Renfe already warns that AVE prices have hit the bottom

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The prices we have seen so far in high speed have been a mirage. At least that is what Álvaro Fernández Heredia, president of Renfe, predicts, who in an interview with Chain Being has come to ensure that Ouigo and Iryo will end up leaving our country. Prices, costs and unprofitable high speed. More expensive. There are many headlines left by the interview that Álvaro Fernández Heredia, president of Renfe, left in an interview with Chain Being. To begin with, because he has indicated that high speed prices will rise: “If our competitors raise prices, which is something they have begun to do, we will follow that trend, because we are competing with them in those corridors, and this is the scheme that we have given ourselves as a society” What Fernández Heredia is talking about is the rising prices that high-speed trains are experiencing. The matter has made headlines with the departure of the AVLO of the Madrid-Barcelona corridor that has caused an immediate increase in the price of trains. With a weaker Renfe when it comes to lowering prices, on average the price of the ticket is already above 80 euros and the cheapest one does not go below 50 euros. The service has been getting more expensive for some time but without AVLO, prices are even higher. public service. In his statements, the president of Renfe comes to say that they will do what their rivals do. If they lower prices they will fight with them but if they raise prices they will not resist to seek market share at a low price. What Renfe defends is that they have the obligation to provide service where it is not profitable. This shows them the way to raise prices in the corridors where they do have competition. “We have a pricing policy that does not seek profit or does not seek to have a distribution of dividends. Our distribution of dividends is to stop where the others do not stop or what is not High Speed, which is the Long Distance: Almería, Algeciras or Tolosa. We are a public company and we are here to compete with other companies, but we are also there to support the rest of the railway system. Our High Speed, of the only three operators there are, is the only one that is economically sustainable, but we also have to sustain those stops that other operators do not want to make and that could, but do not do them because they only seek profitability” That message is the same one that Óscar Puente sentMinister of Transport, a year ago when he complained that Renfe had to compete in the same market as Ouigo and Iryo but with the burden of having to go where the company loses money. Some losses that have also focused the debate in recent months. Private, but not much. This is what the president of Renfe maintains. For Fernández Heredia, Ouigo and Iryo “are public companies from other countries. I understand that they will have to give an explanation as to why they come to Spain to lose money, I don’t think they will come to that, because it would be very difficult to understand.” In this message sent to Chain Being the complaint is implicit (and the threat of denunciation) that The Government launched Ouigo at the time. It was then pointed out that this French company I was pushing the prices to gain market share knowing that it has its back covered by the French State. From Ouigo they have rejected this, ensuring that Your pricing strategy is the usual one among those who enter to play in a new market. Losing money. At the moment what we have is a war in which Renfe, Ouigo and Iryo are losing money. Without knowing whether prices will continue to rise, what is certain is that the three companies are spending tens of millions of euros. Specifically, almost 100 million euros in 2024. Of those hundred million euros lost, the majority belong to Ouigo, which according to the CNMC left 40.5 million. The figure is far from the 31.5 million euros that Iryo left, but Renfe also lost money, specifically 27 million. Of course, the CNMC also assures that, since competition was opened in high speed, consumers have saved about 500 million euros. Until when? Although prices rise little by little, what is certain is that competition has lowered the cost for the customerespecially in those corridors where the flow of movement is not as constant or dense as in Madrid-Barcelona. In the latter, in addition to the high demand, the departure of AVLO has confirmed that if the high speed competition low cost one of the three competitors leaves, the immediate result is that prices rise. So, yes, we have most likely hit a bottom in high-speed prices but they are more likely to rise more slowly the more competition there is. Photo | Alan Grant In Xataka | In the 19th century, Spain made the strange decision to build its roads in Iberian gauge. Now they are going to be a gift for Renfe in Galicia

Meta still believes in the metaverse, seriously, we’re not joking, he really believes it

