The rental market is so broken in Spain that more and more tenants are facing a reality: record overcrowding

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In Spain he increasingly lives more lonely people. And every time he lives more people crowded also. I know: it sounds contradictory, but that is the curious reality drawn by the studies that are in charge of ‘x-raying’ the country’s homes. As paradoxical, counterintuitive and even ironic as it may be, statistical observatories such as the INE or Eurostat confirm that while a part of Spain is forced to live in overcrowded conditions, sharing a house or even fourththe number of single-person households is growing at such a speed that in a few years they will probably be the most common in Spain. That tells us a lot about how the country, its society, the economy and (also) the residential market are changing. Overcrowded Spain. Among its many functions, Eurostat is responsible for reviewing every year how the overcrowding data from the different countries of Europe. Said like this, the concept ‘overcrowded’ may sound subjective, but its technicians have a clear guideline to distinguish what is (and what is not) a home. ‘overcrowded’. In general terms, a home is considered saturated when it does not have a room for each couple, for each adult or for each two young people of the same sex. In Spain that is a reality they deal with more and more people. Especially if we talk about people who live in rented houses. A percentage: 9.5%. The data from Spain leave two clear readings. The first, positive one, is that in our country the overcrowding rate It is much lower than that of other European nations. At a general level (if we take into account all types of housing, owned and rented, both in the free and regulated markets) Eurostat calculates that 9.5% of the population Spanish resides in ‘overcrowded’ houses. Although in practice this is equivalent to millions of people, it is far from the 16.8% average of the 27 EU countries or the ratio of states such as France (10.8%), Italy (24.3%), Portugal (12.7%) or Germany (11.7%). That’s the positive part. The negative part is how the indicator has evolved. In Spain the overcrowding rate has not stopped growing in the last five years until it is at its highest level in the last decade. For reference, in 2018 marked 4.7% and in 2016 it was at 5.4%. The EU average has advanced at a much slower pace. In fact, it has been practically stagnant for years. around 16.8%a value somewhat lower than that recorded in 2016, when it was around 18%. A tenant problem. The Eurostat data They reveal something else: although there is no market that escapes overcrowding, not everyone suffers from it equally. Its incidence is especially high when we talk about people who reside in homes rented at market prices. That is, without taking into account protected housing. In that case the overoccupation rate shoots up to reach 20.5%. What does that mean? That a fifth of Spanish tenants who have rented houses on the free market live in what Eurostat considers overcrowded conditions. Once again, the figure is below the EU average (23.8%) or the rate of nations such as Italy, but it exceeds the indicators for France (18.6%), Germany (18.3%) or the Netherlands (8.3%). And again too stands out for its evolution. Beyond the comparison with the rest of the EU, the reality is that this 20.5% is considerably above the 12.5% ​​in 2016 and represents the highest value since at least 2014. Spain General overcrowding rate Overcrowding rate among tenants in the free market 2016 5.4 12.5 2017 5.1 12.4 2018 4.7 12.8 2019 5.9 16.3 2020 7.6 18.8 2021 6.4 15.4 2022 6.6 14.9 2023 7.6 17.5 2024 9.1 20 2025 9.5 20.5 What is the reason for this increase? A sum of factors, as stated this week The Country in an analysis on the increase in overcrowding in Spain. One of those (crucial) elements is how the housing market has performed in recent years. Idealistic reveals that in general the price of rents has almost doubled in the last decade, at least if we talk about nominal values (without taking into account the effect of inflation): from €7.7/m2 in April 2016 we have gone to €15/m2. In highly stressed markets, such as the one from Palmathat increase has been even more pronounced. The increase in housing prices (extended to both the rental and purchase markets) directly influences the behavior of families. Not only does it limit the options that those looking for housing can choose from, it also complicates emancipation and assume the rent of an apartment without sharing expenses. Not to mention that the imbalance between supply and demand can lead some landlords to opt for renting single rooms and makes it difficult for families who, after growing up (due to reunification or the birth of children) aspire to a larger apartment. A more populated country. There is another key factor. The increase in the overcrowding rate coincides with the general growth of the Spanish registry. According to the INE, at the beginning of 2026 they resided in the country 49.57 million people. Not only is this 440,000 more than a year before, it also represents “the maximum value in the historical series,” in words of the INE. This growth is also supported by immigration, which broke its own record. In January, the foreign-born population exceeded the ten million of people. Why is it important? Although inflation may have led some families to rent part of their homes to make mortgage payments more bearable, it is not unreasonable to think that this increase in migration explains in some way the rate of overcrowding. The economist José García Montalvo remember in The Country that the foreign population tends to group together in support networks and part of the migrants who arrive in Spain choose, at least at first, to settle in the homes of people they already know. “So where three live, five end up living,” he illustrates. In any case, the phenomenon … Read more

