Mobile Tech & Gadgets

science explains what happens to your body (and your brain) depending on the time you choose

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In social circles, the truth is that there are sometimes very interesting debates about common customs, such as whether it is better to shower first thing in the morning or just before getting into bed. Here, while there is a group of people who defend tooth and nail the revitalizing power of water in the morning to “start” the day, others say that there is nothing like hot water at night to conclude sleep. And here science has something to say. It makes us sleep better. If you have trouble falling asleep, the science here suggests that a nighttime shower may be a good idea, and explained in a meta-analysis published in 2019 in the magazine Sleep Medicine which analyzed 17 different studies. Here it was concluded that bathing or showering with hot water between one and two hours before going to bed reduces the time to fall asleep by approximately 36%. Because? Here hot water is our main ally, since it warms the skin and, therefore, increases blood flow to the extremities such as the hands and feet. From here, when you get out of the shower, that heat dissipates quickly, causing a drop in the body’s core temperature. And this is the key, because this thermal drop mimics the natural cooling that our body experiences before sleeping, which sends an unequivocal signal to the brain to release melatonin, which is the sleep hormone, and reduce levels of cortisol, which is related to stress. It depends on the time. From a psychological point of view, morning and night showers fulfill completely opposite functions and it depends precisely on the time at which we take them. In the case of the morning showerthe goal is increase performance with the activation of the sympathetic system by stimulating muscle tone and, above all, preparing us for the stress of the day. In the case of the night shower, as we have said before, an attempt is made to activate the parasympathetic system with a longer and more leisurely duration of the shower with the aim of reducing the accumulated physical and mental tension, fulfilling the function of an authentic ritual of transition and disconnection. According to psychology. Here we enter territory that is not so clear, but which indicates, for example, that people who prefer a shower at night do so because they have a lower tolerance for dirt, which is why they prefer to remove all the sweat of the day before going to bed. But it is also noted that people who prefer solitude tend to prefer nighttime showers, precisely because, after a day full of stimuli, the bathroom becomes a capsule of sensory disconnection. In the end, it is a way to relax from everything that has happened throughout the day. Images | freepik In Xataka | Cooling down is the forgotten step in our exercise routines. And that affects how we shower

Wolves, bears and wild boars are dividing up the map of Spain and the real battle is between the rural world and the cities

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Wolves, bears, vultures, cormorants, wild boars, lynxes… When, a few months ago, Christian Gortázar, professor at the University of Castilla-La Mancha, was asked about Spanish wildlife, his words were tremendously accurate: “the problem is everywhere.” And dozens of species are being redistributed throughout traditional territory while rural and urban society confront each other over something extremely basic: what the hell nature is and what it is for. Why are we talking about this? Complaints from the agricultural sector about wildlife have been with us for years. However, in recent months (and spurred by the African swine fever crisis) the “mismanagement” framework has been gaining weight in public debate. But the truth is that the idea that “there are many animals and no one controls them” is not innocent. It is, in reality, a ‘discursive umbrella’: an idea-force that brings together very heterogeneous demands (the cuts from the future CAP, the fears derived from the Mercosur treatybureaucratic burdens, rising costs, rural identity, etc.). That is the main reason why the political debate does not fit with the scientific one, but not the only one. How to survive the end of the field. Talking about Spain being emptied today is almost obvious: 62% of Spanish municipalities has lost population since the nineties. In Castilla y León and Asturias that figure is around 85%. For the urban population it is only a sociological question, for the rural population it is an existential question. And in that context, the wolf has expanded to the southeast, the bear has doubled its area of ​​influence and the wild boar has sneaked into towns and neighborhoods (causing a complete economic and health earthquake). Regardless of the real effect of conservation measures on the rural world, it is easy for the feeling of general abandonment to curdle into an aversion to this way of seeing the countryside. A legitimate debate. From an ecological point of view, species recovery makes sense (as long as it is done properly). Degraded ecosystems lose the ability to adapt and become much more fragile: recovering species is the simplest and most cost-effective strategy. But we must not forget that these species return to a world completely different from the one they left and that the gaps they left are now occupied by “de facto powers” and realities historically established in the countryside and that still survive. And those powers They maintain that the ‘intervention’ of cities In their world it is counterproductive. The debate, as I say, is legitimate (and even healthy). And then? The real problem is not the discussion about whether the resources allocated to recovery measures would be better invested in other policies. The problem is that in the public debate the data and arguments are missing; and everything has become a partisan quagmire that is very difficult to manage. But the wildlife is still there. And the farmers too. In fact, all the actors who have taken us here are still there. The fundamental question is whether there is a future that can be understood as a solution. Image | Nancy Stapler In Xataka | Wolf hunting throughout Spain depended on a red button that changes its status. And Europe has decided to press it