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At the end of 2025, the technological landscape is very different from what Meta imagined when it bet its future on metaverse. There are no millions of people with virtual reality headsets at home or meetings that replace the office with a permanent digital environment. The word “metaverse” It doesn’t even figure in most conversations about technology anymore. On the other hand, artificial intelligence has taken over public debate, the economy and the daily lives of users. The focus has shifted, but Meta insists that his vision has not disappeared, it has just changed shape, a little. You may remember when, in 2021, Facebook decided to change its name to Meta. It was not a simple branding, but a declaration of intent: Mark Zuckerberg assured that the future of the internet lay in the metaverse, a space where we could “feel present” even if we were far away. The company presented that vision as the next leap after social networks, a world in which avatars, virtual offices and a new digital economy would coexist daily. The plan sounded ambitious, almost inevitable, and Meta backed it with billions in investment. Meta still believes in the metaverse: this time he wants to take it everywhere, literally The big news is that the Meta metaverse no longer wants to live locked in a helmet. The company has begun to expand Horizon Worlds beyond virtual reality, bringing it to mobile and, little by little, to its own networks. Vishal Shah, vice president of metaverse, He explained it in The Verge: it’s not about doing something just mobile, but about playing and being together cross-platformwith Horizon accessible from headphones and mobile phones, and with integration tests on Facebook and Instagram. Meta seeks to make this 3D social layer accessible to anyone, without the need for specialized hardware, as a natural extension of its existing platforms. The change is not limited to strategy, it also affects technology. Meta has developed a new graphics engine for Horizon Worlds that seeks to offer more stable worlds compatible with mobile, headset or web. In addition, it has incorporated artificial intelligence tools that assist creators in tasks such as generating objects or animating environments. At its Connect conference, the company explained that this system allows “creating five times faster” than before. It is one more step towards the automation of development, with AI as the main ally. The commitment to the metaverse has also forced Meta to rethink its hardware. Quest helmets have gained in lightness, processing and optical quality, but the company recognizes that they are not yet devices designed to be worn all day. Now we are seeing how attention is shifting towards the Meta Ray-Ban Displaywhich include the Meta Neural Band (EMG bracelet) for gesture control. The future of work in the metaverse, according to Meta Meta also wants its metaverse to work beyond its own devices. That is why it launched Horizon OS, the operating system that supports its viewers and that it now offers to third parties. With this, the company seeks to replicate the Android model: a common base on which different brands can build their products. This movement fits with its commitment to interoperability and universal avatars, capable of maintaining the user’s identity regardless of the device. According to Meta, that is the necessary step for the metaverse to be truly open. One of Meta’s great challenges is to turn the metaverse into an economically viable space. To this end, it has launched different monetization initiatives in Horizon Worlds, from the sale of digital goods to incentive programs for creators. His speech is clear: without a functional economy, there will be no metaverse that lasts. Still, Meta insists that the creation tools and technical foundations are already in place for that model to grow over time. Since Facebook became Meta in 2021, the metaverse roadmap has gone through several stages. First came the initial enthusiasm and big promises. Then, in 2022, difficulties surfaced: internal leaks revealed that even employees were barely using Horizon Worlds. In 2023, the company tried to reactivate the project with new helmets and with the aforementioned Horizon OS. Already in 2024, the discourse changed: less bombast and more interoperability. In 2025, Meta talks about “Horizon everywhere”, a more transversal metaverse and less dependent on VR. The big challenge for Meta continues to be adoption. Bringing Horizon to mobile phones and social networks facilitates access, but there is still a need convince users that you are worth their time. The company needs to demonstrate that the metaverse provides something useful and constant, beyond the initial curiosity. Questions also remain about interoperability between platforms and how many people actually use it. Without clear signs of growth, the feeling is that the bet is still alive, but still far from becoming a mass phenomenon. Images | Xataka In Xataka | Three years after the metaverse fiasco, Zuckerberg has another burning nail for Meta: digital glasses

Madrid has found in Usera an unexpected vein to touristify the neighborhood: a "Madrid-style Chinatown"