A US company claims it can build a cutting-edge lithography machine. ASML says not even remotely

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Substrate is not just another startup. It was founded in 2022 by brothers James and Oliver Proud, and is backed by Peter Thiel (he co-founded PayPal and is one of the largest investors in Silicon Valley). Despite having existed for only four years, it has raised more than 100 million dollars and has been valued at more than 1 billion. This very successful start-up is based on a promise: the Proud brothers claim that they can build photolithography equipment as advanced as the most sophisticated they have. the Dutch company ASML. Currently this firm from the Netherlands is the only one capable of manufacturing the machines extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) that are used to produce cutting-edge semiconductors, which has placed it in an effective monopoly position in the global semiconductor industry. In the current scenario of confrontation with China, the US is interested in having a national company capable of manufacturing cutting-edge lithography equipment. This is Substrate’s trump card. However, we have reasonable grounds for reluctantly taking up the promise of the Proud brothers. “No one is coming for us” Christophe Fouquet, the general director of ASML, assures that no company on the planet is in a position to compete with them. During a conversation with Connie Loizos, an editor at TechCrunch, Fouquet has argued that “the challenges of lithography are many. Being able to make an image is a starting point, but that image must be produced in large quantities, at very low cost, at high speed and with nanometric precision.” It makes sense. “We had to solve only one problem: obtaining extreme ultraviolet light. And that alone took us 20 years” “I always say that the only reason ASML was able to build an EUV machine is because 80% of it already existed from prior knowledge and products developed over time. We had to solve just one problem: getting the extreme ultraviolet light. And that alone took us 20 years. When starting from scratch, the challenge is enormous. I have heard many statements. And I have seen some images. But we got our first image with EUV technology 30 years ago, and even then we need 20 more years of hard work to turn it into a manufacturing system,” points out the head of ASML. It is clear that Christophe Fouquet trusts his technology. And in your product. However, the starting point of Substrate is different from that of ASML. This American startup uses a particle accelerator as a light source for an X-ray lithography tool instead of using extreme ultraviolet light like ASML. According to the Proud brothers Their technology allows them to manufacture a silicon wafer at an order of magnitude lower cost than with ASML’s EUV approach. Be that as it may, there is another fundamental difference between the ASML and Substrate strategies. And instead of supplying machines to chip manufacturers, as ASML does, Substrate wants to establish its own network of semiconductor production plants equipped with its photolithography machines. Furthermore, its plan is very ambitious: it aims to produce cutting-edge integrated circuits on a large scale in 2028. It sounds daring, no doubt, but time, as always, will put everything in its place. Image | ASML More information | TechCrunch In Xataka | TSMC has made the chip industry’s most intriguing decision: not to use ASML’s most advanced machines