A superyacht has just crossed Hormuz before the astonished gaze of the US and Iran. Its flag has confirmed that mines are not for everyone

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In 2019, during one of the highest recent tensions in the Persian Gulf, several marine insurers they raised their premiums so much that some shipowners chose to keep their ships anchored for weeks rather than crossing certain routes considered too dangerous. In parallel, other ships continued sailing with relative normality thanks to apparently minor details such as their registration or the documentation they carried, making it clear that, even in times of greatest uncertainty, not all ships play with the same rules. A strategic step converted into a global funnel. we have been counting. The Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil normally circulates, has become one of the most tense points of the planet after the outbreak of the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran, with traffic plummeting from more than 130 ships daily to just a few dozen and hundreds of ships trapped waiting for safe conditions. The situation has skyrocketed energy prices and generated a domino effect in global trade, while Tehran demands permits to cross and Washington threatens to intercept certain movements. In this scenario, crossing this bottleneck has become an operation fraught with military, legal and economic risks. Or maybe not so much. A superyacht that defies the blockade. Because in the midst of that collapse, he Northa luxury superyacht valued at just over $500 million and linked to the Russian oligarch Alexei Mordashovachieved what very few have achieved in recent weeks: crossing Hormuz from Dubai to Oman without incident. With more than 140 meters in length, several decks, a swimming pool, heliports and even a convertible hangar, its journey not only contrasts with the general paralysis of maritime traffic, but also makes it a striking anomaly in an environment where even large oil companies prefer not to take risks. Your journey, monitored in real timefollowed routes that other ships have used with some type of coordination in the area, although without official confirmation about permits. Alexey Mordashov The invisible key. Possibly the most revealing element of this episode is not in the luxury of the ship, but in how did he get through without being detained or attacked, in a context where any ship can become a target. Everything indicates that he achieved it with a combination of factors: not heading to Iranian ports (which would place it outside the direct focus of the US blockade), sailing through corridors tolerated by Iran and, above all, operating under a diffuse legal structure where the formal property does not entirely coincide with the real one. In other words, in an environment where each movement is interpreted as a political signal, the flag, the chosen route and the legal ambiguity act as a kind of tacit safe conduct that allows one to move between red lines without completely crossing them. Geopolitics, sanctions and alliances in the background. Of course, the journey of North cannot be understood without the political background that surrounds it, marked by the close relationship between Russia and Iran and by the fact that Vladimir Putin maintains a strategic support to Tehran in full escalation with the West. Mordashov, one of the men richest in Russia and sanctioned for the United States and the European Union since the invasion of Ukraine, you have already seen other seized assetswhich has led many oligarchs to move their assets to safer jurisdictions. In this context, the passage of the yacht through Hormuz also becomes a sign of the extent to which certain networks of power and alliances can influence what, in theory, should be a total blockade. A symptom of how conflicts work. Beyond the anecdote, the episode reflects a dynamic increasingly common in contemporary conflicts: while great powers impose restrictions and threats, they always there are gray spaces where specific actors manage to move thanks to combinations of diplomacy, crossed interests and legal loopholes. The fact that a luxury superyacht can cross one of the most dangerous points on the planet in the middle of a crisis, while hundreds of ships remain immobilized and frightened by mines and drones in the surrounding area, illustrates how power is not only measured in military capacity, but also in ability to browse (literally and figuratively) between rules that are not always applied uniformly. Image | POT, Wolfgang Fricke In Xataka | The US resurrected the “right of prey” to capture a ship from China: the problem is that China has taken note In Xataka | Ukraine taught how to use drones. Iran has gone one step further: turning them into a crusher for US radars and bases