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If London, New York, Antwerp, Buenos Aires (and so on a long etcetera of cities) have their own “Chinatowns”, why would Madrid be any different? And above all, why would it be if we take into account that these neighborhoods tend to be poles of tourist attraction and Madrid is precisely looking for decentralize your flow of visitors? It sounds like pure theory, but the capital’s City Council is betting on just that: boost “a Madrid-style Chinatown” in Usera. The goal: touristify the area with that new seal. In a place in Madrid… Today’s User has little (very little) to do with the User of a few decades ago. Over the last few years, this district of Madrid has received a wave of Chinese families who have been transforming part of its streets. And not just because they now reside there thousands of neighbors from the Asian giant (in 2022 the City Council spoke of more than 10,000 people of Chinese nationality; other estimates raise the community to 20,000). To the first wave of immigrants, who arrived in the 80s and 90s and who dedicated themselves to opening restaurants and bazaars, have been followed by a second, more educated generation that has set up new businesses, such as pharmacies or law firms. It comes with taking a walk through one of the streets of the neighborhood, such as Dolores Barranco (or directly pull the street view of Google Maps), to see signs in Chinese advertising bars, clinics, shops, agencies, hairdressers, travel agencies, technology stores, food, furniture… and of course pedestrians arriving from the second most populous country on the planet. All between facades, awnings and the occasional business that reminds us that we are in a neighborhood of Madrid. Madrid’s Chinatown? That is the idea (and the brand) that has been taking shape in recent years in the capital. Both on the street and in the institutions themselves, which have not hesitated to talk about “Chinatown of Usera” either “Madrid-style Chinatow”. After all, it is nothing new. Other large cities, such as London, New York or Vancouver (to name only some cases) have their own Chinatowns, characterized by their proliferation of Asian businesses and which stand out for two reasons: their interculturality and great tourist potential. Why is it important? Because the latter (tourism potential) is something to take into account in a town like Madrid, which last year alone received more than 11 million of visitors and has seen how mass tourism became a challenge that affects something as essential as its residential market. Tourism has become a huge businessbut José Luis Martínez-Almeida’s team knows that for keep growing Without suffocating the city, it needs to grow in an orderly manner. And one of its great bets to achieve this is the “decentralization” of the flow of visitors, ensuring that tourists go beyond the Retiro, Sol or the Royal Palace and expand with a “balanced distribution.” To achieve this, the city has some important assets, such as new itinerariesthe bet on Formula 1 and… (exactly!) the “Chinatown-Usera”. What do you have in mind? Convert a part of Usera into “the new ‘Madrid Chinatown’”, as advertisement the Madrid City Council in 2022, when it advanced part of its plans for the area: opting for the decoration of the environment, delimiting the entrance and exit with large arches designed by the Chinese community, pedestrianizing Dolores Barranco street and improving some squares. Initiatives that will favor pedestrians and, Cybele reasons“will boost trade.” Since then the project has continued to advance in several phases to extend almost two kilometers (1.7km) between the Plaza del Hidrogen, the market and Madrid Río with a total investment that approaches nine million of euros. What are you looking for? “One of the most unique aspects of the remodeling will be the installation of elements that reinforce the identity of the environment as ‘Chinatown’ through the incorporation of specific furniture and cultural references in pavements and signs,” pointed out the City Council in May of last year, when it announced the second phase of the project. Among the strengths of the project, he emphasized that it had been carried out “with the involvement of the Chinese community.” Do you have a tourist focus? Yes. Although that is not the only spirit of the project, the City Council itself recognizes that it reflects a large part of its reason for being. “It seeks to reinforce the identity of the neighborhood as a place of residence for an important part of the Chinese community, favoring the integration of some of its cultural features with the traditional ways of life of the neighbors with the complementary objective of progressively decentralizing the city’s tourism, which mostly goes to central districts,” claims the Consistory. Not everything has been easy. Madrid has seen difficulties to find companies interested in manufacturing the access arches, a key part of the project and which identify the Chinese neighborhoods in other cities, such as London or New York. {“videoId”:”x91sz26″,”autoplay”:false,”title”:”This is the PERFECT BOARDING of a plane AND NO AIRLINE DOES IT ❌✈️”, “tag”:”webedia-prod”, “duration”:”567″} Is there more on the table? Yes. On Sunday elDiario.es revealed that not everything will be a pedestrian promenade and decoration with Asian echoes. The City Council also plans a “tourist quality” program that will have as its highlight a “Chinatown de Madrid” seal, according to the newspaper after consulting the contract of the Usera Board. Among other issues, the idea is to assess the quality of certain businesses in the neighborhood (there are at least 280 “with tourist potential”), help them improve and reward those that meet their standards with the quality badge. The objective, collect the sheetsis to “position Usera as an attractive destination for attracting family, cultural and gastronomic tourism” and “attract and capture new local, national and foreign audiences.” All while works progress for the almost two kilometer walk from Madrid Río and the installation of the first arch. The remodeling represents an opportunity for the neighborhood, although there … Read more

