Samsung has made a lot of money from the memory crisis and its employees wanted their cut. Result: bonus of $340,000

by

Employees at Samsung’s chip division were in high gear. And it is logical: your company is becoming gold thanks to the rise of data centers for AI. The demand for memory chips is extraordinary and that has caused Samsung’s market capitalization to skyrocket over a billion dollars. The company, yes, was being very selfish, but the threat of a strike He has made her see reason. The bonus of the crisis. Samsung Electronics workers have ratified a multimillion-dollar compensation agreement. One that will see employees of the semiconductor division receive an average bonus estimated at 513 million won (about $340,000). Agreement in extremis. The vote was approved by 74% of members of the majority union, and was closed in extremisbecause there were 90 minutes left before an indefinite strike began that threatened to paralyze this giant’s supply chains. The risk was too high. This agreement avoids a scenario that would have been catastrophic for the AI ​​industry. Samsung is the largest memory chip manufacturer in the worldand its modules power everything from mobile phones and electric vehicles to the GPUs used in AI data centers. Considering that the market is already stressed by the memory crisis and demand that far exceeds supply, adding this bottleneck would have had unforeseeable consequences. Only Saudi Aramco surpasses Samsung in estimated operating profits for 2026. Source: Bloomberg. Memory chips are pure gold. Samsung is on its way to close one of the most profitable years in its history, and its semiconductor division already indicated that its profits had multiplied by 48 in the first quarter of the year, an absolutely extraordinary figure. She is not the only one taking advantage of this phenomenon: SK Hynix and Micron They have broken the trillion-dollar market capitalization barrier for the first time. Some so much and others so little. Although the agreement has avoided a logistical disaster, it has also caused a very uncomfortable situation internally. The bonuses are linked to the financial performance of each business unit, which means that the 28,000 members of the chip division have benefited significantly, but the rest of the company has not. The differences are clear: Engineers in that division will receive bonuses of up to 600 million won ($400,000). They will share 40% of the total allocated as bonuses. Personnel in divisions such as home appliances or telephony will receive a testimonial bonus of just 6 million won ($4,000). They share 60% of the bonus, but there are many more in number, about 260,000 in total. The average salary of Samsung employees in 2025 was 158 million won (about $105,000) according to internal company information published in March. Unions divided. This asymmetry of 100 to 1 has caused great tensions to appear between departments, and this has also been noted in the negotiation and conversations in the union. While the majority bloc (which included the majority of workers in the semiconductor division) supported the agreement with more than 80% of the votes, the secondary union, which brings together employees from other divisions, rejected the document with only 21% of votes in favor. TM Roh takes action. The situation is so worrying that TM Roh, head of the device division, has sent an internal statement to try to calm things down. He has admitted that the results of the negotiation have left thousands of employees feeling “alienated, dispossessed and hurt by the company.” Top management has promised to monitor the conditions of each unit, but while Samsung has managed to control the chaos in its factories, it could have an even more disturbing problem on its hands. Image | Wikimedia Commons (Choi Kwang-mo), IntelUnsplash (Liam Briese) In Xataka | Samsung has just achieved a milestone that has not been recorded for eight years. The problem is that it is a mirage

The Ferrari Luce is a game of lies. And that says a lot about the problems that all electric supercars have.