VivaGym buys Synergym and creates the first Iberian fitness giant

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VivaGym, the gym chain low cost controlled by the American fund Providence Equity Partners, has closed the purchase of Synergym in what will be, when regulators give the go-ahead, the largest business operation in the history of the fitness Spanish. The resulting group will exceed 450 clubs between Spain and Portugal, will have a turnover of more than 270 million euros and will have close to one million members. according to account The Confidential. It is the biggest move by Cristina Burzako, former director of Movistar+, since she took over in November 2025, and Providence’s fourth purchase in the Iberian market since she landed in VivaGym two years ago. Why is it important. Spain has 1.4 million more gym subscribers than two years ago. The exercise craze is as real as it is recent (on this scale), and has reached the point where the social trend becomes an investment thesis. In figures. The sector’s jump explains why Providence is hitting the accelerator right now: 6.2 million subscribers in Spain at the end of 2024, compared to 4.8 million in 2022. 29% more in two years. The sector invoiced 1,650 million euros in 2025. More than double that before the pandemic, a clear turning point. 3.3% of the Spanish GDP is already represented by sport and fitnesscompared to 1.5%-2% of the European average. The backdrop. The gym fever in Spain is not an intuition, it is a statistical series that we have verified with the five-year CSD surveys on sporting habits. And depending on how you measure it, it tells two stories that point in the same direction. The Ministry’s official survey shows how many Spaniards say they subscribe to a gym, including municipal sports centers and sports clubs. The EuropeActive series, on the other hand, measures only subscriptions to private chains, which are the ones that VivaGym and Synergym dispute. The former has gone from 3% to 30.7% in a quarter of a century. The second has added 1.3 million net members since 2015. The two curves accelerate from 2022. Between the lines. The key phrase was said by Juan del Río, former CEO of VivaGym, a few months ago: “A regional champion should not have less than 500 gyms on the peninsula if he wants to defend himself well.” how to collect Play2book. That figure marks the threshold that VivaGym has just touched. It is the same logic that Mercadona, Dia and Lidl applied two decades ago, or Ryanair and Vueling shortly after: When a business depends on tight margins and volume, size stops being an option and becomes a condition of survival. A chain of 100 gyms does not negotiate the same rents as one of 500. It does not buy equipment at the same prices. You can’t afford the same investment in branding. He low cost It only works if you are big, and you are only big if you buy from someone who is not yet big. Providence does not buy gyms to manage them, it buys them to build a platform large enough to squeeze the landlords, squeeze purchasing centers and, when the time comes, sell to another fund or take it public. It is the same manual with which the oligopolies of the retail food and European aviation low cost. The contrast. The mirror is Basic-Fit, the listed Dutch operator that has more than 1,500 clubs in Europe and has shown that the model scales. It went from 90 to 139 centers in Spain in a single year. They are known for being “the ones with the backpacks”. VivaGym aspires to something similar, backpacks aside, but without leaving the Iberian Peninsula. But there is an important difference: Basic-Fit is a listed company. VivaGym, on the other hand, remains owned by a fund that, sooner or later, will want to exit. Yes, but. The sector has a common flaw: profitability is elusive. Between 2020 and 2023, the fifteen main chains accumulated more than 420 million euros in losses. In 2023, only five companies turned a profit. Billing is growing, but rents, debt and investment in openings eat into the margins. He low cost It works if you have scale. Without it, it’s a race against debt. The big question. Who is next? Synergym is not Providence’s first purchase in Spain, but the third: in the summer of 2024 absorbed ten Smartfit clubs and in November of the same year acquired Altafit for around 200 million euros. The operation with Synergym is the fourth coup in less than two years. There remain mid-sized players who fit into a second round: McFit, Fitness Park, Anytime Fitness, BeOne and a handful of regional chains. But the margin is getting smaller: the top ten chains already concentrate 54% of the market, according to DBK. The first five, 37%. The pattern is the same as always: when a sector begins to appeal to international capital, it stops being an open market and becomes an accelerated oligopoly. It happened with supermarkets, telecoms and airlines low cost. Gym fever is real. What is not yet clear is who will keep the account. In Xataka | The big lie of “cuqui fitness”: sport has been disguised as therapy to charge you more money Featured image | VivaGym