discounts of up to 54% on cell phones, TVs and more

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For those looking to buy technology at the best price, amazon It is one of the first stores where they usually look to see if they can find offers. We want to make it easy for you and we are going to offer you a selection with the best deals on technological devices that we found today (October 14) on Amazon. Fire TV Stick 4K by 35.90 euros: with Alexa and compatible with HDR10+ and Dolby Atmos. Motorola Moto G05 by 69 euros: 6.67 inches and with Android 15. Robot vacuum cleaner Roborock Q7 M5 by 179.99 euros: with suction power of 10,000 Pa and autonomy of 150 minutes. Smart TV Cecotec 43 inches by 310 euros: QLED and with Google TV. Notebook computer Acer Aspire Go 15 AG15-71P-56QC by 379 euros: 15.6-inch LCD and FreeDos. Fire TV Stick 4K If you don’t have it yet, now is a good time to get your hands on Amazon’s best-selling streaming device, the Fire TV Stick 4K. Its usual price is 69.99 euros, but now, it is almost half price and you can buy it for 35.90 euros. He Fire TV stick 4K offers streaming playback of content in advanced 4K resolution. It is compatible with Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and Dolby Atmos audio. Its remote comes with a button with Alexa, so you can control the device using voice commands, and also with access buttons to the main streaming platforms such as Netflix or Prime Video. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Motorola Moto G05 For those looking for a cheap, elegant mobile phone with more than decent features, this one from Motorola is one that you can take into account. Its usual price is 149 euros, but now it has a 54% discount and you can buy it for 69 euros. This Motorola Moto G05 It is a mobile phone with a 6.67-inch LCD screen and HD+ resolution. Its main camera is 50 MP and its battery supports fast charging at 18 W. It comes with 8 GB RAM (which can be expanded up to 24 GB through virtual RAM) and an internal storage of 256 GB. Although one of its main strengths is that it works under the pure Android 15 operating system. Moto g05 12GB (4G+8GB RAM Boost)/256GB The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Roborock Q7 M5 Robot Vacuum Cleaner If you are looking for a super powerful robot vacuum cleaner to keep your home cleaning at bay, this offer is for you. With a recommended price of about 240 euros, now you can get, on Amazon, this Roborock Q7 M5 with a 25% discount, for 179.99 euros. The main hallmark of this device is its more than excellent suction power of 10,000 Pa. Despite this power, it is a robot vacuum cleaner silent and its battery offers a range of up to 150 minutes. In addition to vacuuming, it scrubs and you can control it via app or voice commands. roborock Q7 M5 Robot Vacuum Cleaner and Floor Mop 2 in 1 10,000 Pa The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Smart TV Cecotec 43 inches Nowadays, you don’t have to pay a fortune to have a TV with good features. This of 43 inch Cecotec It is now on sale on Amazon. You can take it for 310 euros and you can even pay it in up to four installments. This cheap TV from the Spanish firm Cecotec has a QLED panel 43 inches with 4K resolution. It supports Dolby Vision, HDR10 and Dolby Atmos. Works under the operating system Google TV and, as far as connectivity is concerned, it has HDMI 2.1 and USB 3.0. Cecotec Smart TV, 43 Inch QLED Television The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Acer Aspire Go 15 AG15-71P-56QC Laptop The last of the bargains of the day on Amazon that is worth it is this laptop from Acer. It usually costs 529 euros, but now, you can get it with a 28% discount. Specifically, it is available for 379 euros. This portable from the Acer firm has a 15.6-inch LCD screen and Full HD resolution. Ride a Intel Core i5 processoraccompanied by 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD storage. It comes without an operating system and an Intel UHD Graphics card. Acer Aspire Go 15 AG15-71P-56QC, 15.6″ Laptop 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, Motorola, Amazon, Roborock, Acer and Cecotec In Xataka | Six gadgets that I didn’t know I needed and that have improved my daily life by 1000% In Xataka | Fast chargers for your mobile phone or tablet. Best models to buy for their power and safety

Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, is a Tai Chi fan and millionaire. That’s why he gave himself the gift of starring in a martial arts movie

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Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of Alibaba, is known worldwide for having founded a technology empire in China, but he also made his first steps in the world of cinema. And of all genres, martial arts. An eccentricity that was allowed to be filled with top stars of the genre and that, however, was more than just an idea to massage the ego: Ma has been practicing Tai Chi for 30 years. The man, the legend. Jack Ma, born in 1964 in Hangzhou, China, is the founder in 1999 and former CEO of Alibaba Group, one of the largest e-commerce conglomerates in the world. He founded the company with the goal of connecting Chinese companies with international buyers, revolutionizing digital commerce. His vision turned Alibaba into a global e-commerce and technology giant. He is currently dedicated to philanthropy and education, while his company has been facing a fall of influence very considerable. 22 minutes of tollinas. In 2017, before retiring from Alibaba, Jack Ma starred in and co-produced a martial arts short film titled ‘Gong Shou Daoo’ (literally, “The Art of Attacking and Defending”): 22 minutes depicting Ma as a Tai Chi master facing off against a series of rivals, all of whom are legendary actors in Chinese action cinema. People like Jet Li, Donnie Yen, Tony Jaa, Wu Jing, Natasha Liu Bordizzo and boxing champion Zou Shiming, among others. Everyone involved agreed to participate free of charge, motivated by the promotion of Chinese culture and martial arts globally. All for Tai Chi. Jack Ma, as we have mentioned, has been practicing Tai Chi for thirty years, and used the film to highlight the philosophy and values ​​of this martial discipline, focusing on balance and harmony. The project arises from the intention of preserving and disseminating this discipline, and reflecting on the screen Tai Chi as an art with a physical and a spiritual aspect. Result: more than 170 million views when it was launched in 2017. But it’s okay or what. Let’s see, a movie in which Donnie Yen and Tony Jaa share the bill cannot be bad even if it wants to. But also, the fan has the opportunity to meet Jet Li again, who has been semi-retired from action movies for years, in a reasonably extensive role with fights. Ma is neither the most forceful nor the most expressive actor, but for that gift to fans alone, he has our thumbs up. If you want more Tai Chi. Speaking of Jet Li and speaking of Tai Chi, the choreographer of the film is Ku Huen-Chiu, chosen very consciously by Ma. Apart from a rich career with films in his filmography such as a sequel to ‘The Matrix’, ‘Kill Bill’ and several classics of Hong Kong action cinema from the nineties, Ku Huen-Chiu participated in the filming of ‘Tai Chi Master’, a marvel by Li and Michelle Yeoh directed by none other than Yuen-Woo Ping, one of the great Chinese action choreographers of all time. So if you think Tai Chi is something for old people in the park, check out that hilarious dynastic martial epic and you’ll change your mind. In Xataka | Jack Ma was the richest man in China. Until he fell out with the government and stopped being one

