time and continues to defend stratospheric investments. That is to say, despite this attempt at self-criticism towards this way of releasing ballast, there is no going back in spending or strategy. In Xataka | Meta spent at least $14 billion to win the AI race. It’s been a year and it’s still exactly where it was. In Xataka | Meta moves to the other side of the AI counter. You are going from buying computing to selling it Cover | Goal, Unsplash

A millionaire went to bed one day being the richest man in the world the next day he was bankrupt… twice

July 4, 2026 by usatoday24

History is full of names that they lose their fortunes for an achievement of bad decisionsbut also of others who lost their assets due to a stroke of bad luck. The story of Nelson Bunker Hunt is one of the latter, who not only lost his fortune once due to a stroke of bad luck: he lost it twiceand neither time was the fault entirely his. The name of this millionaire is barely known today, but between the late 70s and early 80s, he was synonymous with enormous wealth: the richest man on the planet, owner of oil wells in the Libyan desert and such a large portion of the world silver market that he managed to twist the arm of Wall Street. A coup colonel and a bad Thursday in 1980 reminded him that no fortune, no matter how enormous, is safe from history. From Arkansas to the Libyan desert after the black gold Nelson was born in 1926 in El Dorado, Arkansas. His father, H. L. Huntwas already an oil magnate with fifteen children from three different women. Nelson wanted to match him, at least in terms of wealth, so he went looking for oil outside of Texas. His first attempts in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan They were a total failure. But the third time’s the charm and in 1961 he tried his luck in Libya. A stroke of luck led the young entrepreneur to obtain Concession 65, a huge area of 32,400 square kilometers of desert land to exploit the Sarir sitewhich still today continues to be the largest oil field of the country. That made him a multimillionaire almost overnight. As and how did he count the BBCfor more than a decade, Sarir generated billions of dollars for Hunt’s company. Muammar al-Gaddafi It all ended in 1973, when a colonel named Muammar al-Gaddafi took power and nationalized all its oil wells without prior notice. Over time, that same site served to amass the dictator’s personal fortune, which some researchers even valued at more than 200,000 million of dollars. However, Hunt lost the goose that laid the golden (black) eggs of his oil empire due to a coup d’état, and bad luck, that he did not see coming. Silver as an unexpected refuge Far from giving up, Hunt He reinvested what was left of his fortune on ranches, in breeding thoroughbred horses and in new oil businesses. Together with his brothers Herbert and Lamar, he began buying silver in the mid-seventies, as strategy to protect your fortune against inflation. What started as an investment in a safe haven soon became an obsession. By 1979 the Hunts controlled about a third of all the money deprived of the planet. The price of silver went from trading at six dollars an ounce to exceeding $49.45 thanks to the position of power over the silver market exercised by the Hunt brothers. Which implied that his fortune was also growing in the same proportion. The Hunt brothers’ control of the silver market reached levels that even Tiffany’s published an advertisement in it New York Times accusing them of artificially make any silver object more expensivefrom baby spoons to photo reels. “We find it unacceptable for anyone to hoard billions, yes, billions, of dollars in silver and therefore drive up the price so high that others have to pay artificially high prices for items made of silver,” the article read. According what was published for the BBCthe silver magnate reportedly told Time magazine in January 1980 that “silver seemed safer than oil concessions abroad. And precious metals were a good hedge against paper money.” Anyone has a bad Thursday Thursday, March 27, 1980 would be a day that would be burned into Hunt’s head. His arrived second major financial disaster. That day, known as Silver Thursdaythe price of silver plummeted below $11 in a matter of hours. The Hunts’ silver position, valued shortly before at more than $4.5 billion, was transformed into a debt of $1.7 billion, as detailed Britannica. A group of New York banks had to set up an emergency line of credit to prevent the Hunt bankruptcy from dragging down half of Wall Street with them. Years of trials later, the Futures Trading Commission fined them each $10 million and a lifetime ban to operate with raw materials. In 1988, Nelson Bunker Hunt officially declared bankruptcy. His assets, then valued at just 150 million, were completely liquidated to pay debts and back taxes. He had to sell up to his 580 purebred horses. When asked by Congress about his fortune, he replied with dark humor: “a billion dollars is not what it used to be.” He spent his last years in a modest house in Dallas, and died in 2014 in a residence, at 88 years old. His brother Herbert had better luck: sold his assets in Montana for $1.5 billion in 2012 and died in 2024 with a assets of 4.7 billion dollars, according to Forbes. Nelson, on the other hand, went down in history as the man who He was the richest on the planet and ended up with nothing… twice. In Xataka | In the 19th century, a US millionaire set out to invade countries on his own: he founded two republics of which he was president Image | Hall of FameUnsplash (Mohamed Fsili, Scottsdale Mint, Colton Sturgeon), Flikr (Esther Vargas)