Taylor Swift has stopped by the patent office with two phrases and a photo. Its objective is to stop generative AI

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Two phrases spoken in promotions for their latest album and a photograph from a concert from the ‘Eras ​​Tour’. Taylor Swift has simply registered that with the US Patent and Trademark Office as a strategy to shield herself from generative AI. He is not the first famous person to walk this path, but he is the first so famous. AI is already beyond the control of platforms and courts: will it succeed when the (inevitable) clash with one of the most powerful people in today’s entertainment industry arrives? The record. On April 24, Swift’s company, TAS Rights Management, submitted three applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). They were detected and analyzed by the lawyer specialized in intellectual property Josh Gerben: two are sound markssound marks with the phrases “Hey, it’s Taylor Swift” and “Hey, it’s Taylor”, taken from promotional introductions to her album ‘The Life of a Showgirl’. The third is a visual mark: Swift with a pink guitar and black strap, bodysuit multicolored and silver boots, on a pink stage. Legal loopholes. Generative AI can replicate a person’s voice without having to copy any specific file, usually protected by copyright. The model learns the timbre, the cadence, the phonetic pattern, and then generates completely new audios. Classic tools to protect copyright are of no use here. The loophole that Gerben believes can protect Taylor (and the rest of the artists) is the “trademark law” that pursues any use that is “confusingly similar” to something registered, that is, anything that is similar enough to generate confusion. A complicated story. Swift comes to this decision after a long history of clashes with AI. In January 2024, a flood of pornographic images generated with AI They spread across X with such speed that the platform had to temporarily block searches for their name. They had been originated on 4chanwhere users competed to avoid the filters of platforms such as DALL-E or Microsoft Designer. And in the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump shared artificially generated images which suggested that Swift supported him. It’s not the first. Taylor Swift has a precedent in the guild. In January of this year, Matthew McConaughey became the first Hollywood actor to use this strategy on a large scale: eight trademarks that include video clips, audio recordings and his famous phrase “Alright, alright, alright” with which he debuted in ‘Movida del 76’. Paradoxically, McConaughey is an investor in ElevenLabs, a company specializing in AI voice cloning. Another trivial precedent. In 2024, Scarlett Johansson publicly denounced that OpenAI had released a voice for its GPT-4o chatbot that sounded “eerily similar” to hers, even though Johansson had previously declined an offer to lend her voice. OpenAI withdrew it, but without giving any explanation as to whether it was due to legal pressure or for another reason. It was a small victory for artists in this field, but without a judicial resolution that could set a precedent. The doubts. Gerben believes that there may be, thanks to this move by Swift, some deterrent potential: “in theory, if a lawsuit were filed over the use of Swift’s voice by an AI, she could claim that any use of her voice that sounds like the trademark violates her trademark rights.” Of course, he acknowledges that “the strategy of registering yourself has not yet been tested in court with respect to AI.” Swift and McConaughey are literally opening avenues that it is not yet clear how they will work legally. In Xataka | After destroying her tour, her film and being the queen of streaming, Taylor Swift achieves a new milestone: being a billionaire