You thought you had an amazing connection on Tinder, but you were actually chatting with ChatGPT

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Fuck you cat in a hare when flirting on Tinder It’s been happening since the app existed; photos taken from the perfect angle to capture a great guy, descriptions that do not fit reality or outright false information. Now we have to add one more risk: that the person with whom you have been chatting for days and having deep conversations is using ChatGPT to respond to you. Chatfishing. It is the fashionable term to define this trend. If ‘catfish’ is being deceived with a fake profile, ‘chatfish’ is when the other person uses an AI to prepare their responses and thus more easily conquer their “prey”. We don’t talk about fake profiles that are actually botsbut from real people who use a chatbot to plan their responses and seem like the perfect couple. There are even those who you have created an automation and let ChatGPT take the wheel. New disappointments. Fake profiles were already a problem on dating apps before AI, but in the age of AI it still adds another layer to distrust. In this Guardian report They tell the stories of some victims of this practice, like Rachel, who had a very deep connection with a man that only lasted while they were chatting. Upon meeting him in person he felt that he was “someone he had never spoken to.” I had been talking to ChatGPT. quite common. There are those who use the AI as a psychologist or directly to fall in love with one. Wear AI to improve a Tinder profile and even to help us flirt doesn’t sound crazy at all in the current context. How common is it? There is no way to know exactly, but the truth is that more and more news that narrates this type of situations. It is also not difficult to find posts on forums like Reddit. users sharing their experience after being ‘chatfished’, others showing your suspicions and even who admits to using ChatGPT to flirt. Laziness. Flirting on Tinder can be exhaustingis what is known as ‘dating fatigue’. Getting a match is easy compared to starting the conversation and maintaining interest on both sides. According to one survey conducted by Forbes78% of dating app users in the US felt tired of using them. Given this scenario, there are those who are choosing to automate some of these interactions to try to stand out among other profiles without having to invest a lot of time. The ‘chatfisher’ profile. In the report that we have already mentioned from The Guardian, several users who turn to AI to flirt tell their reasons. Nick sees it as a tool to improve his connection with his matches, but he assures that if he feels a connection with someone, he is the one who takes control of the conversation. There are also people, like Holly, who use it to help improve their communication skills, for example to make a message sound softer if they are upset about something. Of course there are those who use it simply to increase their matches and thus get more dates. Jamil tells how he ended up in a Discord where other men exchanged advice. The modus operandi was to ask the girl about her hobbies, favorite movies and things like that and then give it to ChatGPT so that it can “create answers that make you seem like the perfect couple.” And it seems that the method works because it ensures that he got many more appointments. Apps also use AI. At the beginning of the year, Tinder announced that it was going to implement AI to suggest possible connections to users. By answering a series of questions, the app creates a list of suggested profiles each day. If you also give access to your photo roll, the AI ​​is capable of detecting interests to refine the search. Other apps like Hinge or Bumble also have similar features, but Bumble takes it further with an AI assistant that helps you break the ice with catchy phrases. Of course, at the moment they have only enabled it in the version of the app to find friends. Cover image | Pexels 1, 2 In Xataka | Singles are fed up with Tinder. So they are starting to turn to an old acquaintance: marriage agencies

