Mobile Tech & Gadgets

Malaysia came up with the idea of ​​painting its roads fluorescent to illuminate them at night. The problem was the price

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In February 2024 we saw that the continuous line of a good part of the A-355, one of the roads with more accidents of Spanish territory, dawned with a thick continuous red line. It was a pilot measure by the DGT to highlight the prohibition of overtaking on that road. A few weeks earlier, a similar program was developed in Malaysia: repainting the road markings of certain roads with a photoluminescent paint. Not even a year has passed and it seems that they will not continue painting. The reason? It is too expensive, which has raised the question of… and they hadn’t thought of that before? The pilot. In mid-November 2023, the Government of Malaysia advertisement the launch of a pilot program that aimed to highlight the lines of certain roads. Using photoluminescent paint with the ability to glow at night. The authorities commented that these initiatives were suitable for dark areas that lacked public lighting. The lines shine for 10 hours and, in case of heavy rain, they also give off a certain shine that helps make them more visible, allowing drivers to stay in their lane. The images leave no room for doubt: it looks much better than the traditional white line, also better than reflective indicators. The project attracted attention. Initially, only 245 meters of road were painted at one intersection, representing about 490 meters of road markings, but other states began to carry out their own tests. Almost 20 times more expensive. The problems came practically from the beginning. The Malaysian Ministry of Works already warned that they were going to be very attentive to the results of the pilot program and the ability to paint on other roads, since the price of the new paint could be a problem. And so much so that it has ended up being an inconvenience. From the Ministry of Works reported that conventional paint costs about 40 ringgit per square meter, about 8.65 euros. Photoluminescent paint costs 749 ringgit per square meter, more than 160 euros. It costs 19 times more per square meter. Putting on the brake. Despite the enthusiasm with which the population received the measure, Malaysia’s deputy labor minister, Ahmad Maslan, commented a few weeks ago that it was not likely that they would continue painting. “The cost is too high, so we probably won’t continue with glow-in-the-dark lanes,” stated. It is curious when, months before, 31 roads had been identified that could have received this type of paint. Maslan stated that the tests did not meet the expectations of the ministry’s experts, without giving further explanations. Questions and suspicions. This is part of the eternal debate about priorities, budget and security, since we must remember that the areas that were going to receive this type of paintings are wooded and lack lighting, making it dangerous to travel through them due to interactions between humans. as by the action of animals crossing each other. And, evidently, the news has raised suspicions of corruption in local mediawith users who wondered if they didn’t know all this before starting the pilot project, what are those expectations that the painting has failed to meet… and that someone will have filled their pockets with the initial contract. Images | Alexander Nanta Linggi, Bernama (Azlim Mansor) In Xataka | The Tour de France has a team dedicated exclusively to something crucial: erasing penises painted on the roads

pay people to get married

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According to demographers one of the main factors What is behind the drop in birth rates around the world is that people are not getting married. And yes, I am aware. I can also think of a lot of counterarguments, but the truth is that “marriage and fertility move together with extraordinary regularity“. And, being so, some demographers saywhy don’t we pay people to get married? Pay people to get married? The idea may seem crazy, but it is based on a rather curious issue: that men’s income predict the number of marriages. That is, in places where men earn more, there are more marriages. This is not an extremely strong correlation, but it is very clear (and, as soon as we correct it, it gains strength). The question is why. And is the marriage market actually an insurance market? As? As it sounds. From a sociodemographic point of viewhusbands are a kind of insurance policy. It doesn’t mean that people get married. only for money: but what marriage has traditionally been a widespread solution to the problems and disruptions of having children. A process in which, it goes without saying, women run more risks (health risks, yes; but also work, social and economic risks) than men. put up with a husband (someone who can “reduce” the impact of possible problems that arise) is in a way like paying for insurance: we do it with greater or lesser pleasure in the hope of having it if we need it in the future. Men are many more things, of course.. However, as Lyman Stone points outsalary is usually a pretty good ‘proxy’ for many positive people skills. And, in fact, it works like this even if we are not fully aware of it. It’s something that culturally seeps into our judgments about others. But what happens if insurance covers us less and less? That is the central question: if we look at the US data, we can see that “American incomes are increasing, but this increase is concentrated entirely in women and/or people over 40 years of age, not by young” men. In fact, “men’s real incomes showed no growth or even a decline at almost all ages below 35 years.” As insurance coverage decreases (men can contribute less and less) and monthly payments remain the same (because, well, in the last 20 years the nature of marriages has not changed much), taking out the policy (getting married) It is becoming less and less attractive. It seems silly… but as Lyman Stone saysthe casual effect is there. “When women win the lottery, there is little to no effect on their marriage rates. But when men win the lottery, they get married . Seriously, they (buy houses and) they get married“. It is not the only factorof course: but it is surprisingly important. And surprisingly easy to fix. Because marriage benefits work. Above all, they work much better than maternity benefits work. Image | Photo Pettine | Stock Birken In Xataka | The demographic crisis in the West is no accident: most people do not have children simply because they do not want to.