by

Unless you’ve been lost on a remote island in the middle of the Pacific for the last 36 hours, there’s a good chance you’ve had a little inkling of what’s happened to Ferrari. The brand of Il Cavallino has presented its first electric car, the Ferrari Luce. And no, I didn’t like it. The vehicle designed by Jony Ive and Marc Newson has had an almost unanimous response. Undoubtedly, it has not been saved from criticism on social networks. But he has also received them from figures such as Luca Cordero di Montezemolowho led the company for more than a decade. The former president of the Italians has made statements as harsh as that Ferrari is running the risk of “destroying its myth.” But there are reasons to understand why the new Ferrari Luce is unlike anything we’ve seen from Ferrari before. It is not that we defend its aesthetics, we point out why the company seems to have wanted to completely separate this new electric line from its more sporty image. Everything seems to indicate that They are doing everything possible to find a new audience. Ferrari has preferred to put aside its intention to create a completely electric supercar. At the moment, that market does seem completely deserted in terms of potential clients. The Porsche Taycan is stuck. The Rimac Refrigerator does not sell. Brands like Lamborghini have distanced themselves from the pool when they realized that it most likely lacks water. And the electric supercar is faster than a gasoline one. Its acceleration is unmatched. Well executed, it can have a faster and more spectacular cornering than any thermal rival. But in this life not everything is numbers. And when you sell experiences, that’s a problem. It’s not perfect, it’s better than that There is something disturbing about perfection: the absence of soul. Human beings feel pleasure through the senses and enjoy experiences. He likes the tactile, he delights in sound, he tastes and smells with pleasure. And that is difficult to overcome. Even though the substitute product is more efficient and more effective. Cleaner and odorless. A Tesla Model 3 Performance is faster than most sports cars of the moment. Its 3.1 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h was impossible to match for any mass vehicle, a figure within the reach of the best. Cars worth hundreds of thousands of euros. But saying that it is a better sports car than a naturally aspirated V12 is like equating a paella made with care and love over an orange wood fire with a pill manufactured by a pharmaceutical company in seconds at a ridiculous price. Both can provide the same nutrients but I am clear about which one provides more pleasure. The same thing happens with supercars. With any sports car, in fact. And that is a problem for the electric car. Let alone for a brand like Ferrari. When someone buys a Ferrari, buy an experience. Just like when you buy a Lamborghini, a Porsche or, much simpler, a Mazda MX-5. The car is, in most cases, an object of mobility. The electric car is the best and maximum expression of that. Especially in the city. But a sports car is not only about cornering and acceleration that glues you to your seat. Guillermo García Alfonsín explains well why the electric Mini JCW is fun: because it’s not tuned well on purpose. Imperfection attracts us. A Miata isn’t especially fast, but the driving experience is one of the best. The characteristic sound of an engine, whether it is a V6, V12 or an inline five-cylinder. A precise and manual gearbox. Its metallic sound of an H shift in classic supercars. Cabin vibrations. The smell of gasoline while you refuel. All of these are unmatched experiences for an electric car. All things being equal, they are faster and more effective. But the brands are aware that their customers have enormous reluctance to this clean and odorless experience when Mercedes installs an artificial sound in the new Mercedes-AMG GT, the electric that comes to replace the roar of its V8. In their Ferrari Luce, the Italians have chosen a different path. In its press release, the brand refers to the, undoubtedly, very high performance of a car capable of developing more than 1,000 HP of power. To the innovations used to carry out our own development with more than 60 patents. The truth is that, despite everything, a Tesla Model S Plaid that costs cost Five times less is faster. But in its text, Ferrari has tried to value the experiential nature of the proposal. For example, the explanation of how sound works: The Ferrari Luce’s approach to sound is based on the key principle that it must be authentic and functional, generated from the car’s own mechanics and at the service of the driving experience. A precision accelerometer located in the center of the shaft captures the dynamic texture and vibration of rotating components while sound waves are in motion. Developed in-house and patented, this system filters, equalizes and amplifies the signal similar to how an electric guitar does, but only when functional to the driving experience. The sound will depend on the driving mode chosen but also on the use of the paddles, to simulate an experience similar to what would be changing gears with a combustion engine. Cams for a car without gear change. Lie upon lie to build an identity It must be said that Ferrari is by no means the only company that opts for these trompe-l’oeil games. We have mentioned the case of Mercedes but the speakers to filter the sound inside the cabin and comply with the noise limits outside have been on the market for years. Toyota has patents for simulate gear changes in electric cars without gear changes. Honda does exactly the same with its new Prelude. The engineering behind the automobile has been an art since its birth. An art based on engineering and product development that, … Read more