have been the productivity apps that promised to help you

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There is a tendency to think that the main reason for loss of productivity at work is due to poor time organization or for procrastinating tasks. That is, by leaving pending tasks for later. However, a study carried out by the project management platform Lokalise, has revealed a surprising reason why working hours they don’t give as much of themselves as you would like: too many applications and digital tools are used in daily work. This phenomenon has been called “online tool fatigue” or fatigue due to excess of digital tools. According to the results revealed by the Lokalise survey, when too many messaging, email, data management or project management applications are used, instead of help you be more productivejust the opposite happens and productivity plummets. Impossible to concentrate. According to data from the Lokalise study, based on the opinions of more than 1,000 office workers in the US from different professional sectors, these employees experience constant daily interruptions in your concentration when they receive a message through the work messaging app, they must respond to an email, etc. The data indicates that 17% of respondents switch between tabs, applications or platforms more than 100 times in a single workday. 56% of the workers interviewed assured the platform that tool fatiguesuch as switching between them and notifications, negatively affects your concentration and productivity. Two weeks jumping between applications. On average, this constant switching between applications and attention to notifications causes employees to lose an average of 51 minutes, although 22% claim that the time lost amounts to more than two hours per week. This figure may seem like a small thing, but if this time is added up by all the employees of a company and computed over a full working year, it implies an annual loss of between one week and two and a half weeks of work. non-productive time. All this for something as trivial as clicking on a window to change apps. Too many apps. 55% of participants say they use between three and five computer applications in their daily work, while 31% of employees say they use between six and ten applications to do their work. The usage data collected suggests that productivity tools that consume the most time are the email with 47%, followed by professional messaging apps such as Slack, Teams or Discord with 35%. Surprisingly, video calling tools, on which most meetings are supported, are in third place in terms of time consumed, with 22%. Below 17% there are other more specific applications like the calendarcloud storage systems (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, etc.) or support and assistance systems such as Asana, Jira, Zendesk or Salesforce. Changing apps is like changing tasks. Although it is part of the resolution of a single task, the constant alternation between applications produces a cognitive effect similar to that occurs with multitasking. By changing the graphical environment, functions and operation of each platform, the brain it takes a certain time to process the change, breaking the inertia of concentration that reaches when performing a certain task in one of the tools. This effect of constant change generates mental fatigue and causes the brain to need several minutes to refocus on the main task after each interruption. In Xataka | Psychology has explained why it is so difficult for you to leave a job even if it is toxic: the sunk cost fallacy Image | Unsplash (Swello)

OpenAI has taken its first step towards Latin America. Behind it there is an investment of 25,000 million in Argentina and many questions