fines of up to 30,000 euros

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Do you charge 2,320 euros per month? You’re lucky because you can rent an 80 square meter apartment in Ibiza. Of course, you won’t have any money left for anything else. Not even for those small luxuries like eating or showering. These are the data if we take as reference the 29 euros/m2 that, according to Idealista, It is difficult to live on rent in Ibiza city. That is if we take into account that the data is from the month of February, because in summer prices have been exceeded in recent years, reaching 32 euros/m2. Everything indicates that the pressure on rental prices will increase. They point out in The Voice of Ibiza that the Balearic Islands have become the Autonomous Community where the most pressure is expected on rental prices, with an average increase of more than 4,000 euros at the end of the year, as a result of the renewal of contracts that expire this year. The problem recurs every year. The New York Times addressed this problem in 2024 in a report in which voice was given to firefighters, teachers or police destined for Ibiza and who could not pay the rental bill. Entrenched and without solutions, the housing problem has created a series of settlements of workers who spend the night in tents and caravans unable to afford an apartment or rooms for which they have been asking 1,000 euros for years. On an island where tourism and luxury hotels drive the economy, a considerable number of workers do not have a roof over their heads. The solution to some of them went through live in a caravan. Now Ibiza has expelled 200 of them and it is being protected against this type of settlements. Legal, until it isn’t Last January, A post on Tiktok went viral of a woman who worked as a seasonal worker in the Tena Valley (Huesca). “I am a temporary worker and I come to work in the Tena Valley. The rents are 800 euros and I am not going to share a flat. I prefer to live in the van with my cat (…) I don’t understand why they focus on me when I don’t break the regulations,” she noted in the video. The video showed how the police asked him to leave the town where he had parked his motorhomewhere he lived. The truth is that he was right, nothing prevented him from living in his house on wheels as long as it was parked legally and he did not take objects outside, which could be considered camping. But this case cannot be completely extrapolated. to the entire national territory. Municipalities or autonomous communities can apply their own restrictions to prevent camping. This is the case of the Balearic Islands, which has decided to protect itself against the entry of caravans. Since last year, and with the excuse of putting limitations on tourism, Ibiza imposed a maximum number of cars that could enter its islands. Since then, there can be no more than 20,000 non-resident cars driving on its roads. But, of them, 16,000 cars belong to rental fleets. And if you want to move around the island with a caravan you have to prove that you have the camping nights already booked. This last measure included in the Law 5/2024 on vehicle control It is one of the weapons that are being used on the island to evict those living in a caravan. In fact, the third additional provision reads the following: In order to avoid the proliferation of motor vehicles parked in certain places for long periods and that are used, in practice, for camping and overnight stays, the prolonged parking of motor vehicles on the rural land of the island outside of the existing public parking lots specially enabled for this purpose is prohibited. Long-term parking is considered to be staying parked in the same location for more than three days. Camping and overnight stays with motor vehicles on the rustic land of the island of Ibiza outside the legally existing tourist camps are prohibited. Any type of parking of motor vehicles on the rural land of the island of Ibiza is prohibited if they do not have the accreditation of entry and/or permanence on the island regulated by this law. The previous regulations, therefore, aim to the Law of Rustic Land of the Balearic Islands in which exactly what rustic land is is defined. And according to the description we read in article 7 of said law, rustic land is practically any non-urban space on the island. Therefore, the prohibitions described above make any parking illegal in spaces considered “rustic land”, which includes all types of trucks next to the road or towns. They are spaces that tourists with caravans have usually taken advantage of to sleep but that have also been used by the island’s own workers. The problem is not small. And it is that in article 8 of the Vehicle Control Law it is specified that “the Plenary Session of the Ibiza Island Council” may “agree to temporarily limit the influx and/or parking of motor vehicles” where it is considered that there is too much influx of vehicles following a report from the affected city council if they consider that environmental damage may occur in “certain spaces with natural, heritage or landscape values.” This makes it easier for caravan settlements of workers who cannot find housing are dismantled. And the fine is no small thing. In its sanctioning regime, a driver who enters one of the described areas can be punished with a fine of between 300 and 1,000 euros, as it is considered a minor offense. But when it comes to spending the night, things get complicated. And the very serious sanctions include contravening the third additional provision, the one in which it is explained that a person cannot spend the night outside the spaces specifically designed for it. In this case, fines of 10,001 to 30,000 euros and … Read more