I have compared the prices and I will tell you if it is worth buying them or not

July 4, 2026 by usatoday24

Several hundred euros or even more than 1,000 euros: that is what a smartphone can cost us today. Obviously, a model launched this same year It will still have a high price. For this reason, if what you prioritize above all things is your pocket, Opting for a model from last year or the previous year is a good idea. Depending on the manufacturer, it will take more or less work to find one of these devices in stores. But, And what happens with refurbished cell phones? Do you really save a lot by buying one of these phones? We have taken a look at the main stores where we can find reconditioned very popular mobile phones and we will tell you what the result has been. Spoiler: You can save a pretty penny, but only if you look closely. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links The results of the different stores, at a glance As you can see from the table, the price of refurbished phones is almost always lower than that of new devices. Now, the price will depend on several different factors, such as the condition of the device or the seller. Also from the moment in which we search, since their prices fluctuate frequently. The cheapest reconditioned can also be the best quality What we would expect to see in the comparison: A device with more signs of wear or use is cheaper. This is almost always the case, but that’s the key: not always. The table leaves us surprises: if we look at the Galaxy S25 from Samsung, we can see how in ‘very good’ condition it is cheaper than ‘premium’. However, this is not the general trend and we can find mobile phones in the best of conditions at a lower price than ‘pre-owned’ or only ‘functional’. What conclusion do we draw? If we are determined to buy a refurbished device, the best thing we can do is look at various stores. Although they do not vary much, there are cases where we can easily save a good amount. Furthermore, it is possible to find a phone in ‘excellent’ condition in store A cheaper than one that is simply ‘pre-owned’ in store B. Learning from this comparison For the table above we have compared, in several stores, several different refurbished mobile phones. We have focused on some of the best-selling brands such as Apple, Samsung or Xiaomi, always looking at phones that are from high-end or mid-range of past generations. From the specific figures we can extract some clear points: Reconditioned products represent savings (almost) always: It will depend on the device in question, but there can be a very big price difference. Especially on mobile phones with high prices. The condition of the reconditioned is a differentiating factor, but it does not always guarantee the best price. The differences between stores can be big. By comparing reconditioned ones from different stores, we can easily save more than 50 or 100 euros. On mid-range phones, the savings are not that big. It will depend on the mobile phone, but the savings will almost always be greater on more expensive phones. You must also take into account the state of the battery to know if it compensates or not, although we will talk about that below. The condition of the battery can be decisive When we talk or think about refurbished phones, we usually focus a lot on its physical appearance, in case it has scratches or bumps. That is important (it should be more), although we do not have to lose sight of the health of the battery. In this case, it will depend on the store in question: Back Market: minimum 85%. PcComponents: minimum 80%. MediaMarkt Outlet: here we do not find specific information about each device, so we would have to contact the store to find out. It should be noted here that in some stores, such as Back Market, you can request a completely new battery paying a little more. In practice, a capacity of 80% is not too much. It will depend on how we use the phone, but it is obvious that we are going to have to charge the phone more often. Besides, the battery capacity will decrease as they happen charging cycles. And of course, if we add a new battery to the equation, we will be losing part of the savings along the way. My advice? It will depend a lot on the type of user you are.. If you use your phone intensively or intend for it to last for many years, then it is worth considering the option of a new battery. By adding up the cost of the phone and the battery, you can easily see if a refurbished phone is worth it or a new one is better. Now, if you don’t use your phone too much, then a battery that has 80 or 85% health is enough. It is worth checking the store’s warranty and return policy Although you always have the option of searching for second-hand phones in apps like Wallapop, a store with reconditioned phones has the advantage of greater protection and guarantee. As with battery health, it depends on each store: Back Market: It has a 24-month warranty and a 30-day free trial period on all its devices. PcComponents: The warranty depends on the condition of the device. It goes from three years for those that are ‘like new’ to a single year for those that are ‘functional’. The return period is 30 days. MediaMarkt Outlet: The mobile phones have a legal guarantee and there are also 30 days to return it. What to look for when buying refurbished products? With all this information in hand, I am going to summarize the most important things when looking at a refurbished mobile phone in five different points: The offer, the more clear information it has, the betterr– Make sure specific details such as battery … Read more