This TV is at an outlet price at El Corte Inglés

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Until a while ago, putting a TV larger than 80 inches in the living room was something reserved for four-figure budgets. Although this is something that can be done easily now on a lower budget. For example, in El Corte Inglés they are liquidating this television Hisense 85E7Q Pro. Now it has a 45% discount and has gone from costing 1,549 to 849.15 euros. Hisense 85E7Q Pro – QLED Smart TV The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A big TV at a reduced price It is not only a TV big; It is a panel that has been designed to convince two types of very demanding users: gamers who want to see everything in a big way and movie buffs who seek immersion. The panel of this TV is type 85 inch QLED and thanks to technology Quantum Dotcolor reproduction is more vibrant and accurate than traditional LED panels. On the other hand, while the industry standard for large format is stuck at 60 Hz refresh rate or 120 Hz, Hisense breaks the rules by offering a 144Hz native refresh ratewhich benefits those who watch action movies (offering cinematic smoothness) and also the latest generation gaming users. For them, it includes support for VRR and AMD FreeSync Premium. Another thing that large televisions usually fail in is the audio, since it is usually poor and forces us to buy a sound bar. Although Hisense has taken advantage of the 85-inch chassis of this TV to integrate a 2.1 sound system with dedicated subwooferso you can enjoy better sound quality. The operating system under which this TV works is VIDAA U7a software that feels more mature than its predecessors. It has a light interface, although it is true that it lacks the immense library of apps of Google TV. ⚡ IN SUMMARY: offer for the Hisense 85E7Q Pro smart TV today ✅ THE BEST The fluidity of 144 Hz: It is very rare to find an 85-inch TV with this refresh rate at this price. To play with a high-end PC or new generation consoles, it offers very good smoothness. Plus, if you like watching sports on TV, the movement is clear. Immersion/price ratio: Basically, it is the cheapest and most reliable way to have a two-meter-wide cinema at home with more than decent image quality. ❌ THE WORST The viewing angles… Use a VA type panel to get better blacks. The problem is that if you sit too far to the side, you will see the colors much paler and whitish than the one in the center. It is, basically, a TV to watch from the front. Size can also be your con… Not only are you going to need a huge piece of furniture, but the heat management and electrical consumption of such a large panel is considerable. In addition, any imperfection in the signal is multiplied by 10 on this 85-inch TV. 💡 BUY IT IF… You want to set up your own home theater without the complications of a projector (which requires total darkness and maintenance). It is the cheapest way to have a screen larger than two meters with very competitive image quality. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… You have a small or narrow living room. If the distance between your eyes and the screen is less than 2.5 or 3 meters, 85 inches can be torture. You will have to move your neck to see from one side of the image to the other and you will notice imperfections in the antenna signal. Some accessories for this TV that may interest you Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Hisense HS2100 – Sound Bar 2.1, 240W The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Webedia and Hisense In Xataka | Best televisions in quality price. Which one to buy and seven recommended 4K smart TVs In Xataka | Best sound bars in quality price. Which one to buy and seven recommended models from 140 euros

China is filling up with products from Russia. The problem is that many of these products come from China itself.