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For almost any country in Latin America and the world, a company like OpenAI announcing a multi-million dollar investment sounds like a golden dream. It is not only the most influential company on the planet in artificial intelligence, but also one of the pacesetters in the industry. Its arrival promises jobs, economic movement and global visibility. But, as with any large-scale project, it also has doubts: energy consumption, water use or the sustainability of a data center of hundreds of megawatts are not minor issues. Argentina, at least on paper, has been chosen to attempt that leap. The announcement of the Argentine Government It is based, at least for now, on a single document: a letter of intent signed between OpenAI and the local company Sur Energy. The text, published on October 10, 2025, mentions an investment of “up to $25 billion” for a data center of “up to 500 megawatts,” under the Incentive Regime for Large Investments (RIGI). The location of the project is not specified nor are deadlines or construction phases detailed, which keeps it in a preliminary stage. The Argentine president met at the Casa Rosada with representatives of OpenAI last week Silences that weigh. There are details that attract attention. A multimillion-dollar announcement, linked to the expansion of OpenAI in the region, and yet neither its CEO nor the company itself have communicated it through their official channels. That they have not done so does not invalidate the project, but it does mark a distance with the institutional enthusiasm on the Argentine side. In this type of operations, communication is usually part of the message. Here, for the moment, it is conspicuous by its absence, at least on the side of the American startup on its website and social networks. The plan: AI factories at scale. Stargate is not an isolated project, but the name that OpenAI uses for its global infrastructure program. Its objective is to build a network of data centers capable of supporting cutting-edge artificial intelligence models, the technology that gives life to tools such as conversational chatbots or image generators. In the case of OpenAI, those models are the ones hidden behind products like ChatGPTbased on systems such as GPT-4 either GPT-5. The plan began to take shape months ago, when the company announced an ambitious infrastructure project in the United Stateslater expanding it to other countries. Interior of Stargate 1, the first large-scale data center developed under OpenAI’s own program Power, density, permissions. Data centers for artificial intelligence operate in another league. They concentrate massive training on GPUs with industrial-level consumption and an energy density much higher than that of a conventional data center. Each room requires advanced cooling systems capable of constantly keeping the temperature under control. And, although permits and licenses are required as in any facility of this type, its scale and technical requirements make building one of these projects a much more complex and lengthy process. {“videoId”:”x8jpy2b”,”autoplay”:false,”title”:”What’s BEHIND AIs like CHATGPT, DALL-E or MIDJOURNEY? | ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE”, “tag”:”Webedia-prod”, “duration”:”1173″} RIGI and financing: promise vs contract. As we say, the project is covered by the Incentive Regime for Large Investments, a tool created by the Argentine Government to attract foreign capital through tax, customs and exchange advantages. In practice, the RIGI facilitates the conditions so that a large-scale project can be financed, but it does not guarantee that the investment will materialize. Patagonia sounds loud, it’s not official. On paper, there is no defined location. Neither the Argentine Government nor OpenAI have mentioned Patagonia in their statements. Even so, the name of the local company that appears in the letter of intent, Sur Energy, fuels the idea that the project could be developed in the south of the country. The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, with the CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, in May 2024 Climate and design: allies or burden. If the southern hypothesis gains strength, it is also for a technical reason: the climate plays in its favor. Colder areas allow you to operate with less cooling energy and take advantage of outside air, something that reduces costs and emissions. In parallel, the availability of water continues to be a decisive factor. The new artificial intelligence campuses, aware of this risk, are adopting cooling systems that minimize the use of water resources. We will have to wait to know the option chosen by OpenAI. When the network or the water say no. The location of a data center does not depend only on the weather or tax incentives. Factors such as the electrical grid or the availability of water can mark the success or failure of a project. Mexico, for example, is one of the largest technology hubs in the region, but even there a Microsoft data center ran into the limitations of the national network. and had to resort to gas generators. In Chile, Google saw its plan blocked due to excessive water use. They are reminders that it is not enough to have space: you need infrastructure. In Xataka In the nineties, no one saw how the Internet would starve factories. Thirty years later, AI is doing the same thing From exclusivity to autonomy. For years, OpenAI’s infrastructure depended almost entirely on Microsoft. In 2019, the Redmond company invested 1 billion dollars and became your exclusive cloud partner. Over time, that alliance grew to exceed 10 billion, consolidating Azure as the platform where the company’s models were trained and executed. However, OpenAI has been seeking greater operational autonomy. The Stargate program responds precisely to that idea: having its own computing resources and diversifying its technological dependence. From paper to concrete. For now, it all depends on the next steps. For the initiative to move forward, a definitive contract between OpenAI and Sur Energy, the presentation of environmental studies and electrical interconnection licenses will be necessary. The financing scheme and long-term energy agreements will also have to be defined. Only with these pieces in place can we speak of a real work. Until then, … Read more

go back to pencil and paper

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We take for granted the conveniences of the digital age: instant messaging, online shopping, the databases that power millions of businesses. Everything flows until something breaks and the routine stops. In companies, this failure can have devastating effects. Jaguar Land Rover verified itwhich suffered a cyber attack that paralyzed its production lines. Now the scenario is repeated in Japan, where Asahi, the giant that controls about 40% of the beer market, has had to stop its activity and resort to the most basic: handwritten orders, paper documents and faxes that ring again. The incident broke out at the end of September, when an attack by ransomware left inoperative Asahi’s ordering and shipping systems in Japan. In a few hours, the company had to suspend activity in most of its factories and completely reorganize its logistics. The country’s supermarkets and convenience chains, including 7-Eleven and FamilyMart, warned of possible stock shortages. Although production began to resume on a limited basis, the brewer admitted that it could not guarantee timelines for returning to normality. When a cyberattack turns off screens and forces you to return to paper The systems that allow Asahi to process orders, coordinate deliveries and communicate with distributors were out of service following the attack. Although factories could continue producingthe company was forced to stop activity because it could not manage a single shipping order. The measure was part of the containment protocol, which included blocking servers and suspending incoming mail from abroad. In a few hours, the largest brewer in the country went from total automation to an almost complete stoppage. Faced with the digital blockade, Asahi activated an emergency plan based on manual procedures. Orders were written down by hand, delivery notes were printed and shipping confirmations were communicated by fax, as they were decades ago. The goal was simple: keep the product flowing, even if it was limited. The brewery thus managed to partially reactivate its distribution network, while preparing the reopening of its call center. It was a slow and laborious response, but it allowed the first batches of beer to leave the factories again. Little by little, Asahi began to commission its factories. The six brewing centers in the country returned to limited production, starting with the Asahi Super Dry line. Some soft drink and food plants were also reactivated, although at a slower pace. The company specified that its production was still far from normal and that containment measures were still in force. The attack affected only Asahi’s domestic operations. The company clarified that its subsidiaries in Europe and the United Kingdom continued to operate without incidents. The Japanese side, which contributes around 50% of its global incomewas the only one hit. Although the geographical scope was limited, the economic and logistical effect within the country was notable. A group called Qilin sand claimed responsibility for the cyberattack. We are talking about an organization that operates under a “ransomware as a service” model and that has already been involved in attacks on large companies. Asahi did not confirm that version or detail the type of intrusion. In any case, The Japanese Government maintains an investigation open to clarify what happened. Asahi is keeping its recovery plan underway, focused on gradually restoring ordering and shipping systems. As we say, the immediate priority is normalize production and fully reopen its customer service center. Starting in mid-October, the company hopes to increase the pace of distribution and recover part of the catalog affected by delays. It has not yet set a date for full restoration, but it assures that security measures will be reinforced before returning to one hundred percent operation. Images | Asahi (1, 2) | freepik In Xataka | How often should we change ALL our passwords according to three cybersecurity experts