you have the final of the Conference League on M+ without permanence

by

Almost everything is decided at the club level in Europe, but not everything. Tonight a Spanish team is playing to win its first European title in a match: we are talking about Rayo Vallecano, which is playing in the final of the Conference League. It is one of those events that, if you like football, is worth seeing. It is Movistar Plus that broadcasts the match exclusively: you can subscribe by 9.99 euros. And remember: no permanence. Monthly subscription to Movistar Plus The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Movistar Plus also broadcasts Roland Garros in full Several things to keep in mind. You can contract Movistar Plus regardless of which operator you areso that is not any type of limitation. Furthermore, since you have no permanence, you can try for a month (for example, to watch the final tonight) and unsubscribe at any time. All without forgetting that you can share your account with a friend or family member, since it supports two simultaneous reproductions. The incentive we have today to test this platform is, of course, the decisive match of the Conference League. This one, which will face Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano, It is not the only match that Movistar Plus broadcasts in the coming weeks: We will also be able to see the final of the Champions League and the final day of LaLiga Hypermotion. All without forgetting what Roland Garros also broadcasts in its entirety. If you are not interested in sports, then you also have the option of subscribing to the Movistar Plus Free Plan with movies and series. This is exactly the same as the previous one, except for two differences: It does not include any sports and is cheaper (costs 4.99 euros). With this one (and the one that costs 9.99 euros, of course), we will have access to a huge catalog of films, series and documentaries where there is a large presence of Movistar Plus’ own productions. These include movies like ‘Sundays‘or series like the recently released ‘I always sometimes‘, so you have a lot to see. And how can you download whatever you want to watch offlineyou can have entertainment if, for example, you are preparing a getaway this summer and you are going to catch a plane. 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 | Movistar Plus+ In Xataka | Movistar Plus+ activates its Free Plan with complete programs and a lot of content, regardless of which operator you are In Xataka | Two of the best true crimes I have found are on Movistar Plus. And now you can see them for 4.99 euros

US supermarkets want to use digital price tags. Great idea for them, terrible for customers.

by

Supermarket price tags want to live his particular revolution. The traditional ones, which normally show the price on a sheet of paper, cardboard or plastic, are in danger, because companies in the sector have a great idea: replace them with electronic ink digital screens that can be updated from a central server in a matter of seconds. It seems like a great idea, but consumers are clear that what it is is a nightmare for their pockets. The advancement of ESL/DSL labels. The technology that wants to replace traditional labels is the so-called Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL) or Digital Shelf Labels (DSL), which are nothing more than electronic ink screens that can be managed instantly from a central server. Walmart, the largest retail chain in the world, is leading this transition and aims implement them in 100% of its establishments in the US before the end of 2026. The argument. This company explains that the measure seeks to reduce operating costs, and that any modification will always require validation by a human agent. Amanda Bailey, who leads a team at a Walmart store in West Chester (Ohio, USA) estimated that the time spent changing prices on products in the store had been reduced by 75% thanks to DSL, and with that time they can serve customers better. Consumers, against. A recent survey from the consulting firm GBAO Strategies reveals that consumers do not share Walmart’s optimism. According to the participants’ data, 65% are convinced that supermarkets will use this technology to make shopping carts more expensive. Only 3% believe that it will serve to make it cheaper. The idea is not bad. ESL tags are ultra-low power devices that connect to the premises’ Wi-Fi or Bluetooth infrastructure. Theoretically, the idea is very reasonable, because in addition to reducing price management times, it eliminates cashier errors, reduces paper waste, and allows offers from the physical store to be instantly synchronized with those on the website. But be careful. However, these labels also open the door to disturbing scenarios, such as the application of dynamic pricing. Cold drinks can suddenly cost more if it’s very hot outside, or from price adjustments based on inventory. There is even talk of more sophisticated AI algorithms and already patented by Walmart capable of managing a customer profile in real time to adjust the price of the product based on what the data ensures that they are willing to pay. Surveillance pricing. The industry talks about personalized prices, but consumer associations have dubbed the phenomenon “surveillance pricing” )”surveillance prices”, in a literal translation). The concept is simple, forceful and disturbing: the supermarket monitors the user’s purchase history and their geolocation through the mobile app in addition to other parameters such as the level of aisle traffic to squeeze its profit margin. If there is an electronic tag, I’m leaving. The rejection of these labels is clear in the aforementioned survey: 68% of them fear that these “surveillance prices” will increase the cost of living. 58% indicated that they would avoid buying in stores that implement this type of digital price tags. 67% demand a law that completely prohibits this technology. The reaction is not strange: in April inflation rose to 3.8% in the US (annualized data) while salaries only rose 3.6%. It is the first time that salaries have failed to keep up with inflation, according to CBS News. In Spain the situation is paradoxical. In December 2025 the salaries agreed in the agreement they had grown 3.49% compared to the previous year, while the average inflation until that month was 2.7% (very moderate due to low electricity and fuel). That seems like good news, but 1) two out of every three workers They do not have a salary review clause and 2) the price of food has become more expensive by 37% in the last five years and things are getting worse. The ghost of Uber, Wendy’s and Ticketmaster. We already know this story, because in the past they have already arisen various controversies with dynamic prices. Image | E Ink In Xataka | If you want to anticipate how your shopping basket will rise, you just have to look at what is happening to toilet paper.