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At the beginning of 2025, a more than notable event occurred in China. Apparently, trade tensions between Beijing and the EU had opened a new scenario for Russian livestock farmers. In other words, if Spain had made a fortune exporting pork to China, an unexpected enemy appeared on the horizon: Russia. It seems that the hype of Moscow goes much further than “its” pig, and in 2026 has been maintained. Russian Chinese stores. Yes, in recent years a situation has been occurring that no one saw coming: the proliferation of stores selling Russian products in cities throughout China, generating great interest among consumers. These establishments, easily recognizable by their signs in Cyrillic, traditional Russian music such as Kalinka and Katyusha, and/or the display of iconic products such as matryoshka dolls, offer a variety of products: from national sausages to chocolates, honey, vodka or durian confectionery. Thus, with slogans such as “hardcore products” and a blue and white aesthetic, the stores seek to evoke the essence of Moscow. However, as we will see, behind this facade many are more Chinese than they look. The figures. The boom has also coincided with an increase in commercial ties between China and Russia, driven by Western sanctions on Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine, the same ones that have led to Russian ranchers in the Asian nation. Not only that. Bilateral trade reached historic levels in 2022 and 2023and Chinese consumers responded enthusiastically, seeing these products as a way to show solidarity with Russia. According to data from the Qichacha business registry, In January 2025 there were 3,555 companies registered in China engaged in the trade of Russian productswith 696 and 894 new companies registered in 2023 and 2024, respectively. They are not Russian, they are Chinese. Of course, the boom also raised suspicions. In fact, the boom faced increasing scrutiny last year. Many consumers began to question the authenticity of the products offered. Sausages, for example, cannot be legally imported from Russiaand the durian, a tropical fruit, is not typical of Russian regions as far as we know. This led Chinese authorities to investigate some of these stores. For example in Fujian, where a Russian market was pointed out for promoting false health benefits and labeling domestic foods as imported. In Beijing, similar stores closed after several inspections that required proof of the authenticity of their products. In fact, in 2025 the Shanghai authorities announced investigations against seven of the 47 Russian themed stores of the city, accusing them of misleading customers regarding the origin of their products. Some were closedwhile others faced fines and the obligation to clearly label products…made in China. Finally, a Jiemian News investigation revealed that a large part of the food products in the so-called “Russian State Houses” (franchises with no connection to the Russian government) They were locally produced.. Factors of interest. The initial success of these markets and establishments can be attributed to several factors. On the one hand, consumers’ curiosity and desire to explore “exotic” productssomething that has surely played an important role. On the other hand, the geopolitical narrative surely also did its thing: the war in ukraine and tensions with the West caused some Chinese consumers to view consumption of Russian products as a gesture of political support. Furthermore, we must not forget that the increase in bilateral trade was facilitated by the exclusion of Russia from the Swift financial system in 2022forcing the country to become more dependent on the Chinese yuan. This made China Russia’s main trading partner, absorbing products such as oil, gas and food at reduced prices. With an expiration date? The big question. Despite the boom, analysts like Zhang Yi, of iiMedia Research, They believe that the fashion will be temporaryalthough in 2026 they remain patent. The demand for Russian products in the Asian nation is based, a priori, on this novelty and perceived scarcity. Among the causes of the decline are that consumers have lost interest or competition between stores increases, at which time the popularity of these markets will probably decrease. This, added to the increasing doubts about the authenticity of the products Following investigations and regulatory pressure, they could accelerate their decline. Be that as it may, and in the face of growing skepticism, in Shanghai Some stores have changed their names to “Chinese-Russian Mutual Trade Stores” to reflect the true origin of their products. In Beijing, at least one store closed after failing to present documentation proving the authenticity of their imports. Long-term perspectives. Although trade between China and Russia still strongexperts predict that exchange volume could stabilize at $200 billiona figure lower than recent records. In the long term, a change in geopolitical relations, such as the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine, could allow Russia to normalize its trade ties with Europe, thereby reducing its dependence on China. Of course, this last scenario now seems very far away. Be that as it may, the rise of markets for Russian products in China reflects how geopolitical dynamics can influence consumer habits, at least in part. Of course, its sustainability is most uncertain due to the combination of regulatory pressures, doubts about the authenticity of the products and the eventual loss of consumer interest. Just in case, to the Russians they will always have the pork. Image | Weibo In Xataka | The biggest change in war is no longer drones: it is that Russia, the US and China are removing the human from the button In Xataka | Russia and China already had an advantage over the US in the Arctic. After Greenland, it has multiplied A version of this topic was published in 2025. We have updated it with information from 2026