Every summer Spain is more of an oven. This map of AEMET records demonstrates it station by station

July 4, 2026 by usatoday24

Climate change is bringing increasingly hot summers and a rather hopeless consolation: increasingly it’s harder to remember a cool summer and the feeling that this torrid summer will be the coolest of our lives (this applies equally this summer to the previous one or next summer). And it’s not just sensations: there is data. Without going any further and according to AEMET datathe Spanish state has just experienced the most extreme heat wave ever recorded in the month of June with some days, June 22 and 23, 2026, which were the warmest of that month in Spain since at least 1950. +7.1 °C above usual values. Faced with this reality, someone has thought of marking the maximums recorded by the Spanish State Meteorological Agency on a map that reveals that the frequency and severity with which the temperature breaks records happens more and more often. And if the pattern holds, this historic June could be, in a few years, just a normal June. The dev and data analyst Adrian Maqueda has developed an interactive map from Spain showing each station in the AEMET network and the latest heat record that he has beaten. That there is a new record? (because unfortunately this summer it will surely happen again) Well, the map updates automatically. This system works with both maximum and minimum temperatures. The updated reading data and historical records come from AEMET’s OpenData. From here the readings are crossed to, in case of a new record, indicate it. The more recent the milestone, the more striking the color and the older the color, the more subdued. In this way it is intuitive to detect the thermal records on the map with the naked eye. Of course, it is not the same for a centennial station to set a record as for one that is only a few years old to do so. How hot it is (it doesn’t matter when you read this) Spain, in maximum temperatures Precisely what makes this map so valuable is how visual it is to verify that They are not isolated phenomena applicable to a specific areabut a pattern that covers the entire territory. And it happens more and more frequently: according to the Report on the State of the Climate in Spain 2025 According to AEMET, in Spain in the last decade 221 records for warm days have been broken and only 7 for cold days. Seen with perspective, the average temperature in Spain has gone up 1.75 °C since 1961 and The 12 warmest years in the historical series are all from the 21st century. The widespread and sustained increase in temperatures has direct consequences for health. In fact, the heat already kills us more than the cold. This trend is not exclusive to Spain: according to the World Meteorological Organizationheat waves in Europe are becoming more frequent, more intense and extending to regions that barely suffered from them before. And be careful because Europe is also the continent that comes out worst off. The Tama station (Cantabria) has just renewed its maximum Returning to the map, last week’s heat wave meant renewing a few of those orange circles to set records because of the network of 828 AEMET stations, 13 new maximum temperature records were recorded. For example, it is the case from Tama station (Liébana), in Cantabria: it reached 43.7 degrees on June 23, the highest temperature recorded in that community in any month of the year. The days were an oven, but the nights became tropical: in southern cities like Jaén or Segovia, the nighttime minimums exceeded 28 degrees. In Xataka | This map reveals the exact ‘climate clone’ of your city (and the result is surprising) In Xataka | The easiest way to understand global warming, in this climate map with data from 1940 Cover | Adrian Maqueda