the radical plan for buyers to take control

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The world faces “the greatest threat to energy security in history.” As warned by the International Energy Agency (IEA)Europe has aviation fuel reserves for only “about six weeks.” Along the same lines, countries like Pakistan or the Philippines are days away from running out of gasoline at their pumps. The war and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz have caused the largest oil supply disruption ever recorded in history. According to Maurizio Carulli, analyst at Quilter Cheviot in statements to Euronewsthe prolonged closure of this key corridor has removed about 12% of the world’s oil supply from the market, an impact far greater than that of the Yom Kippur War or the invasion of Kuwait. For 65 years, the global dynamic has been immutable: the producing countries, grouped in OPEC, have dictated the volumes and the rules of the game. However, the magnitude of this crisis is prompting economists to propose a radical paradigm shift in which the balance of power changes sides. “OPEC in reverse” To address this market suffocation, University of Massachusetts Amherst economist Gregor Semieniuk and his colleague Isabella Weber propose a revolutionary idea: create an “OPEC in reverse.” As detailed Fortuneit would be a global coalition of oil-importing and consuming countries that would act as a bloc. Instead of controlling production volumes as the traditional OPEC does, this consumer club would set a purchase ceiling or maximum price. As explained on the financial portal Reelfinancialthe primary objective is to stop a bidding war in which rich nations monopolize the energy supply, raising costs to the point of expelling lower-income countries from the market. It is not an idea without historical foundations. The experts themselves remember that the IEA, founded in 1974, was born precisely as an institutional counterweight of the consuming nations against OPEC. Since former US President Ronald Reagan removed oil price controls in 1981, the system has been governed almost exclusively by free trade. However, Eswar Prasad, a professor at Cornell University, explains in Fortune that the international economy has stagnated in a “zero-sum game.” Prasad compares the current energy crisis to the hoarding of vaccines and medical supplies by rich countries during the pandemic, leaving poorer nations with shortages. The roadmap according to the experts To materialize this plan, Semieniuk points out that the United States is in the ideal position to lead the new coalition of buyers. Being a net exporter and registering an energy trade surplus close to $100 billion in 2024, Washington has the financial and geopolitical muscle necessary to force change, explains Fortune. In addition to coordinating price caps, economists advocate implementing taxes on windfall profits (windfall taxes) on giants like ExxonMobil or Chevron, companies that continue to profit considerably from the rise in crude oil prices. The mechanics of this strong state intervention are justified by the seriousness of the situation. Faced with an unprecedented military blockade, governments must take a much more active role to ensure fair access to energy, making it clear that, in times of war, the free market cannot be the only response mechanism. This consumer proposal comes at the exact moment when the historic producer cartel is collapsing. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) have made their departure from OPEC official prioritizing their “national interest.” The impact of this divorce is tectonic. In an opinion column published by Reutersanalyst Ron Bousso warns thatAfter the Gulf blockade, OPEC’s global market share had already plummeted to 26% in March. The cartel is rapidly losing its ability to dominate and stabilize the markets. The OPEC crisis is not purely economic; Its roots are deeply political and territorial. Analyst Robin Mills explains that OPEC obliged the UAE to limit its production to 3.2 million barrels per day, despite the fact that the country had invested billions to reach a real capacity of 5 million. Added to this quota tension is an evident diplomatic fracture in the Gulf. Emirates has felt betrayed and abandoned by its Arab allies after having to absorb the impact of almost 2,800 Iranian drone and missile attacks alone. Consequently, the geopolitical chessboard is being rapidly redrawn. Joe DeLaura, energy specialist at Rabobank, underlines in the magazine Intelligencer that the world is heading towards fragmented blocks. The UAE is strategically pivoting toward the United States in exchange for protection for its shipping, and DeLaura anticipates that countries like Kazakhstan could be next to rebel against OPEC quotas. In his opinion column for Le MondeStéphane Lauer summarizes the great historical irony of this collapse: OPEC, created in the 1960s out of an iron desire for national sovereignty against Western powers, is fracturing today “in the name of that same sovereignty”, with each state seeking its own salvation. The dawn of a new era OPEC, as we knew it for more than half a century, has fractured. As explained by Jorge León from Rystad EnergySaudi Arabia has been left practically alone to bear the enormous cost of stabilizing supply, which anticipates an era of extreme volatility. While the old cartel is bleeding due to internal divisions and the weight of the war, an unprecedented window of opportunity opens for importing countries to finally take control of the market. History has already shown for 65 years that an organized coalition of nations can shape global energy markets. The big question now is whether the consumer world will have the courage and political will to do exactly the same. Image | Magnificent Xataka | Iran has responded to the US plan to liberate the ships in Hormuz with another approach: one with drones, missiles and burning ships

Samsung just surpassed TSMC for the first time in eight years. The problem is that it is a mirage