He arrives and hides for as many hours as necessary until his objective appears

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In some sectors of the front in Ukraine, units began to detect something strange during the night: in the thermal cameras, small hot spots appeared motionless for hours on rooftops, roads or open fields, without anything happening… until at dawn one of them was suddenly activated and everything changed in a matter of seconds. The birth of the “patient” drone. The war in Ukraine has shaped a new figure on the battlefield, another one: a weapon that does not run or pursue targets, and that does not need to be shown, because it simply wait your moment. These are drones that arrive from the air, land silently and remain hidden for hours or even all night until their target appears, transforming combat into a matter of of patience and calculation where the decisive factor is no longer speed, but the ability to anticipate the enemy. This evolution has blurred the lines between mines, munitions and aircraft, creating a system that turns any logistics route, building or road into a latent trap. How to build an invisible ambush. They counted in Forbes The weekend that the success of these drones does not depend on improvisation, but on meticulous prior work based on signals intelligence, aerial surveillance and analysis of movement patterns to determine where and when to place each device. Once the point is chosen, the drone lands in an area that combines concealment and technical feasibility, often with landing gear modified to adapt to uneven terrain, and is connected via fiber optic (sometimes km) to avoid interference and reduce its detectable signature. From that moment on, a wait begins that can last for hours, with the operator waiting for a single opportunity in which the target enters the field of action. Attack without warning. In the videos that have started to circulate showing this type of ambush drone, whose term comes from the way the Russians have called it, Zhduns (“Waiters”)it can be seen that when the moment arrives, the blow is practically immediate and leaves very little room for reaction, since the device is activated from a minimum distance and without the acoustic warning typical of FPVs in flight. Although these systems usually load less explosive to compensate for the weight of the cable and structure, the factor of surprise compensates for this limitation, allowing precise and effective attacks that turn certain areas into psychologically hostile spaces for the enemy. The result is the creation of authentic “scary zones” where any movement can trigger an invisible attack. The war within the war. The response to these systems has generated an additional layer conflict in which there are drones that search for other drones before they “wake up”, using thermal cameras capable of detecting the residual heat of their components even when they are turned off. Added to this are more advanced sensorssweeping air patrols and the use of decoys to deceive the adversary, creating a constantly evolving game of ambushes, counter-ambushes and counter-ambushes that hardly anyone could have imagined a decade ago. In this surreal environment, superiority does not depend only on technology, but on who learns to adapt the fastest. From the air to the ground: robots that expand the trap. Yes, because this same concept of persistent risk is spreading to the ground with the increasing use of unmanned ground vehicleswhich no longer only transport supplies or evacuate wounded, but also participate in direct attacks and offensive operations. These systems allow reduce exposure of soldiers, taking on critical logistical tasks and, in some cases, holding positions for weeks or launching coordinated attacks against enemy positions. The integration of ground platforms with aerial drones adds a new dimension, allowing ambushes to be deployed from unexpected locations far from the front. Battlefield learning alone. If you also want, it is very possible that the next step points towards increasingly autonomous systems, with artificial intelligence capable of monitoring, detecting movement and alerting the operator, reducing human burden and multiplying the number of devices controlled simultaneously. Although there are technical and ethical limits, especially when it comes to identifying targets, the trend seems clear: battlefields saturated with machines capable of to wait indefinitelylearn from the environment and act at the right moment. In this scenario, war stops being a succession of visible confrontations and becomes a network of hidden threats where the most dangerous enemy is the one that has been waiting for hours (or days) without being seen. And with an unprecedented advantage: impossible to track your breath. Image | x In Xataka | Russia has an unprecedented enemy in the Ukrainian war: Japan has just landed with a weapon to take down its shaheds In Xataka | Ukraine has recalled the weapon used with Stalin to convince the US: literally, turning Donbas into “Donnyland”

Meta plans to cut 10% of its workforce in May. Its employees have been surviving a “28-day hell” for weeks