The cold shower is as useless as the early morning

July 4, 2026 by usatoday24

In recent years, some of the wellness and productivity gurus seem to have taken it upon themselves to torture their followers with the most inhuman torments. First there was the fashion of getting up at five in the morning to complete an endless ritual. Now, the new trend is to immerse yourself in ice water every morning with the excuse of relieving stress, reducing inflammation and strengthening defenses. Science has already dismantled the supposed benefits of get up at five, and now it’s the turn of the ice water baths. Researchers from the University of South Australia they have not found evidence of the miracles that the gurus attribute to this practice. The influencers from the cold. In recent years, polar baths, also known as cold water immersions, have gained enormous popularity. Elite athletes and professional players like LeBron James soak in baths of ice water after competitions. Even Gwyneth Paltrow dedicated one of the episodes of his series The Goop Lab to show the supposed therapeutic benefits of immersing yourself in icy waters. That trend has become popular reaching all types of people who are just looking for general well-being or simply reducing stress levels. Social networks and influencershave attributed multiple benefits to these baths for physical and mental health. However, science wanted to check whether immersion in ice water is as beneficial as social networks have led us to believe. Bathing is okay, temperature is optional. Researchers at the University of South Australia decided to scientifically evaluate the supposed benefits of soaking in ice water. To do this, they carried out a meta-analysis of 11 global studies, the results of which were published in PLOS One. For the analysis, data from immersions and cold showers with temperatures between 7 and 15 ºC were used for a time range of between 30 seconds and two hours. Although some benefits attributed to this practice were identified in the results, the researchers found that the existing evidence focuses primarily on athletes and not the general population. A study carried out by Coventry University, reveals that, although it is true that baths with cold water increase energy expenditure in the short term by activating fat burning, it produces a rebound effect by increasing appetite, so the supposed benefit is neutralized. Forget the cure for stress. The researchers stated in their report that the effects of immersion in ice water against stress were not as advertised “we found that immersion in cold water could reduce stress levels, but only for about 12 hours after exposure.” That is, there was no evidence that immersion in ice water had an immediate effect on stress levels, nor an appreciable long-term effect. “We noticed that participants who took cold showers of 20, 60 or 90 seconds gave slightly higher quality of life scores. But again, after three months these effects had disappeared,” the researchers explained in their report. What doesn’t keep you awake makes you stronger. The results in improving sleep quality were also not conclusive. The study found links between improvements in sleep quality and cold water immersion, although this conclusion was based on data limited exclusively to men, which calls for more research in various population groups. The researchers did not venture to say that cold water immersion could have a positive effect on the immune system because, although it is true that a 29% reduction in work absences related illnesses among those who took cold showers, there were no significant improvements in the immediate immune response to cold exposure. These data indicate that, although there are potential advantages to exposure to ice water, the effects of this exposure are neither consistent nor long-lasting, calling into question the widespread effectiveness what the gurus attribute to him. The “straining effect” of the cold. Among the most surprising findings the Australian researchers made was the inflammatory response to cold water immersion. Contrary to popular belief, rather than reducing inflammation, ice water baths caused “significant increases in inflammation,” both immediately and an hour later. According to the researchers, this reflects an “acute inflammatory response” of the body to cold stress. In the words of study co-author Ben Singh, “this immediate spike in inflammation is part of an adaptation process similar to muscle damage caused by exercise, which subsequently strengthens the muscles.” That is, like soreness, this adaptive effect can be positive for athletes of high physical performancebut Singh highlighted that it could be harmful for people with pre-existing pathologies. In other words, unless you have just participated in an Olympic event, showering with cold water only will improve your productivity in the sense that it will take less time to shower and you will be able to spend that time to other tasks. The risk of ice baths. A study conducted by researchers at King’s College London on the phenomenon of “autonomous conflict” reveals that exposure to ice water baths can pose a risk even for people without previous pathologies. Research shows that when someone dives into ice water while holding their breath, two opposing reflexes compete to control the heart, which can cause arrhythmias even in healthy people. That risk is reduced as “thermal shock” is reduced, with a cold shower being safer than an ice bath. A version of this article was published in February 2025 In Xataka | In 1947 the Yukon reached -63ºC. So a scientist started listening to conversations five kilometers away. Image | Pexels (Vidar Nordli-Mathisen)