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We are in the middle of the results presentation season. Listed companies share how the last fiscal period went and, although it sounds boring, it allows us to learn interesting details about the business. For example, Apple thinks that the components crisis is going to get much worsebut also where the companies are. Samsung is one of those that can show the most chest due to its good results this beginning of 2026so good that it has achieved for the first time in eight years look face to face at your great rival in chip manufacturing: TSMC. The asterisk is that it is a mirage. a fortune. As we read in the South Korean media The Chosun Dailythe semiconductor division of Samsung Electronics is in luck. During the first quarter of this year, they achieved sales worth 81.7 trillion won with an operating profit of 53.7 trillion won. It is the first time that the division has achieved an operating profit of more than 50 billion won, but the most curious thing is the enormous leap they have made since last year. In the same period in 2025, Samsung reported sales of 44 trillion won with an operating profit of 16.4 trillion won. In fact, the company has earned more in these three months than during all of 2025. to the podium. This best performance has placed the South Korean company as the second best performing semiconductor company in the world. Who is above? Your best friend: Nvidia. The company that is the glue of AI reported an operating profit of 66 trillion won in this period and the two have gone hand in hand in this period. Memory (of course). Samsung got a little lost in the memory race for AI due to the good work of its great rival in this segment, also South Korean SK Hynix. However, he did not waste time and took the opportunity to research how to create the best HBM4 memory modules. This is the high-bandwidth memory that is used by artificial intelligence platforms such as those from Nvidia. In fact, a few weeks ago we told how Samsung had managed to convince Nvidia so much as to AMD to choose their HBM4 chips. Thanks to that impulse, dump all your production to memories for artificial intelligence equipment (regardless of what happens with the consumer market), the company has managed to see sales grow by 69.16% year-on-year and operating profits soar by 756.1%. In fact, the South Korean media points out that, even taking into account the number of devices that Samsung manufactures, the semiconductor division is the one that represented 93.8% of the company’s total operating profit. Very far away. Now, there is an even more interesting fact. All that amount of money has made Samsung the only semiconductor company that comes close to Nvidia, even surpassing, by far, the largest global semiconductor foundry: the Taiwanese TSMC. However, although the South Koreans’ goal is to dethrone the Taiwanese, things are going to have to change a lot because they are very far away in terms of market share. Because Samsung is making a lot of money, but there is a huge gap when it comes to contract chip manufacturing for external customers. This means that Nvidia, Apple and many others continue to come to TSMC first than to Samsung to manufacture its chips. Putting it down with numbers, it is estimated that TMSC took 70% of the market share last year compared to Samsung’s 7%. The plan. And there is a problem in all this: the AI ​​superboom. Because Samsung is doing great selling its memory to hyperscalersbut it is not attracting clients at the same rate and, if at some point the memory market deflates, accounts will begin to decrease. Samsung is moving to prevent this from happening by opening new chip manufacturing plants, partnering with American companies on American soil to develop the market outside Asia and flirting with being the foundry that manufactures chips for Nvidia or Apple in the United States. Other sectors. It is evident that the semiconductor arm is going like a rocket, but… what happens with the rest? On mobile and networks, Samsung reported sales of 38.1 trillion won with an operating profit of 2.8 trillion won. This is where investment comes into play. 6G networksbut also recent releases such as those of the family Galaxy S26 that they have not left as much money in the coffers due to increases in memory costs (Samsung already pointed out that They were not going to favor their own division and that if memory is more expensive, it is for everyone). In Display (TVs and monitors), sales fell 14% year-on-year with operating profits of 400 billion won due to the price of RAM, among other factors, and home appliances had an operating profit of 200 billion won. It is obvious where the goose that lays the golden eggs is and it is not surprising that Samsung wants to exploit it thoroughly. Image | Applied Materials In Xataka | The ratio of CPU to GPU in data centers is approaching 1:1. Intel knows exactly what that means

In 2014 it was inaugurated as the largest solar thermal power plant in the world. 12 years later they want to close it after incinerating birds

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The huge Ivanpah solar thermal power plant, opened in 2014 in the Mojave Desert, was almost closed after just 11 years of operation. An end accelerated by its history of technical, economic and environmental problems that, however, was paralyzed in January of this year after the agreement of all those involved. Context. Concentrated solar thermal energy, once considered one of the most cutting-edge technologies for clean electricity generation, is not going through its best moment. Especially in Nevada, where the Crescent Dunes fiasco was already very public. The concentrating solar thermal system uses thousands of mirrors, or “heliostats”, that follow the path of the sun to concentrate its light on central towers. In these towers, the extreme heat is used to heat water and produce steam, which drives turbines connected to electrical generators. The Ivanpah case. The Ivanpah plant was built with an investment of $1.6 billion in loans from the U.S. Department of Energy and long-term contracts from major electric companies. It was the largest solar thermal power plant in the world until the inauguration of Port Augusta in Australia. 11 years after its inauguration, the enormous solar thermal plant began to close after failing to meet its initial expectations. The lack of profitability condemned it, at least a priori. A succession of rulings and complaints from environmental groups about its impact on wildlife accelerated its end, approved by the US Department of Energy. Continuity. However, the decision was reversed in January 2026 by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Ivanpah will remain open. Their argument is that uncertainty in federal renewable energy policies forces us to prioritize the reliability of the current electricity supply. In addition, the commission seeks to prevent the enormous investment in infrastructure already made from being lost, despite the high operating costs and the serious environmental impact on local fauna. The measure ignores the previous agreement between the companies to close the plant and save money for users. A priori, it will remain open until its contract expires in 2039. A complex technology. One of the main problems has been the difficulty of keeping the mirrors precisely aligned. The technology, which requires exact tracking of the sun, has proven to be unstable and unreliable in practice, says a CNN report. The maintenance of the complex mechanisms and the management of the turbines in turn generate high operating costs, which has caused concentrated solar thermal to lose competitiveness compared to other renewable technologies, especially photovoltaic solar, whose prices have plummeted. A bird cremation machine. The criticism is not limited to the technical aspects. The Ivanpah plant has been questioned for years for its environmental impact, especially on desert wildlife. Environmental groups denounce the irreparable damage to the habitat of species such as the desert tortoise. But also the death of birds that are incinerated by the intense rays concentrated by the mirrors. A second Crescent Dunes. The case of Crescent Dunes, also occurring in Nevada, reinforces this image of failure of solar thermal energy. This project, which was intended to be one of the milestones in innovation and energy storage using molten salts, ended up becoming a multimillion-dollar waste. Developed by the Spanish group ACSpromised continuous production of electricity, even during hours without light, thanks to thermal storage in salts. In practice, Crescent Dunes never managed to deliver the promised amount of energy and ended up going bankrupt due to engineering and management problems. In the shadow of photovoltaics. In short, the rapid fall in prices of photovoltaic technology and its lower impact on wildlife have made concentrated solar thermal obsolete. While solar panels have been gaining efficiency and reducing their installation and maintenance costs, solar thermal plants have lagged behind in terms of competitiveness, which has led investors and electricity companies to reconsider their bets on this type of projects. In Xataka | The first central tower solar plant to be commercially exploited is in Seville: a pioneer that has survived other more ambitious ones In Xataka | Chile has one of the most valuable skies on Earth. Renewables are putting it on the ropes In Xataka | China’s largest solar park is doing much more than generating energy: it’s greening a desert Image | Pexels