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When last week the news was leaked that Meta was going to lay off 10% of its staff (again), the company had no choice but to make its decision public through a statement before I’m ready for it. The director of human resources, Janella Gale, acknowledged the leak and confirmed what many already feared: around 10% of the workforce will receive their dismissal notice. next May 20. The problem is that no one knows yet which profiles or departments will be fired. As the employees themselves said, this wait is precisely what is hurting them the most. There is a date marked on the calendar, there are figures on the table (about 7,800 positions eliminated plus another 6,000 that will be left uncovered), but there are no names. And in that void, thousands of employees have been trying to work normally for weeks without knowing if they will continue to occupy that table next month. Four weeks in limbo. “Welcome to the 28 days of hell.” This is how a Meta employee summed up the situation in an internal forum, and the expression quickly spread through the company’s internal communication channels. As and as detailed Business Insiderthat same uncertainty is breathed in the publications of the employees in the Blind app, where anguish, black humor and unanswered questions are mixed about what criteria will determine who stays and who leaves. In Blindan employee asked how to find motivation to work during the next few weeks knowing that layoffs are a fact and we can only wait for the names to be given to make them effective. One response summed up the general mood: “I’m getting motivated to do things that I can put on my resume for my next job,” said a Meta employee. In Meta’s own internal forums, others claimed to be focused on demonstrating results quickly, before D-day arrives, in an attempt desperate to avoid dismissal. A state of anxiety that has already lasted since 2022. For many Meta workers, this round of layoffs is not an isolated surprise. Since 2022, the company has gone through several waves of cuts, and that has left its mark on the employees who kept their jobs when thousands (hundreds of thousands, actually) of colleagues were falling into the different rounds of dismissal that Meta has applied since 2022. One employee admitted to feeling more anguish about the possibility of surviving layoffs than about being fired, because those who stay know that they will have to take on a greater workload in an increasingly pressured company. This phenomenon, called survivor syndrome, It is more common than it seems and is fueled by that uncertainty of someone who faces a situation that they know and that they know will get worse, and that perhaps they will fall into the next round of layoffs. In fact, according to some comments in that application, some employees admit to having mentally disconnected from work, and there are even those who are considering maneuvering to be included on the layoff list and thus collect compensation. AI as a background to the cut. Another factor that contributes to undermining the morale of employees who must deal with “their 28-day hell” is that, in reality, these dismissals do not occur because they are doing their job poorly or because of the company’s financial problems, but rather because of a strategic bet that puts the AI as an absolute priority for the company. If there is only one dollar to spend, that dollar will be invested in AI. “We are doing this as part of our continuous effort to manage the company more efficiently and to compensate for the other investments we are making,” said Meta’s human resources manager in her statement. Goal plans to allocate between $115 billion and $135 billion in capital investment this year alone, double the capital that he destined in 2024 to this end, with artificial intelligence as the main destination of money. Mark Zuckerberg has been making it clear for months that AI is the absolute priority of the company, which leaves positions that are not aligned with the development of that technology in an increasingly complicated position. What awaits those who are fired. Meta cuts come at the same time as Microsoft announces early retirements volunteers for the first time in its 51-year history. This new strategy is raising alarm bells about whether AI-powered automation is starting to cause a structural labor crisis in the technology sector. According to the company’s statement, Meta employees who finally receive their dismissal letter on May 20 will receive compensation of 16 weeks of base salary plus two additional weeks for each year worked in the company. “We will also cover the cost of COBRA health insurance for US employees and their families for 18 months. Packages outside the United States will be similar, but will vary by country, as will local deadlines and processes,” states the internal Meta statement signed by Gale. In Xataka | “They blame AI for layoffs they would do anyway”: Sam Altman confirms that AI has been used as an excuse to lay off Image | Unsplash (Mariia Shalabaieva, Arif Riyanto)

Google has given them permission to use their AI in classified operations

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Google has given the Pentagon permission to use its AI models in classified military operations, thus joining OpenAI and xAI that They had already signed similar contracts previously. The AI ​​majors are joining the US military apparatus. Anthropic is left alone. what has happened. Google signed an agreement with the defense department last year worth 200 million dollars. This contract allowed the use of Google Cloud infrastructure and AI tools. The news now is that Google has given permission for the Pentagon to use the firm’s AI models in classified systems, for “any legitimate government purpose,” according to the New York Times. Why it is important. Google’s decision to allow the Pentagon to use its technology contrasts with the case of Anthropic, that ended up being blacklisted for refusing to eliminate safeguards against autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance. This set a precedent: accept the conditions or be excluded from the government market. Opacity. Speaking to the New York Times, a Google spokeswoman said the company remains committed “that AI should not be used for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weaponry without appropriate human oversight.” However, they have not given specific details of the agreement and the fact that it will be used in “classified work” makes us wonder if Google really maintains some control or if it is simply an empty statement. Employees against. At least 560 Google employees have signed an open letter to its CEO, Sundar Pichai, in which they ask him to reject the agreement. Employees argue that AI should be in the service of humanity, not for military purposes that include lethal autonomous weapons and mass surveillance. “The only way to ensure that Google is not associated with such damages is to reject any classified workloads. Otherwise, such uses could occur without our knowledge or ability to prevent them.” New principles. Internal resistance at Google to the use of AI in military contexts is something that has been going on for a long time. In 2018, several employees resigned in protest to Google’s participation in Project Maven, the military program that used AI to identify people and objects to improve drone attacks. Google ended up leaving the project and pledged not to work on AI for weapons, but in 2025 that clause disappeared from its AI principles. Things have changed radically: today, big tech is more aligned with the US military than ever before. Image | Xataka In Xataka | Anthropic faced a long winter on the US “blacklist”: justice has saved it on the horn

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