which cars can circulate and which rest on the 4th of July

July 4, 2026 by usatoday24

The restrictions of Today No Circula Sabatino are back this weekend. This initiative, coordinated by the Secretariat of the Environment of Mexico City (SEDEMA), seeks to moderate pollution levels in the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico by restricting the traffic of certain automobiles. So, if you plan to make urban trips in your car, it is essential to verify what type of hologram you have and the final digits of your license plate. It is worth keeping in mind that the regulations not only cover the 16 territorial demarcations of the capital, but also extend to multiple municipal areas of the State of Mexico. Specifically, the regulation is implemented in the following areas: Atizapan of Zaragoza Coacalco de Berriozábal Cuautitlan Cuautitlán Izcalli Chalco Chicoloapan Chimalhuacan Ecatepec de Morelos Huixquilucan Ixtapaluca Peace Naucalpan de Juárez Nezahualcoyotl Nicolas Romero Tecámac Tlalnepantla de Baz Tultitlan Chalco Valley Keep in mind that if your route includes crossing or circulating through any of these geographical points, you will be subject to the same road restriction guidelines. What cars and license plates does Hoy No Circula Saturday affect? To reduce pollution, what has been thought of, as we say, is to reduce the volume of traffic on the streets. Thus, weekends have their own rules within Hoy No Circula Sabatino. This does not mean that all drivers have to leave their cars at home. The hologram, the final number on the license plate and the position of Saturday in the month (odd or even) dictate who has the green light to drive and who must turn off the engine. It is also vital to remember that Hoy No Circula Saturday does not operate uninterrupted 24 hours a day. The road limitations begin at 05:00 and conclude at 22:00which means that during the night and early morning hours, free transit is allowed, as long as the authorities do not activate an environmental contingency phase or another extraordinary measure that modifies the usual guidelines. Taking the date of July 4, 2026 as a reference, the calendar shows us that we are facing the first Saturday of the month, thus classifying it as an “odd week.” That is, private cars equipped with hologram 1 whose license plates end in an odd digit will be forced to suspend activities during the stipulated time window. If your car matches these characteristics, you should save it and wait for the night cutoff time to pass. On the contrary, those drivers whose vehicles have a 0 and 00 hologram will enjoy complete freedom to travel around the metropolis without any penalty. For their part, cars with hologram 2 are not allowed to drive on any Saturday of the month. Beyond the general rules, there is a group that enjoys immunity from these ecological measures, allowing them to transit without setbacks. The following cases are Electric, natural gas or hybrid technology vehicles Units registered with plates for people with disabilities All those intended for urban public transport services (including funeral services) Those dedicated to school or passenger transportation Those assigned to public security and/or civil protection Failure to comply with the Hoy No Circula will be punished with a fine that ranges between 20 and 30 times the value of the Measurement and Update Unit (UMA), a figure that represents approximately 1,924.40 pesos at its lowest level until reaching 2,886.60 pesos at the highest limit. In addition, the driver risks having the car taken to the vehicle depot. Photo | Paul Hanaoka In Xataka | The countries that pollute the most in the world, gathered in a detailed graph

Airbus wants to launch eAction in 2030

July 4, 2026 by usatoday24

He A320 It is not just a recognizable aircraft in any European airport. It is one of those platforms that have ended up defining how we fly: short routes, medium distances, low-cost companies, traditional airlines and a huge part of the global single aisle business. That is why his replacement cannot be read as another catalog update. What Airbus is preparing points to a long-range industrial decision: start defining now the aircraft that should take over the baton in the next decade. In an interview with Aviation WeekGuillaume Faury, the CEO of Airbus, talks about a two-stage roadmap. First would be 2030, proposed as the moment to give the green light to eAction, the internal name of the project, and open the decisive phase of the program. Then came the entry into service, located in the second half of the 1930s. We are not facing an immediate replacement, but rather a transition that will last years. The plane that should replace an emblem For now, the work moves in a preliminary phase, more technical than visible. Airbus talks about research, development, simulations and studies with partners to review options in wings, fuselage, propulsion and industrial systems. There is no definitive configuration nor a closed list of characteristics, and that forces each element to be treated as part of a still open process. In this initial kitchen, precisely, a good part of everything that will come later is played out. The figures explain why the handover will be so delicate. The A320 family accumulates 20,169 total orders, 12,670 deliveries and 11,374 aircraft in service, in addition to a pending portfolio of 7,499 units. Within that volume, the A321neo weighs increasingly more, with 5,615 aircraft still to be delivered. The European manufacturer is also working to approach a production rate of up to 75 units per month by the end of 2027, supported by ten final assembly lines distributed between Hamburg, Toulouse, Mobile and Tianjin. With such an industrial load, the change would have to be more like a gradual transition than an immediate replacement. The company itself assumes that the A320 will remain attractive for a long time, even when the new aircraft begins to reach airlines. This will force us to adjust for years the decrease in production of one family and the increase of the other, without breaking deliveries or further straining a supply chain that is already coming from difficult years. The precedent of the overlap between the A320ceo and the A320neo helps to understand the scale of the move. In parallel, Airbus continues to define which technologies should shape this new generation. The company has previously noted that a future single-aisle aircraft could improve efficiency by 20% to 30% compared to current models and operate with up to 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Among the options it is studying also include more efficient engines, a possible open fan architecture, longer wings with folding tips, lighter materials and more connected on-board systems. The planning also gives a glimpse of how Airbus interprets the moment the market is experiencing. After Kelly Ortberg suggested that the schedule for Boeing’s next plane could be moved, the CEO defended that the priority is not to react to the competition, but to take advantage of the company’s position to decide when to launch its next program. That strategy also seeks to concentrate engineering, investment and supplier resources around the project when the time comes. That’s why 2030 works as a departure date, not an arrival date. If Airbus maintains the schedule, that year would serve to formally activate the program that should bring the successor to the A320 to airlines in the second half of the 1930s. Until then, several decisions will remain to be finalized. The internal name is already on the table: eAction. What is missing is for the program that can mark the next exit in the single aisle to end up materializing. Images | Airbus (1, 2) In Xataka | Brazil has achieved something once unthinkable for a Latin American country: assembling its own supersonic fighters