If the question is, should I buy the iPhone 16 now or wait for the iPhone SE 4, the answer is: there is no certainty.

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There are two types of users at Apple: those who want the best of the best and go for the most expensive model and those who simply want a “basic” iPhone that allows them to get into iOS in the most economical way possible. At this time of the year, with the iPhone 16 settled, there are many who are waiting for the new iPhone SE 4. A phone that will finally say goodbye to the design that they have been recycling since the iPhone 6, and that according to rumors will be more similar to the iPhone 14. The question is clear: should I buy an iPhone 15/16, or wait for the new SE? The answer is not so easy. What we expect from the iPhone SE 4. According to the leaksthe iPhone SE 4 will inherit the body of the iPhone 14, including the notch. However, there is contradictory information, because the latest rumors speak of a possible dynamic island. Be that as it may, it is expected to be a phone with specifications similar to the iPhone from two generations ago. Let’s talk about specifications. If you buy an iPhone 16, you are buying a phone with the latest Apple processor, a camera system practically identical to the previous model (iPhone 15) and very good autonomy. The iPhone 15 is practically the same phone, with a little less RAM (this is key, since it is left without Apple Intelligence), without camera control and with a little less autonomy. It is a great purchase in terms of quality and price, since you get almost the same phone for less. What will happen to the iPhone SE4? Nobody knows. The last model had the Apple A15 Bionic, the processor of the iPhone 13 Pro. Nothing prevents, therefore, this iPhone SE4 from incorporating the Apple A17 Bionic of the iPhone 15. It will not be an easy decision for Apple. If you want this phone to have Apple Intelligence, the most logical combination is the A18 of the iPhone 16 and 8 GB of RAM. Specifications that would collide head-on with those of its older brother. Let’s talk about money. The iPhone SE went on the market in its latest iteration for 529 euros. An iPhone 16 costs 959 euros. We don’t know the price of the SE, but a too high increase is not expected. With luck, it would be below 600 euros. The iPhone 16 can easily be purchased for around 750/800 euros new if we search a little, and the iPhone 15 can be purchased for just under 700 euros. The main asset of the iPhone SE 4 has to be its price. If the difference compared to an iPhone 16 is around 200 euros, it may be a sensible purchase. Image | Xataka In Xataka | I have tested the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro. I am very clear about which one I would buy

The revenge film that revolutionized the international cinema scene returns to theaters for its anniversary