everything that the new Adif map has to say

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Yes, we knew that our high-speed trains did not always run at their maximum performance. But it was not until after the accident in Adamuz (Córdoba) that the controversy over speed limitations arose. Who sets these limitations? Why do you decide to drive at a specific speed and not another? How many are there? Adif has just resolved this last question. The map. It is public and very easy to consult. Adif has published a map which is updated in real time with all active speed limitations on the railways in Spain. The map is very easy to access and intuitive. A number on a green circular background shows the maximum limit at which the train can run. As can be seen in the images that we will detail throughout the text, the limitations are very numerous and are distributed throughout the national territory. It is important to know that they are temporary limitations, that is, they are limitations that have been imposed for safety measures but where the train passage should be greater. The map, of course, does not arrive without controversy either. And a group of train users set up their own website in which all the speed limitations were collected. Adif managed to knock her down in just a few hoursciting security reasons. Today, Adif has its own map. More than 1,000 limitations? It is the figure that has been popularized in the media, referring to all the conflict points that are registered on the map. However, it is worth clarifying something: not all limitations are active for high-speed lines. Some of them refer to medium and long distance lines, others are Cercanías and others are for freight lines. And, as we can see in the following image, in addition to the map it is also included with a legend in which we read the start and end point of the limitation, as well as whether the type of road on which it is active (high speed, goods…), its width or the direction of circulation. Speed ​​limitation for freight trains Limitation for high speed trains Why now? Since the occurrence of Adamuz accident in Córdoba where a Renfe train derailed after, everything indicates, slightly colliding with an Iryo train that was traveling in the opposite direction and which in turn had derailed due to a fracture in one of the tracks, the debate about whether the Spanish railway network is safe has been on the table. The truth is that after the accident and in a fateful week with another deceased in the Rodalies network in Catalonia and, later, a landslide next to the AVE tracks in the province of Malaga has caused its closure for monthsspeed limitations skyrocketed in our country for various reasons. Since then, these speed limitations have been part of the debate because, for example, in the Madrid-Barcelona match they complicated traffic so much that today trains continue to take much longer than expected to cover the journey. But, above all, the trains accumulated days and weeks in which they arrived late to their destination complicating connectivity between both cities on a line that had functioned without major problems. The vibrations. Part of these limitations were put in place after videos became popular in which obvious vibrations in trains Spanish high-speed trains. These vibrations, as confirmed by experts consulted by Xataka they do not cause a derailment by themselves but they do prematurely wear out rolling stock and infrastructure. To this we must add that the Madrid-Barcelona line was already in the spotlight because the AVLO trains used by Renfe, delivered by Talgo months before, ended up suffering from cracking problems and have had to be removed from circulation. Notices. These vibrations also generate obvious discomfort for passengers and the workers themselves. And the drivers, beyond the limitations indicated on the map, can reduce speed if they consider it necessary to circulate safely or with a minimum of comfort. These reductions must be notified to the corresponding control center and justified in a subsequent report why they are carried out. A train driver confirmed Xataka that they had been warning for a long time of these vibration problems and requesting temporary speed limitations at some points. However, they claim that these pleas were ignored and that it was not until the Adamuz accident that Adif took their complaints much more into account. Speed ​​limitations on Córdoba-Seville, Córdoba-Málaga and the branches to Cádiz and Algeciras Speed ​​limitations in Rodalies Catalonia Speed ​​limitations in the Basque Country Speed ​​limitations in the vicinity of Madrid The most affected. As can be seen in the images above, Andalusia is one of the most affected regions in terms of speed limitations. The sections between Córdoba and Seville and Córdoba and Málaga accumulate temporary restrictions for a good part of the route. Also noteworthy is the branch to Algeciras, which is medium distance and used by freight trains. Another area in which criticism has accumulated in recent months is Rodalies in Catalonia. There, the lines that connect with Barcelona suffer daily problems with delays or breakdowns. The Rodalies lines (red) present many more problems than the high-speed lines (blue) with temporary speed limitations that are chained together. They are also not exempt from continuous speed limitations on approaches to Bilbao and San Sebastián. Above all, arriving at the first of these cities is accepting that you are constantly traveling at a speed lower than what could be reached no matter how complicated the terrain. And finally, The approach to Madrid is not very differentwith constant speed limitations for medium-distance and Cercanías trains, wherever they arrive. Photos | Adif and Pablo Nieto Abad In Xataka | After the Adamuz accident and the high-speed chaos, the consequences arrive: 30% fewer train travelers