ten million robots before 2040

July 4, 2026 by usatoday24

For years we looked at Japan and thought of robots with friendly shapes, measured steps, and an almost theatrical ability to show us the future. SOHonda’s humanoid, was probably the best symbol of that era: a machine designed to impress, excite and demonstrate how far Japanese engineering could go. But the current debate is different. Japan no longer seems obsessed with recovering that icon, but with something more practical: bringing robots to the real world, where there is a lack of workers and repetitive tasks accumulate, and each unfilled shift begins to become an economic problem. The Japanese plan. METI, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, has put a very specific figure on the table: around 10 million robots deployed in 2040. The goal is part of the revised AI Robotics strategy, a robotics policy with AI to combine artificial intelligence and robotics in machines capable of acting in real environments. The new roadmap expands the focus to 18 application areas and incorporates sectors such as catering, food manufacturing and healthcare. From icon to work. ASIMO did not disappear because Japan lost interest in robots, but because that road was no longer the center of gravity. Honda stopped developing ASIMO in 2018 and withdrew it from public demonstrations in 2022, while part of that learning moved to more applied lines, such as assistance or teleoperation. That transition sums up the current moment well: the country still has robotic muscle, but the question has changed. It is no longer enough to demonstrate that a machine can walk like us; Now you must justify what task you can take on and where you can do it. Much more than humanoid. The 2040 target should not be read as a promise of millions of human-shaped robots. The strategy speaks of a much broader range, with industrial, mobile, healthcare, catering, logistics, inspection, maintenance and emergency response robots. Humanoids appear on the radar of the strategy when they make sense, but they are not the sole focus of the plan. The idea is to deploy machines where they can take on tasks that are repetitive, physical, dangerous or difficult to cover with sufficient personnel. The demographic problem. The underlying reason is not in the fascination with technology, but in the lack of workers. Japan faces structural labor shortage marked by aging, low birth rate and an increasingly stressed active population. According to the Recruit Works Institutethe country could reach 2040 with a deficit of about 11 million workers. In this context, robots stop being a futuristic bet and become a way to keep care, services, logistics, food and production going. A silent power. Context matters because Japan is not starting from scratch. Although today much of the noise about humanoid robots and new AI platforms comes from China or the United States, the country continues to be one of the major global players in industrial robotics. The International Federation of Robotics points out that Japan represented 38% of global industrial robot production in 2023, installed 44,500 units in 2024 and had about 450,500 robots in use. The pending unknowns. The plan, however, still leaves open questions. Japan has set the goal, priority sectors and technological direction, but has not detailed which companies will manufacture this huge number of robots or how much of the deployment will depend on national suppliers or international alliances. We also do not know how the weight will be distributed between industrial robots, mobile systems, healthcare solutions or service machines. The commitment to physical AI. The strategy is not only about deploying more machines, but about improving the intelligence that drives them. At the same press conference on June 30, 2026, METI announced that the consortium formed by Noetra and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology of Japan had been selected to develop a national multimodal foundation model, an AI foundation capable of combining different types of data. The idea is that this base can help build robots capable of interpreting information, combining signals from the environment and acting better in the physical world. Images | Sling In Xataka | The return of Fable 5 has a worrying problem: Anthropic has condemned it to “I would rather not do it”