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Of course, Park Chan-wook’s masterpieceOld Boy‘ was not the first Korean film to attract the attention of viewers outside Asia. That same year we had had the fabulous rural thriller ‘Memories of Murder’, by the country’s other star director, Bong Joon Ho. And Park Chan-wook himself had shown the first film of his revenge trilogy, ‘Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance’, at international festivals a year earlier. But ‘Old Boy’ connected in a special way with Western viewers by raising a feeling that has been captured in millions of films of all origins, revengebut with the doses of extravagance and visual daring that we have always expected in Korean cinema since then. ‘Old Boy’ became almost a canonical film of the country, at least for foreign viewers and festivals, since there the commercial cinema that the majority of the population consumes, just like in Europe or the United States, is nothing like it. to this experiment artie but forceful. The convoluted plot of ‘Old Boy’ begins when a Korean businessman is kidnapped and confined for years in a cell where there is only a television. He doesn’t know why he is there and little by little we will witness his slow descent into madness. When he comes out, he will begin a meticulous process of revenge for those who have destroyed his life, violent and with a good amount of extreme revelations. We all remember from ‘Old Boy’ its magnificent scene shot in sequence, of a hallway full of enemies that the protagonist dispatches quickly and with the help of a hammer. It has been imitated in series seemingly as far removed from this film as ‘Daredevil’, demonstrating the extent to which the reach and influence of ‘Old Boy’ make it a unique icon of Korean cinema. Now, on the occasion of its twentieth anniversary, we can once again enjoy this film on the big screen, as it is re-released in theaters. In Xataka | Spectators and critics say it is the best science fiction film of recent times, but it was barely seen in theaters

We have just created a new unconventional superconductor by combining materials that are not superconductors

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Since the discovery of superconductivity does something more than a centurymaterials with these types of characteristics have obsessed physicists. It is no wonder, since it is one of the more exotic phenomenabut also with enormous practical potential. The reason? They are materials that, when under certain temperature conditions, conduct electricity without resisting. Since there is no resistance, there is no loss of energy, but they also have other peculiarities such as “Meissner effect” which eliminates the flux of the magnetic field inside a magnet, allowing it to levitate above a superconductor. The problem is that conventional superconductors show their ‘superpowers’ at extremely low temperatures, requiring liquid helium to cool. That is why the scientific community has spent decades exploring the world of unconventional superconductors. They are those based on iron, some heavy metals and organic materials, many of them with complex crystalline structures and unusual electronic properties, but the most important thing is that the critical temperature is higher. And that is precisely what they have uncovered researchers at Tokyo Metropolitan University. New unconventional superconductor By combining zirconium with different proportions of iron and nickel, researchers have been able to create a new superconductor that features a dome-shaped phase diagram. This means that it is a non-conventional superconductor, which implies that, to appreciate its potential, it is not necessary to lower the temperature extremely with liquid helium, but rather with liquid nitrogen. Superconductor structure It still requires a low critical temperature, but it is easier to maintain this temperature with liquid nitrogen. Furthermore, what is really relevant is that, for the first time, it has been demonstrated that a polycrystalline alloy of iron, nickel and zirconium has superconducting properties, something that neither iron nor nickel zirconide, which are not superconductors in crystalline form, have. . This advance is interesting because understanding and studying the unconventional superconductors It is crucial in order to push the temperature limit at which they can operate without losing their faculties, facilitating their arrival in practical applications such as advanced electronic devices, transport systems or superconducting cables. Furthermore, understanding the mechanisms behind unconventional superconductivity can lead to the discovery of superconducting materials at room temperature. This is the current goal of physics and it is something that we have been researching for yearssince it would be quite a revolution transmit electricity and energy without loss and without having to dissipate heat. The applications of room temperature superconductivity are immense. For example, facilitating the creation of nuclear fusion reactorselectric motors and any type of electrical system much more efficient. Also, accelerate quantum computing, particle accelerators, energy storage in superconducting coils, magnetic levitation devices or the possibility of transmitting electricity immediately, even with sources very far from cities. And steps have been taken in this regard, such as the superconductor that could operate at a comfortable 14.5 degrees Celsius. The problem with this superconductor was that it needed a pressure of 39 million psi, which would be equivalent, more or less, to 2.65 million times normal atmospheric pressure. An outrage, wow, but the good thing is that the industry is dedicated to evolving these unconventional superconductors and it seems that they are getting closer to being useful on a daily basis. Of course, there is still a way to go. Images | Eurekalert, Julien Bobroff In Xataka | This magnetic field experiment shatters all records. And in the process paves the way to nuclear fusion

Getting an infusion with olive leaves sounds very good and healthy. Science has much more doubts about it