IBM has made the largest quantum chemistry simulation to date. It is a success for quantum computers

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The prototypes of quantum computers currently available are gradually breaking down some barriers. These machines have a weak point: they make mistakes. This is the reason why Ignacio Cirac, the Spanish physicist who, together with Peter Zoller, developed the theoretical basis of quantum computing, holds that the correct thing is to identify them as prototypes to differentiate them from the fully functional quantum computers that will hopefully arrive in the future. During the conversation we had with Ignacio Cirac in June 2021, the director of the Theoretical Division of the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics he explained to us who believed that quantum computers will be very valuable tools in the field of quantum chemistry to, for example, design drugs. Just five years after that conversation, a very important milestone has occurred that invites us to scan the horizon of this discipline with a very healthy optimism. And a group of researchers from IBM; the RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing, in Japan; and Cleveland Clinic, in the USA, have carried out the largest quantum-classical chemistry simulation carried out to date. It’s a very important achievement for a reason: it represents a huge leap in the way quantum computers can be used alongside classical supercomputers to study real-world chemistry problems. “This result is a dream” Dr. Kenneth Merz, the leader of this research, assures that the result obtained by the team he leads is a dream. Until now, the most ambitious simulation that had been possible in this area using a quantum computer recreated a protein with only 303 atoms. However, Merz’s team has managed to simulate two biologically relevant proteins (T4-Lysozyme and Trypsin), as well as the molecules to which they bind, in a completely realistic aqueous environment and reaching 12,635 atoms. To make this possible, they have used two quantum processors that add up to 94 qubits, executing 9,200 circuits over more than 100 hours and collecting 1.3 billion measurement results. The quantum data were subsequently processed with the Japanese supercomputer Fugaku. In this area, the calculation capacity of quantum computers makes a difference, although the merit does not belong exclusively to these machines. The strategy that these scientists have developed consists of dividing large molecules into smaller, more manageable groups. The strategy these scientists have developed is to divide large molecules into smaller, more manageable groups. Classical supercomputers solve the simpler regions, while quantum systems address the more complex and computationally demanding parts. The results are then recombined to obtain a global image of the molecule. To carry out this simulation, the researchers introduced improvements in both classical and quantum techniques. However, one of the most important innovations they have developed is the improvement of the way in which the system identifies which parts of a molecule require detailed quantum treatment, which reduces the overall computational cost. As we have just seen, we are facing a very important milestone, although we need to put it in context. And, despite its value, the strategy that these researchers have developed still does not surpass the best classical approaches. However, it demonstrates that quantum systems can already contribute to the resolution of significant scientific problems, especially when integrated with existing computing infrastructure. Image | IBM More information | Interesting Engineering In Xataka | Beyond AI, US semiconductor manufacturers face the real battle of the future: quantum chips

“We overestimate what will happen in the next two years and we underestimate what will happen in the next ten”