Researchers solve a problem that has been stuck for decades

by

A team from Monash University in Australia has developed an ultrathin membrane able to operate hydrogen fuel cells at 250 °C and, most surprisingly, without the need for water. This is a wall in which technology has been crossing for a long time and the discovery has been published in the journal Science Advances. Below these lines we tell you all the details. Why is it important. Hydrogen cells are one of the great promises to decarbonize transportation, heavy industry and sectors where batteries fall short. They only emit water and heat, they recharge quickly and offer autonomy comparable to gasoline. The problem is that current membranes, such as those based on Nafion (a synthetic resin), they need to be permanently hydrated so that the protons can circulate. And that forces us to operate below 80-100 °C, because at higher temperatures the water evaporates and the entire system collapses. In detail. The team, led by researchers Huanting Wang and Kaiqiang He, has built atomic-thick nanosheets made of graphene and boron nitride. Between those layers they have introduced phosphoric acid in a state that researchers call nanoconfined, where the acid is trapped in tiny spaces from which it cannot escape or evaporate, even at 250 ° C. The result It is a membrane of just 50 micrometers, named GBP, that acts as a dry highway through which protons move at high speed without depending on a single drop of water. How it works. Wang, professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Monash, account that “by combining proton-conducting nanosheets with nanoconfined phosphoric acid, we have developed a membrane that maintains rapid proton transport without water.” The trick is in a mechanism that the authors define as synergistic, in which protons directly pass through the hexagonal rings of graphene and boron nitride and, at the same time, jump along the network of hydrogen bonds that forms the acid confined between layers. On the other hand, He adds that this combination is what gives the membrane high conductivity and stability in dry and high temperature conditions. The figures. In laboratory tests GBP achieved a proton conductivity of 166 mS cm⁻¹ at 250 °C and a power density of 1,011 mW cm⁻² in a hydrogen-oxygen stack, well above industry reference membranes. In addition, the team kept it running for 150 hours straight at that temperature without signs of degradation. Between the lines. Working at 250°C is a game-changer on several fronts. One: The water management and humidification systems are eliminated, which in current hydrogen cars are heavy, bulky and expensive. Two: at that temperature the platinum catalyst tolerates impurities better such as carbon monoxide, which opens the door to using less pure hydrogen and, therefore, cheaper to produce. Three– Cooling the system becomes much easier, allowing for smaller radiators and lighter vehicles. Beyond the car. Although we usually focus on the hydrogen cars When we talk about this type of technology, the truth is that the potential applications go much further. GBP was also tested in direct methanol cells and performed at 502 mW cm⁻² with 16 M concentrated methanol at 250 °C. This suggests that it could be used for portable systems where hydrogen is difficult to store. In addition, the authors point to uses in data centersplanes, trains, factories and hospitals as energy backup, and other electrochemical processes such as the separation of water molecules, the reduction of carbon dioxide or the synthesis of ammonia. And now what. The next step is the usual one. And when a laboratory announces an advance like this, we have to wait until it ends up coming to fruition and its commercialization on an industrial scale is viable. If they succeed, the combination of cheaper batteries, less pure hydrogen and simpler systems could accelerate the arrival of this technology in sectors where electrification with batteries does not quite fit. Cover image | CARMAN and Monash University In Xataka | The world depends on gas to produce food. Paraguay believes it has the definitive solution thanks to the Itaipú dam