WhatsApp usernames seemed like a good idea. Then the shadow of identity theft appeared

July 4, 2026 by usatoday24

Almost all of us know that it is not a good idea to trust an unexpected message that asks for money, personal information or a verification code. But we also know how these scams work: they arrive at the right time, use the name of a well-known company and rely on a profile photo that looks official. A supposed shipping company, a package held, a small fee to pay. There is identity theft, in that mixture of legitimate appearance, urgency and misplaced trust. The new piece. The change that WhatsApp has begun to prepare now comes to that familiar terrain. The application has started username reservation ahead of a broader rollout planned for this year. The idea is simple: that we can find and write to each other using an identifier instead of always depending on the phone number. On paper, it makes a lot of sense from a privacy standpoint, but there are nuances to this. Privacy with fine print. The discussion isn’t about whether usernames are a good or bad idea. In fact, reducing phone number exposure can provide a clear benefit for millions of people. The point is another: every new way of identifying ourselves also becomes a new way of recognizing ourselves. And when that identifier resembles that of a company, a bank or an institution, the line between a legitimate identity and a fake one may be less obvious to some users. The first alert. TechCrunch put the system to the test at an early stage and found several usernames available reminiscent of Indian figures, companies and institutions. Among the examples he cited “indiamodi”, “shahrukh.actor”, “teamamitabh” and “rbi_verify”, references to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bollywood actors and the Indian central bank. The nuance is important: the outlet did not claim that these identifiers were already being used to scam, but rather that they appeared available for reservation and, therefore, raised a reasonable doubt about the scope of the preventive reservations announced by Meta. The Binance case. The conversation took a step further when another user showed on X that “cz_binance” appeared as unavailable when trying to reserve it on WhatsApp. Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, He then responded that he had tried it too. and that he had not been able to do it: “I tried, I couldn’t reserve that name. So, it definitely wasn’t me.” His comment clears up only one mystery: it was not he who booked it. Everything else, from a possible preventive reservation of Meta to any other internal criteria, remains unconfirmed. India asks to stop deployment. Doubts about the new function took a step further when they arrived at the offices of the Indian Government. In a notification sent Regarding WhatsApp, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology maintained that usernames could facilitate the impersonation of citizens, public organizations, financial entities and government agencies. For this reason, it asked WhatsApp to justify the function and demanded that its deployment in India, the application’s largest market, be paused while consultations with the authorities continued. Meta’s response. Faced with the doubts raised in recent days, the company defends that the system incorporates measures to limit the risk of identity theft. These include the preventive reservation of names of public figures, governments and certain variants, in addition to the possibility for creators, companies and organizations to claim the same username on WhatsApp that they already use on Instagram or Facebook. It’s not a new idea. The discussion about usernames didn’t start with WhatsApp either. Telegram and Signal already allow you to contact other users using identifiers without sharing that input data, while WeChat combines formulas such as your own ID and QR codes. What changes now is the scale. If WhatsApp completes the deployment planned for this year, this way of identifying will reach a platform with billions of users, expanding both its advantages and the questions that accompany it. The underlying problem. There is no reason to think that cybercriminals will ignore WhatsApp usernames. If a new tool can help them appear more credible, it is logical to assume that they will try to take advantage of it, just as they have been taking advantage of for years unknown numbers, profile photos, visible names, company accounts or leaked data. The question, therefore, is not whether there will be attempts at abuse, but to what extent Meta’s measures and user attention will be sufficient to reduce their impact. Images | Xataka with Nano Banana In Xataka | The new WhatsApp usernames have a reason for being. Advertising, specifically