Europe needs tungsten for its electrical future. A Swedish mining company knows where to find it: Ourense

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In the parish of Pentes, in the Ourense municipality of A Gudiña, the excavators have already begun to remove earth. There, on a slope where until recently only the mountain wind could be heard, the Swedish mining company Eurobattery Minerals AB has launched the work to extract tungsten – also known as tungsten –, a strategic metal for the European energy and technological transition. Galicia thus joins the small group of regions on the continent with active exploitation of this critical mineral. A strategic mine for Europe. The company, through its Galician subsidiary Tungsten San Juan, has launched its San Juan project while preparing its application for the second call for Strategic Projects under the European Regulation of Critical Raw Materials (CRMA), to open in January 2026. The first earthworks and the construction of a service warehouse are already visible in the area, as confirmed by the Vigo Lighthouse. When it is at full capacity, this will be the second active exploitation of tungsten in Spain, along with that of Barruecopardoin Salamanca. More in depth. The San Juan project will be an open pit mine with a goal that goes beyond local production: to provide European tungsten to the continent’s new industrial ecosystem. The company has begun improving infrastructure and constructing a pilot plant with gravimetric technology, while estimating reserves of 60,000 tons of ore with a grade of 1.3% WO₃. These are modest figures on a global scale, but significant for a Europe that seeks to reduce its dependence on Chinese imports of this critical metal. It has not been a short road. The procedures began in 2016 with geological studies, surveys and the construction of accesses, all under the supervision of the Xunta de Galicia. “Our goal is to produce tungsten responsibly and efficiently within Europe,” explains Agne Ahleniusgeneral director of Tungsten San Juan and former head of the Barruecopardo mine. “With this project, Galicia and Spain reinforce their role in the European supply chain of critical raw materials.” The metal that supports the energy transition. Few materials concentrate as much strategic value as tungsten. Its density, its resistance and its very high melting point make it a key resource for modern industry: from wind turbines to defense, including semiconductors and electric cars. But behind its technical brilliance there is a global conflict. China controls more than 80% of production and, in recent months, it has further limited its exports. The result: skyrocketing prices, uncertainty in the markets and a new reminder of how dependent Europe continues to be. To break this cycle, Brussels has launched the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), a plan to guarantee access to critical minerals within European territory. According to the European Commissionthese initiatives not only seek economic stability: they also aim to reinforce the industrial autonomy of the continent and reduce its vulnerability to geopolitical tensions. Spain, a mining window. The start of the San Juan project is not an isolated event. It is part of a larger movement: the rediscovery of Spain’s mining potential. The country has projects of copper, tungsten, vanadium, graphite and cobalt, in addition to new deposits of rare earths in Estremadura and Gran Canaria. The European Union has set clear goals. It wants to stop depending on third countries for its supply of raw materials, and the new Critical Raw Materials Regulation (CRMA) mark the way: By 2030, at least 10% of critical minerals must be extracted within Europe, 40% processed on EU soil and 15% from recycling. Furthermore, no external country may concentrate more than 65% of the supply. On this map, Spain appears as a key piece: with Galicia, Castilla y León, Andalusia and Extremadura at the forefront, the country could become one of the gateways to the new European green reindustrialization. European autonomy is in Galicia. The roar of the excavators in A Gudiña not only marks the beginning of a new mine, but also the symbol of a change of era. Europe wants to leave decades of dependence behind and build a more sovereign and sustainable industry. From a Galician hillside, a small tungsten mine has become part of that strategy. What begins in Pentes may be, deep down, one more piece of the new energy and technological map of Europe. Image | Unsplash Xataka | The price of silver is exploding to levels not seen since 1980. The reason: we need too much

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