American chipmakers keep making money there

by

China is unequivocally the largest market in the world if we stick to the size of its industrial productionto the volume of your e-commerce already its export capacity. If you look at your adjusted gross domestic product purchasing power parity, also leads. However, if we stick to its nominal gross domestic product and domestic consumption per capita, USA is ahead. Be that as it may, depending on the metric we observe, the country led by Xi Jinping establishes itself as the first or second largest market. Its leadership in some sectors, such as financial services or software, is not entirely clear. And, for this reason, it can be argued. However, in the area of electric cars, steel production either semiconductorsChina leads with authority. In fact, its integrated circuit market is larger than that of the US, Taiwan, South Korea or Japan. And American companies are not at all immune to this reality. The report “Hurun Top 100 American Companies in China 2026”, which has been prepared by the Hurun Research Institute, defend that the income of twenty-six American semiconductor companies grew on average by 20% in China in 2025 despite the trade tensions between the US and China. Nvidia, Qualcomm, AMD or Intel are some of them. In the current confrontation scenario It is surprising that China remains such an important market for American IC companies. The Chinese market continues to grow A note before we move forward: Hurun Research Institute is part of Hurun Inc., a media, data analytics and investment company founded in 1999 by British entrepreneur and analyst Rupert Hoogewerf. The report I told you about a few lines above follows the trajectory of 100 publicly traded US companies and pays close attention to their economic performance in China over the past year. Western Digital, Analog Devices and AMD have led this expansion Curiously, 26 of the 100 companies with the highest income from this Asian country belong to the semiconductor sector, which has been classified as strategic by both the US and China. And among the 10 with the highest revenue during 2025 are Qualcomm, Nvidia, Intel, Broadcom, Applied Materials and AMD. Another interesting fact: Western Digital, Analog Devices and AMD have led this expansion with an interannual growth rate of 43%, 34% and 24% respectively. The three occupy positions 33, 30 and 10 on Hurun’s list. Nvidia is not one of the American companies that has grown the most in China for a compelling reason: it is the most damaged company due to the export controls that the Donald Trump Administration has deployed. Be that as it may, Rupert Hoogewerf has pointed out in a statement that “the strong momentum in this report underscores the Chinese market’s robust demand for computing power for artificial intelligenceof high-end chips, and also the expansion of the semiconductor industrial chain.” Image | Intel More information | SCMP In Xataka | The chip of the future comes from Japan: it is 1,000 times faster than current semiconductors and does not heat up

While Europe looks at Ukraine, the US has sounded the alarms for Spain on a closer front: losing two autonomous cities