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Olive oil is a fundamental ingredient In the Mediterranean diet. Spain is one of the great producers That, for years, he focused on being a large world producer of consumer oil, Leaving Italy The high ranges. That changed a few months agobut of course: in addition to olive or olives, we have to talk about by -products, Like the bone or the leaves. With them, we can make infusions, buy bread with embedded leaves and in the herbalists and brands Its multiple benefits are cited. But science is not done alone, and researchers have tested these properties of olive leaf infusions. Oleuropein. All those supposed benefits of the infusions of the olive leaf come from the hand of an antioxidant called oleuropein. This is the majority phenolic component of the pulp of green olives and is the one that gives a certain bitter taste in extra virgin olive oils. It turns out that it is also a main component of the olive leaves. In 2011 a study and it was stated that this antioxidant could show antifibrotic and anti -inflammatory effects. The interesting thing is that the oleuropein concentration depends on the color of the leaf: the greener, the more oleuropein it contains, so the leaves collected in spring have higher levels compared to those collected at another time of the year. The studies. These properties such as antioxidant have led us to consume the infusion sheets, but … are they really safe and healthy? In The Conversation we can see two recent studies. One of them, of 2022, combined data from 12 experimental studies in which 819 people participated, concluding that the olive leaf extract (managed in capsules with dose of between 500 milligrams and 5 grams during periods of six to six 48 weeks) improved heart disease risk factors and reducing blood pressure. Data. In people with high blood pressure, the effects were greater. In a study More recent, from 2024, data from other experimental studies with a sample of 703 participants were again studied. The doses were this time between 250 and 1,000 mg -very minors -, administered in capsules or incorporated into the PAN. Some of the participants had high and overweight blood pressure, but others were in healthy parameters. Significant benefits were observed in blood glucose control and a reduction in blood pressure, but when all data crossed, no significant effects were appreciated and it was indicated that it was necessary to continue investigating. Safe levels. In these cases, we are talking about an “the olive leaf can improve the hypotensive effect, since, as we say, it is not a certainty and we must continue to investigate. But something that studies seem to coincide is that, a daily supplementation of this extract, with a dose of a gram per day, has no adverse effects or contraindications. What is indicated in others studies It would be good for pregnant and infant women to avoid consumption, since effectiveness and safety have not been proven during this phase. Toxicity. It is interesting, however, that some cases of aggressiveness have been reported after excessive consumption. It is suspected that a high dose, 85 mg/kg of body weight, is toxic, causing an event similar to that of an excess of dopamine, taking a 67 -year -old woman to aggressive behavior. This woman took 5.5 grams of dry olive leaf per day to treat hay fever, experiencing changes in mood and the aforementioned aggressive behavior after intake. Researchers think that the culprit is hydroxythritic, a component of the olive leaf extract that has a structure similar to dopamine, altering levels. It is still an isolated case, but there it is. Head. Therefore, that olive leaf is sold to make infusions is not negative, because the effects as an antioxidant in our body are there, but the usual thing is important: to have head and common sense so as not to self -medicate with chemical drugs … or with natural remedies with remedies . Are they healthy? Yes, in small doses, but of course they do not replace medicines and treatments made by professionals. And, if they love each other Take as a complementit can be infused, but also in smoothies or as a salad and bread complement. Images | Júlio Reis, Bea.miau In Xataka | During centuries Galicia was a thriving land of olive groves with unique varieties in the world. What changed it is still a mystery

Texas installed millions of solar panels on rural land. To maintain it they have had to hire 3,000 sheep