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Bill Gates, on AI: “We overestimate what will happen in the next 2 years and underestimate what will happen in the next 10” There is a phrase that Bill Gates often repeats with the conviction of someone who has already seen how the world made mistakes when judging a technology: “We overestimate what we can do in one year and underestimate what we can achieve in ten.” Although it may fit in a time of uncertainty and technological leaps like the one we are currently experiencing with AI, it is not actually new. It appeared in his book ‘Path to the future‘and recovered it in ‘Source Code: My beginnings’. However, the co-founder of Microsoft does not use it to show off that he has succeeded in his technological commitment to desktop computers, but rather to ask for a little calm and perspective in the face of the most disruptive technological moment since the arrival of the personal computer that he lived in first person. a déjàvu technological. Gates has spent months dedicating a good part of his interventions to cooling the collective panic around the arrival of AI. In one of his interventions to promote his latest book, the millionaire intervened in the Jay Shetty podcast and took the opportunity to send a reassuring message: we already experienced something similar when Windows arrived, and then there were also those who thought that the world was ending. Since he left the helm of Microsoft in the hands of Steve Ballmerhas continued to advise its management team, including those responsible for the alliance with OpenAI. According to collected Business Insiderboth CEO Satya Nadella and the Microsoft management team turn to the founder as an advisor in the face of relevant strategic changes for the company. That low-key but influential role gives him a different perspective on the current AI revolution. For this reason, he insists that society’s fear of this new technology follows the same patterns that it already experienced in the early years of Microsoft. AI is an opportunity, but also a risk. In his annual letter The Year AheadGates described AI as a technology with “no upper limit” to its capabilities, leaving it in a full of opportunitiesbut also of great risks that must be managed. In that same publication he assured that “of all the things that humans have created, artificial intelligence is the one that will change society the most.” The millionaire identifies two major threats for the next decade: the use of AI by malicious actors and the emergence of AI in the labor market. Among the dangers that he cites with most concern is the use of this technology to design weapons with a comparable scope to that of the COVID-19 pandemic. Work, the great battlefield. One of the effects of AI that Gates analyzes in more detail is what it will have on employment. Assumption It is not catastrophicbut direct: technology will allow the economy to produce more goods and services using less labor. He points out that AI is already doubling the software developer efficiencywhich makes programming cheaper and alters labor demand in that sector. Gates also points out that AI will affect less expected industries, with medicine and education in the spotlight. He does not present it as an inevitable threat, but as a wake-up call to adapt before change arrives without warning. Optimism with nuances and a commitment to act now. In his analysis of 2026, the technology magnate insists that the decisions made in the coming years will determine whether AI becomes a factor of shared progress or an additional source of inequality and social suffering. Staying true to his phrase, Gates assures that the time to act is now, not when technology is already uncontrollable and its effects irreparable. What makes his vision different is the balance that proposes an intermediate place between catastrophism and blind euphoria. Gates learned this concept forcefully in his first years at the helm of Microsoft: consider the worst and best scenarios, because you cannot be so optimistic as to think that everything will always turn out as planned, nor be so pessimistic as to believe that everything will be an absolute failure. In Xataka | Bill Gates had a tendency to procrastinate until he found an infallible remedy: Japanese companies Image | Flickr (Governor Tom Wolf)

Claude has a reputation for being the least accommodating and flattering AI, especially when you ask him for love advice.

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Anthropic has analyzed a million random conversations with Claude and have reached a conclusion that we have already been observing: More and more people use AI as a personal guide who is asked for advice on all kinds of problems in their life, from work to relationships. Their goal was to see if Claude is as accommodating as other AIs when it comes to giving personal advice. AI as a confidant. There are people who use an AI chatbot as if he were a psychologistothers that looking for friendship and even who They have fallen in love with an AI and have a virtual relationship. ChatGPT is usually the most cited chatbot in these examples, mainly because it is the one with the most users, but the analysis that Anthropic has done with Claude proves that it is not a matter of one company, but that the trend is global. The problem with this is that AI tends to please and agree with the user, so it can end validating harmful ideas and harming our mental health. ANDl analysis. As we said, Anthropic has analyzed one million conversations with Claude, of which they identified around 38,000 in which users asked for advice on personal matters, which represents 6% of the total sample. They then classified them into nine categories: relationships, career, personal development, finances, legal issues, health and well-being, parenting, ethics and spirituality. 76% of the conversations analyzed corresponded to four of these categories, starting with health and well-being with 27%, professional career with 26%, relationships with 12% and personal finances with 11%. Selective flattery. What they saw in the analysis is that Claude usually avoids giving flattering answers when the user asks for guidance on personal matters. According to Anthropic, only in 9% of conversations was a very accommodating response detected. The problem is that, when the conversation was about romantic relationships, that figure rose to 25%. As examples, they cite cases in which the AI ​​agrees with a conflict despite not knowing both points of view, or interpreting romantic behaviors in normal interactions. And there’s more: in cases where the conversation was about spiritual topics, the rate of accommodating responses rose to 38%. Claude has a reputation for being less accommodating and servile, but he seems to abandon his neutral tone on certain topics. A complex problem. It was recently published a study by Stanford University in which they tested several flattering and less flattering chatbots. What they discovered was that the participants generally preferred flattering models, that is, we like to be proven right. One of the authors of the study, Myra Cheng, commented that “By default, AI advice does not tell people that they are wrong or give them a reality check (…) I worry that people will lose the ability to deal with difficult social situations.” Furthermore, this tendency to agree is also responsible for the AI hallucinations because the model prioritizes giving us an answer about its veracity. Image | Xataka In Xataka | When the accomplice in a shooting is ChatGPT, the question is what responsibility does OpenAI have?

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