by

In July 2002, a handful of Moroccan soldiers landed on the islet of Perejil and raised a Moroccan flag there. The Spanish response came days later with a military operation so rapid and measured that it ended up becoming one of the diplomatic-military episodes strangest of the recent Mediterranean. What worries Spain. While Europe concentrates much of its military attention in Ukraine and the eastern flank of NATO, a much closer concern is growing in Spain: the south of the Strait. The problem is not just Morocco or the military balance in the Maghreb, but the change in the United States’ attitude toward the region. The appearance in Washington of official documents that describe Ceuta and Melilla like cities “under Spanish administration” in Moroccan territory has generated unprecedented alarm because it breaks a historical diplomatic taboo. For decades, the sovereignty of both cities was considered out of the question for Western allies. Now some American political sectors are beginning to treat her as an open dispute susceptible to future negotiation. US pressure. Spanish concern does not arise solely from a parliamentary report, but from the political context that surrounds it. Republican congressman Mario Diaz-Balartclose to Marco Rubio’s entourage and aligned with positions very favorable to Rabat, has not only publicly defended that Ceuta and Melilla are “in Moroccan territory”, but that the own report encourages the State Department to promote diplomatic talks about their status. All this coincides with the deterioration of the relationship between Donald Trump and the Spanish Government for military spendingNATO and the disagreements over Iran. In certain strategic Spanish sectors, the feeling is beginning to spread that Washington increasingly considers most useful to Morocco as a regional and less essential partner to Spain within its Mediterranean architecture. Morocco and the new balance. The most profound change may be occurring on the other side of the Strait. Morocco has been accelerating for years its military modernization through agreements with the United States, Israel, Türkiye and France, while also promoting its own arms industry. Since 2021, industrial projects linked to drones, weapons and advanced military production have multiplied. At the same time, Rabat has consolidated his diplomatic position in Washington after the American recognition of Western Sahara. For many Spanish analysts, the problem is no longer just migratory pressure or specific border crises, but the emergence of a regional power much more militarily connected to the West and increasingly secure in its strategic position. Spain is left out. The other big concern is that Spain seems have been left out of the new network of military alliances in the Maghreb. Italy has become the main strategic partner of Algeria in the Mediterranean, expanding defense agreements, industrial cooperation and military coordination with one of the most powerful armies in Africa. Morocco, meanwhile, close ties with Washington, Paris and Tel Aviv. Spain has managed to rebuild diplomatic relations with both neighbors, but it hardly has any relevant agreements on defense matters. This vacuum is beginning to be perceived as a serious problem in certain strategic circles, especially when linked reports to the Ministry of Defense they already admit that “South of the Strait of Gibraltar, military pressure is a reality.” Ceuta and Melilla as vulnerable points. That is why the reports of the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies raise with increasing clarity the need to a specific plan defense for Ceuta and Melilla. The focus goes far beyond the military and includes logistics, cybersecurity, maritime surveillance, institutional resilience and protection of critical infrastructure. Fear does not necessarily point to an open conventional conflict, but rather to hybrid scenarios constant pressure: migration crises, diplomatic tensions, partial blockades or political attrition campaigns. Autonomous cities thus appear as especially sensitive enclaves due to their logistical dependence and geographical isolation. A brutal return: geography. If you like, all this reflects something broader: the return of geography as a central factor of European politics. For years, Spain observed the Maghreb mainly from a migratory and commercial perspective, while the greatest threats seemed to be far from the western Mediterranean. But the war in Ukraine has accelerated regional rearmament and has reorganized alliances throughout the area. And in the midst of this transformation, Spain begins to discover that one of its potentially most delicate fronts is not in the Baltic or in Eastern Europe, but just in the other side of the strait. Image | US Army In Xataka | The US threatened to take the Rota base to Morocco. Spain has buried it with an unbeatable offer: more territory In Xataka | ANDhe tunnel between Spain and Morocco seemed like a chimera. Now a tunnel boring machine manufacturer says it is viable

Spotify has spent months deleting music made with AI. Now he wants to sell it as a premium product

by

In just a few weeks, Spotify has been changing its position on AI-generated music: months ago it removed more than 75 million fraudulent tracks, launched a distinctive seal so listeners knew when there were human hands on the other side, and tightened its filters against synthetic spam. But the turn came in the talk for investors on May 21, where it became clear that what worries Spotify is not AI, but generating income with it. The precedents. Let’s start with the moves Spotify has made to control the rampant presence of AI on the platform. In September 2025 the company revealed that had removed more than 75 million fraudulent leads of its platform in the previous twelve months. Many of the AI ​​actions were malicious: massive raises designed to steal royaltiesunauthorized voice clones and content which the company’s own executives called “slop.” By then Deezer had detected that it received more than 30,000 AI-generated tracks per day, and that up to 77% of its reproductions were fraudulent. Just a few weeks before the meeting with investors, on April 30, Spotify launched the “Verified by Spotify” seal, a verification mark that distinguishes human artists from the artificial ones, which are increasingly proliferating on the platform. To achieve it, musicians must demonstrate authentic activity, have linked social media accounts and concerts on the agenda (something that, as we have said over the last few months, does not guarantee anything, given the latest successes of AI-generated music, which have their following on networks and their continuous stream of releases). Deals with Universal. The main news before shareholders is a licensing agreement with Universal Music Group, the largest record label in the world, which will allow Spotify Premium subscribers create covers and remixes with generative AI of songs from the artists participating in the agreement. The tool will arrive as a paid add-on to the usual subscription. It was already known that Spotify was considering charging up to an additional $5.99 per month for a “Music Pro” tier with superfan features. Co-CEO Alex Norström said that with this tool, “one song would become 10,000 songs.” The agreement contemplates a revenue sharing model with participating artists, and it was made clear that participation will be completely voluntary by the musicians. This announcement is no surprise: we already knew that Spotify was working on AI products with Universal, Sony, Warner, Merlin and Believe, but without a closed legal framework. Universal had previously licensed its catalog to smaller AI platforms, such as Udio, Klay Vision and Stability AI, but here it is already we enter in the 761 million monthly active users and 293 million paying subscribers. Long live AI. In an interviewNorström made it clear that, faced with multiple tools that allow songs to be manipulated without permission, they want to be the “legal” and “controlled” option. Norström affirms that the synthetic music market already exists and that trying to stop it would be useless, so he proposes regulating it from within, with agreements between labels and platforms, and turning it into a source of income for all actors. To combat AI content that “makes you feel good in the moment” but ultimately leaves the user feeling like they’ve “wasted their time,” Spotify offers verified authors and artists who charge for it. High tension. The announcement comes at a time when many powerful players are beginning to understand the extent of what they are risking. On May 13, a week before the investor meeting, famous producer Jack Antonoff (he has worked with Taylor Swift, Lorde and Lana Del Rey) posted on Instagram against those who use AI to make music. Norström acknowledged in the interview that there is “some negativity out there” regarding AI and called it “reasonable,” although he added that it is due to “poorly aligned AI.” swerve I mean, potify has spent months arguing that the problem with AI in music was fraud, spam, and impersonation. Now it announces that the same synthetic content, controlled and profitable, may be desirable. As we said in our analysis of the algorithmic model that Spotify has built for years linked above, the platform has been encouraging listening that prioritizes the state of mind over the identity of the artist for some time. That is, the ideal breeding ground for synthetic music. All that was left was monetization. In Xataka | We put Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music to the test: music streaming has changed and there is no longer an obvious winner