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When one of the world’s largest solar plants was installed near his home, sheep herder JR Howard never imagined it would end up being a golden opportunity for the sheep business. Context. Despite being the main oil producer in the United States, Texas has made one of the country’s strongest bets on renewable energy to the point of surpassing California in solar production. In Milam County, just outside of Austin, is the fifth largest solar photovoltaic park in the world. Owned by SB Energy, this installation covers 1,600 hectares of rural land in solar panels, generating up to 900 W of clean energy power. 3,000 sheep. Under the shadow of hundreds of thousands of solar panels, not only insects that were previously threatened proliferate, like bees. Grass also grows healthily, which requires maintenance. The solar industry tends to rely on gas-powered lawnmowers to remove grass, which defeats the fundamental purpose of renewable energy. But SB Energy opted for a more sustainable and traditional solution for the maintenance of its land: a flock of 3,000 sheep. why sheep. In addition to the economic benefits, sheep reach grasses that lawnmowers can’t reach, such as those that grow in small crevices. No less important: the sheep happily chew whatever day it is, rain or shine. But the proliferation of grazing animals on solar farms is not unique to this Texas facility, but is part of a broader trend in the agrivoltaic industry sometimes called “solar grazing.” an opportunity. To JR Howard, solar grazing has changed his life. His sheep farming business has been industrialized and he now has 8,000 animals and 27 employees. An image that is repeated in 27 states in the United States, according to the American Solar Grazing Association, which reports 60 new agrivoltaic projects with grazing by small herbivores. The solar industry is a golden opportunity for sheep herders, who have seen the wool and breeding business in general decline. Agrivoltaics makes it possible to take advantage of sunny land both to generate electricity and to maintain livestock, herds of goats and sheep or grow food. Image | AgriSolar Clearinghouse In Xataka | Minnesota installed solar panels on two huge crops. Five years later, they are a paradise for bees

We have just detected winds of more than 30,000 km/h on an exoplanet

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According to extreme weather record According to the World Meteorological Organization, the fastest wind gust ever recorded on our planet occurred on Barrow Island, Australia, and reached 113.2 meters per second or 407.5 km/h. If we expand the search to the solar system, we will discover that the winds can accelerate even more: up to 1,770 km/h on Neptune. 33,000 km/h. Wind records on Earth and other planets in the solar system pale in comparison to those recently observed by VLT instruments (Very Large Telescope) from the European Southern Observatory (ESO), located in the Atacama Desert, in Chile: up to 33,000 km/h is the speed they can reach in WASP-127b. WASP-127b. Exoplanet WASP-127b is located in our own galaxy, about 500 light years from Earth. The planet was discovered in 2016 and has since attracted interest from the astronomical community. It is a planet very little densewith a volume somewhat larger than that of Jupiter (it is approximately 1.3 times its size) and a mass only 0.16 times the mass of the gas giant in our solar system. We also know about this planet that it orbits close to its star, so much so that it is believed to be in the state we know as tidal lock. That is, like the Moon with the Earth, WASP-127b orbits its star while rotating on itself, always offering the same face to it. Supersonic winds. The team responsible for the study used the CRIRES+ instrument of the VLT observatory to analyze the climate of the planet WASP-127b. The team was analyzing how light from the star WASP-127 interacted with the planet’s outer atmosphere to understand its composition when they came across a double peak in the spectrum, which seems to indicate that part of the atmosphere is moving towards us and part is moving away. moves away, both at high speed. “Part of the atmosphere of this planet is moving towards us at great speed, while another part is moving away from us with the same alacrity,” explained in a press release Lisa Nortmann, who led the study of the planet’s winds. “This signal shows us that there are very fast, supersonic winds around the planet’s equator.” With these data, the team estimated that the speed at which the atmosphere was moving could reach 9 kilometers per second, or in other words, about 33,000 km/h, something never seen until now. Job details were published in an article in the magazine Astronomy & Astrophysics. More than wind. The study of the planet’s atmosphere allowed us to learn other details about WASP-127b’s atmosphere and its climate, for example, its composition. The team was able to confirm the presence of water vapor in this atmosphere, as well as carbon monoxide molecules. They also observed that the atmosphere showed slight differences in temperature on its day side compared to its night side. “This shows that the planet has complex weather patterns like those of Earth and other planets in the solar system,” added Fei Yan, co-author of the work. In Xataka | The most extreme weather is not on our planet Image | IT/L. Calçada

Thousands of Ukrainians have escaped from Russian occupation. Many others have not achieved it … because of their phones