how they differ and why they don’t let you sleep

July 4, 2026 by usatoday24

It is often said that any time in the past was better. Normally this phrase is the fruit of our tendency to idealize what has already happened. However, with The heat and hot nights are beginning to be an indisputable reality.. If we think of our past summer nights, we remember the tropical nights, in which the temperature does not drop below 20ºCas something specific. In the case of Spain, at least, they were isolated nights in which sleeping was a challenge. Now, however, they have not only become a norm that makes us live hugging the fanbut we have unlocked two other types of nights: equatorial and infernal. The name of the latter gives what it promises. Because of global warmingour nights have become hell; which, unfortunately for us, has only just begun. This affects our rest and, as a consequence, our performance during the day and our long-term health. It is no small feat, so it is worth looking for methods to sleep despite the high nighttime temperatures. Of course, before seeing what those methods may be, it is important to start at the beginning and learn what each type of night consists of. The night thermometer: difference between tropical, equatorial and infernal night As we have seen, when we talk about hot nights, there are three different types. Tropical night: It is what we were more or less used to, although not with the frequency of today. It occurs when temperatures do not drop below 20ºC throughout the night. Equatorial (or torrid) night: In this case, the mercury does not drop below 25ºC. It may not seem like much, but 5ºC is very noticeable. Normally these high night temperatures are reached by heating the sea water, heat island effect in cities or hot, dry winds. hellish night: The name delivers what it promises. Temperatures do not drop below 30ºC between dusk and dawn, so rest is much more complicated and the effects of heat even more dangerous than during the day in some cases. Why is it physically impossible to sleep in these temperatures? Our dream is governed by circadian cycles. These are 24-hour cycles with which many of our physiological functions are regulated. In the case of sleep, we sleep once a day, usually during the night. Therefore, when our brain detects that it has gotten dark, it begins to release melatonin, the hormone that helps us fall asleep. On the other hand, as daylight sets in, the release of this hormone is inhibited. But melatonin doesn’t tell us to close our eyes and put our brains in rest mode until the next day. This sleep stimulation takes place on many levels. For example, in order for us to sleep, our body temperature must drop a little. It is something that occurs naturally, thanks precisely to that release of melatonin. But of course, if the ambient temperature is very high, it is too complicated to maintain that ideal temperature for rest. This is why we have such a hard time sleeping on hot nights. The entire process is affected, although the most susceptible is REM sleepessential for a good rest. What happens to your body when you try to sleep at more than 25ºC? We have seen that the brain detects when it is day and night, but how does it do it? There are actually several factors. The most intuitive is the entry of light through the retina. If there is light, it is interpreted as daytime and when it decreases it is associated with night. This is the reason why having rooms that are too lit at night, especially with blue light, makes it difficult for us to fall asleep. However, light is not the only indicator of day and night. The brain is also guided by temperatureswhich normally rise during the day and descend at night. It is not usual for the temperature to be above 25ºC at night. That’s why, circadian rhythms get out of whack and cannot fall asleep properly. If melatonin were released in adequate quantities, it would lower the temperature even further, but when it is very hot not enough is released, so everything becomes a vicious circle. In addition, the hypothalamus, which is our first center for regulating body temperature, continues to work at full capacity. It must continue working so that our body does not get too hot, so remains overactivated and we cannot rest. As you see, everything leads to the same thing. With the high night temperatures we cannot rest. The ideal temperature to fall asleep according to science With everything we have seen above, it is clear that there is an ideal temperature to fall asleep. If it is too high, circadian cycles become unbalanced, while excessive cold does not help us sleep either. That’s why, the sleep foundations recommendation is maintain the temperature of the rooms in which we sleep between 15.6ºC and 20ºC. The open window on hot nights does not help, since even tropical nights, the least severe, rise above that range. The map of sleepless nights in Spain: the most affected areas The areas most affected by hot nights are mainly the Mediterranean regions, the Guadalquivir basin, the community of Madrid and Extremadura. Also are becoming increasingly common in the Canary Islandswhere an increase in hellish nights is even beginning to be detected. The Mediterranean and the Guadalquivir Valley: the “hot spots” of summer In the Mediterranean highlights the case of the hellish nights in the province of Almeríawhere in June 2026 there have been four consecutive nights with temperatures above 30ºC. In the Guadalquivir Valley and regions close to its basin they are not far behind. Although there they are standing out more due to the maximum temperatures than the minimum ones, so far this summer tropical nights have already been recorded in places like Écija, belonging to the province of Seville. In any case, its particular hell occurs during the day, with maximum temperatures well above 40ºC. … Read more

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