The robot vacuum cleaner that climbs stairs is real, it arrives in Spain and no, it is not a robot vacuum cleaner

by

Robot vacuum cleaners are capable of navigating without getting lost, removing socks with one arm, take out the paw to better clean the corners and even clean themselves. They do a lot of things, more and more, but what none of them did until now was climb stairs. Due to their very format, robot vacuum cleaners have been limited to solid floors. Then Dreame arrived, said “hold my bucket” and launched the Cyber ​​X, a conceptual robot vacuum cleaner that was capable of climbing stairs using caterpillars. At IFA 2025 they taught the conceptthen they turned it to exhibit at CES of this year and today, at last, we can say that it is no longer conceptual. Is a finished productdefinitive, with release date and price in Spain. And no, although it may seem like it, it is not a robot vacuum cleaner, but rather an accessory for robot vacuum cleaners. Stairs up, stairs down This is a conventional robot vacuum cleaner. With those wheels you can overcome an obstacle, but not a step | Image: Xataka As a general rule, a robot vacuum cleaner has two rear wheels that propel it forward and make it pivot by playing with the speeds or direction of travel. Some have a lifting system that allows them to overcome small obstacles, such as a curb, but none usually exceed eight to ten centimeters. What has Dreame done? Inspired by tanks to launch not a robot vacuum cleaner that climbs stairs, but an attachment with four tracks in which the robot vacuum cleaner is attached to overcome the stairs. The Cyber addonan additional product to the robot vacuum cleaner, which makes all the sense in the world if we think about using it in the long term. Few product categories have evolved as much in such a short time as robot vacuum cleaners. Putting legs on a single model makes no sense while, probably, it would be outdated in a few years. Putting it on an accessory that a robot vacuum fits into is simply a much better idea. This is what the Cyber ​​X looks like without any robot vacuum cleaner inside | Image: Dreame And this is what it looks like with a robot inside | Image: Dreame How does it work? The device has four rubber tracks, an independent ladder vision and detection system, and its own charging base. When the robot vacuum cleaner has to climb stairs, it approaches the Cyber But the robot does not move, the accessory moves. The robot is simply a passenger inside. When it reaches a ladder, the Cyber speed of 0.2 meters per second. It takes 27 seconds to climb a step, according to the company, and supports all types of stairs: straight, L-shaped, with floating steps and spirals. It may not seem very fast, but it is faster than what was available until now, which was nothing. In theory, the robot can overcome all types of stairs | Image: Dreame Upon reaching the top, the Cyber the robot undockscleaning as normal. When finished, the robot returns to the Cyber ​​X and can either go up another floor (it can accommodate up to four floors) or go down. It is when it goes down that the Cyber ​​X shows another of its tricks: it is capable of sweeping and vacuuming the steps. On the inside of the rear track there is two little arms with two brushes that sweep the dust and the dirt on the steps. This moves towards a vacuum cleaner with 6,000 Pa of power located in the rear, which in turn is directly connected to a HEPA filter and the dust container of the robot vacuum cleaner that is a passenger. On the back there are little brushes to clean the steps as you go down | Image: Dreame When it reaches the end, the robot activates a soft landing system, so that the front track rests gently on the ground while the rear track descends the last step. This prevents sudden hits on the ground. If necessary, the robot has a braking system that allows it to stop if it detects pets or people while going up or down. Versions and price of the Dreame Cyber He Cyber It will have a price of 1,199 euros to which the cost of the robot vacuum cleaner will have to be added. In this first phase, the Cyber ​​X is only compatible with the series Dreame X60 Pro (all models regardless of the type of mop), whose cheapest model costs 1,499 euros. It is, by all accounts, a premium product at a premium product price. It will be launched in September of this year. Images | Dreame In Xataka | Best robot vacuum cleaners in quality price. Which one to buy based on use and six recommended models