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In wars are hundreds of terrible paradoxes. A few months ago we had one that was given on the Russian side revealing a cruel and murky equation that encourages military participation: There are Russian soldiers that “are worth” more dead than alive in its origin regions. On the Ukrainian sidewalk there are also circumstances as incomprehensible as that a citizen’s personal phone is his cross to escape the war. The importance of phones to flee. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, thousands of Ukrainians have tried to escape the occupied territories, facing an extremely dangerous and complex process. At this point the figure of people like Stefan Vorontsovwho fled from the occupation of Nova Kajovka in 2022 and directs the humanity organizationwhich has helped more than 6,000 people escape from the south and east of Ukraine through Russia, the only viable route due to the impossibility of crossing the front line. However, the success of these evacuations depends largely on previous preparation, and a crucial factor, as explained, is The total cleaning of the mobile phones of the evacuees. The reason? That the Russian authorities meticulously inspect each device at the border control points, and do so looking for any indication of loyalty to Ukraine. The escape process and the “legends.” I counted these days Kajovka that to cross the border to Russia, Ukrainians must have a credible story or “legend” that justify their trip. These false narratives are meticulously designed to avoid suspicions, presenting reasons such as medical visits in Russian hospitals or recreational trips to the Black Sea. That said, Young people apparently face greater difficultiessince any trace of Pro-Ukrainian activity in its social networks can be a reason for detention. In this regard, Russian authorities thoroughly question the evacueesreviewing its devices, contacts, searches and social networks, looking for words in Ukrainian, images of the national flag or connections with the Ukrainian army. The trick: clean the mobile. To increase your chances of success, Humanity advises evacuated to eliminate maps, photos of sensitive infrastructure and suspicious contacts. In addition, he suggests adding “Russian” elements in his digital profiles, such as following prorruse Telegram channels or subscribing to Russia favorable content on platforms such as YouTube. In fact, The organization uses Telegram secret chats To discreetly coordinate every step of the evacuation, minimizing the risk of communication being intercepted. Dangers at control points. The crossing points in Crimea and Rostov of the Don are controlled by the Russian forces, which subject those evacuated to those interviews that can last, according to the organization, up to six hours, with questions designed to cause emotional reactions and detect Ukrainian sympathies. At this point and how they underline, An error in the narrative can result in prisondeportation to remote regions of Russia or forced disappearances, as has happened with several acquaintances of Vorontsov. Here, the elderly, children and sick people are more likely to cross successfully, although the situation has become more difficult over time, according to Vorontsov. The passport. Since January 2024, Russia demands that all Ukrainians get a Russian passport In order to get out of the occupied territories, a measure that has further complicated evacuations and has increased pressure on young people to join the Russian armed forces. This new regulation represents an additional obstacle, since many are forced to choose between clandestine resistance or acceptance of Russian citizenship under coercion. Logistics and financing. Humanity Organize transport with drivers with a license to bring those evacuated to safe points in Crimea or Rostov del Don. If the evacuees cannot arrive by their own means, the organization covers the expenses of taxis, accommodation and food. In this regard, they compete with Russian conductors that charge inflated rates of up to $ 400 per person, while Humanity spends less than $ 50 per transfer. With everything and despite the economic difficulties, in 2024 they managed to evacuate 360 ​​Ukrainians, including 106 children, as well as several domestic animals. By the way, The organization operates without profitdepending exclusively on donations to finance train tickets, bus and other logistics expenses. Image | President of Ukraine In Xataka | For months the North Koreans were “ghosts” in Ukraine. Now that they are a reality the dilemma is what to do with them In Xataka | Ukraine has found a drawing on the battlefield. The sacrifice of the North Koreans has been revealed to evade drones

How Luzia has become the greatest success produced by Spain

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The appearance of chatgpt in November 2022 unleashed a revolution and among those who managed to take advantage of the opportunity were those responsible for Luzia. This chatbot, created in Spain, became very soon a viral phenomenon. He succeeded Thanks to your ability to transcribe WhatsApp voice audios. Suddenly we could “forward” our contact of light on WhatsApp any voice message, which led to the chatbot turning that audio message into a text. The function managed to make Luzia become a really remarkable service very fast. In fact, it was the fastest growing startup in Europe, to the reach a million users faster than Instagram, Spotify and Dropbox did. Today Luzia has 60 million users worldwide, and is present in 60 countries. The project has managed to capture more than 30 million euros of financing, and although the transcription function remains an important part of its options, Luzia – which is still free— Compete with other multimodal chatbots: It allows among other things to translate and summarize texts, solve complex calculations, generate images or talk about issues of all kinds – including personal – empathically. Luzia is available as a free App and Android mobile app, but is also available on WhatsApp with more limited functions. For example, in the WhatsApp version it is not possible to generate images and the number of avatars or “light” is limited. The voice transcription in WhatsApp of Lightia brought one thing: virality The truth is that since its launch many things have happened in the field of AI and the proposals that manufacturers are making us reach, and it was a good time to know what the current state and the future of light is. For this we have been able to talk to Álvaro Higes, CEO of Luzia. The best known and viral function of light was undoubtedly the transcription of audios in WhatsApp, but now this finishing messaging application offers precisely that option natively, being able to activate easily From WhatsApp settings. That, Higes told us, does not involve a problem for light. In their opinion, the transcription function allowed them to gain notoriety and virality, and in any case they will continue to offer it because according to him “WhatsApp will be better integrated, but Luzia is better, especially in multi -mounted.” In its beginnings this chatbot was based on the OpenAi APIS to talk and answer questions, and on the Whisper For audio transcription. Things have changed, and now the panorama is much more diverse for light. For Higes “the models are Commodities For users, They are almost indistinguishableso what we have done a lot is to improve efficiency but also improve product. “What they do, explained, is to use more suppliers and choose one or the other according to complexity. This use of diverse models also applies in the “personalities” of light, virtual avatars configured to be especially suitable in certain scenarios. This option joins the gamification that they apply in Luzia and that is inspired by what is used in Duolingo. As Higes explained to us, many users use the AI ​​for the first time and have that “wow effect”, but then they don’t know what they could do with these tools. Gamification helps in that and makes us use and above all discover new IA options is more useful and fun. A business model to be defined There was another inevitable issue that was part of the conversation: what is the light business model? The platform can still be used for free even though using these APIs from different IA suppliers is not cheap. In fact, costs can be quickly multiplied if we consider that Luzia already has the aforementioned 60 million users. There are many requests that impose an expense, so how do they assume everything? The answer is simple. Those 30 million euros that he captured in the investment rounds are those that are allowing to provide this service without that at the moment being cost for users. As Higes explained, “Today we spend money from the roundsbut we have a future strategy. “ A potential business model “maybe ads and sponsored links” For him “it is difficult to charge for something that you do not know how to use it”, and he told us how at the beginning “the temptation was to put a paywall and charge for access.” That, he points out, would have allowed them to have initial income, “but we would have killed soon”, something that did happen with other competitors, he says. “Thanks to the venture capital we can understand the user’s profile, how these functions are used, what value is generated.” The ways of obtaining income are not yet completely defined, but confessed that a solution “maybe the ads and the sponsored links in the future “, as with the search engines. He indicated that they had already done small experiments about it, and certainly seems inevitable that sooner rather than later the advertising reaches these services: Perplexity is a good example of this. According to Higes, with end users “it will be very difficult to monetize via payment wall,” as premium services (Chatgpt plus, COPILOT PROetc), and for him “we are as in the principles of the Internet”, when everything, including the business model, was still to be defined. Future challenges for light and for AI We take the opportunity to ask Higes for their vision of the great trends in the AI ​​segment and the situation of the current models. Thus, we asked him what he thought of That possible “deceleration” that we are living. For him there is still a margin of improvement and although the differences of performance are lower, “there are many other ways of climbing the performance of the models, which will continue to improve.” On the models that “reason” as O1 or O3 confessed that “I am using o1 less than I expected“. For Higes” current models (chatgpt, claude, gemini) are good for 90% of use cases. “Meanwhile, O1 and … Read more

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