undetectable sounds that hack AI chats

by

You have a podcast or YouTube video playing at home and, without realizing it, it starts playing a sound that is undetectable to you, but is sending commands to your AI assistants. The assistant then begins to share sensitive data with the attacker or installs malware. We already had the prompt injection attacks and now comes the injection of sound prompts. The experiment. It sounds like science fiction, but it is perfectly possible. A team of researchers from China and Singapore have discovered a way to create malicious sounds that can “hijack” voice AI models, causing them to execute commands without you knowing or being able to stop them. In statements to IEEE Spectrumthe leader of the study assures that “It only takes half an hour to train this signal and, since it is context-independent, it can be used to attack a model whenever you want, regardless of what the user says.” The authors tested this technique against thirteen AI models, including services from Microsoft and Mistral. In the test they had these models perform sensitive searches, send emails with user information and download files. They achieved a success rate of between 79 and 96%. Undetectable. LALMs (Large Audio Language Models) have a critical security flaw. Since they receive instructions in audio format, it is possible to inject malicious commands into manipulated sounds. Worst of all, these sounds are not voices with instructions, which would be fairly easy to detect, but rather they use a method called “convolutional mixing” that masquerades the sound as a natural reverb or echo in the room. Why it is important. An attack of this type completely changes the defenses that we have internalized (do not click on links, do not download things, do not give out your data…). Something as harmless as playing a YouTube video, a podcast, or watching a TikTok in the background can trigger an attack without us even realizing it. If we also take into account that the power of AI agents, such as the recently announced Gemini Sparkis precisely having access to our entire digital life, an attack of this type can wreak havoc. Hijacking attention. Pre-instructing the model with examples of malicious commands so that it ignores them barely reduces attack success by a dismal 7%. Similarly, asking the AI ​​to “reflect” on whether its response matches what the user has actually asked for only manages to detect 28% of attacks. Current security measures are useless because manipulated audio hijacks the model’s mathematical “attention,” inducing the AI ​​to execute high-confidence outputs and making it impossible to distinguish between a legitimate user command and an adversary attack. Open source. The “good” part is that at the moment this type of attack has only been able to be carried out with open weight models. However, researchers have seen that once malicious audio is trained, it can be transferred to breach closed models. As we said, the authors put it to the test with services from Mistral and Microsoft. At the moment Mistral has not commented, but Microsoft sent the following statement to IEEE Spectrum: We appreciate the work of the researchers to deepen the understanding of this type of technique. This study assesses model resilience through controlled, direct interactions with the model itself, helping to define our approach to building resilience. In practice, AI models are often integrated into user applications, and we provide developers with tools and guidance they can use to implement additional layers of protection to help safeguard users. Image | Yassine Ait TahitUnsplash In Xataka | The most used passwords in Spain are hacked in seconds: if yours is on this list, you have a problem

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.