feel

30% of workers feel less useful

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According to the latest study from Ionos, 41% of SMEs in Spain already use some AI tool in their daily processes. That, on paper, should imply an increase in productivity in these tasks. However, the reality is much more stubborn. The annual report ‘People at Work 2026‘ prepared by the consulting firm ADP Research points out that despite this increase in the use of AI tools for automation, employees feel that they perform less. The mirage of productivity. The ADP report asked 39,000 employees in 36 countries about how AI affects them in their daily lives. The result shows that among those who use AI daily, 30% say they feel very committed to their work. But that same group also reports feeling less productive than before. Heavy AI users are four times more likely to feel like they are underperforming. The study itself admits that there is no simple way to measure real productivity of these people. In reality, they may work harder as has already been shown in other areas as in software engineers, but they feel that they achieve less on their own. The fear of losing your job is still there. According to the same survey, in Spain, 15% of workers use AI every day, and 11% believe that this tool will end up replace him in his position. Only 14% of the participants in our country view the progress favorably. Fear is not shared equally between generations. Nearly two in ten 18- to 26-year-olds use AI daily. Among those over 55, 33% have never tried it. A Funcas report estimates that, between 2025 and 2035, AI could end up to 2.3 million jobs in Spain. Above all, in administrative and data management tasks. What the official data say. The European Central Bank has been closely observing the phenomenon for months and, according to its own analysisthe companies that invest the most in AI are not the ones that then they fire more. In fact, they tend to increase the number of hires. For now, technology acts as a complement to human work, not its substitute. No matter how much some companies put it as an excuse. Another study, from the European Investment Bank, calculates that AI has increased productivity European labor 4%. The increase comes mainly from investment in tools and training, not from staff cuts. However, despite these signs, experts point out that it is still early to see the possible increase of AI in productivity data due to its low implementation and they attribute this increase to the other major impact on the labor market in recent years: teleworking. Commitment yes, performance not always. Bárbara Gómez, operations director of ADP Iberia assures in a company statement that “AI is transforming the way we work, but its adoption alone does not guarantee greater productivity. Workers must improve their skills and become familiar with AI tools, understanding how they integrate into their workflows.” The technology change and automate processesbut it does not change results by itself. Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, goes a little further. “AI changes the way we work but also how people in companies feel,” he explains in the report. His recipe is to stop seeing AI as a threat and treat it as “a companionanother member of the team.” From saying to fact. Spain is no exception in the unproductive feeling of employees who use AI. The pattern is repeated in almost all the countries in the ADP survey. Regular AI users show less stress, better relationships with their teammates, but almost none say feel more efficient in his work. The key may be in the curve learning these tools. Changing tools costs time, although in the long run it pays off and companies need an implementation period to improve your processes. Meanwhile, millions of workers remain caught between two sensations: using more technology than ever and feel like they are performing less than before. In Xataka | Bill Gates: “As AI takes on more jobs, you’ll be able to retire earlier and work shorter work weeks” Image | Unsplash (Flipsnack)

feel. And in the process it has revolutionized the game

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It has taken ‘Minecraft’ 17 years to unlock one of the simplest actions for its players: sit down. And a few days after doing so, the striking thing is not that the players are sitting down. The thing is that the cushions on which they can do so have become, thanks to the ingenuity of the users, a rosetta stone that unlocks many other activities. It suits you or makes you feel. On July 7, Mojang incorporated into Minecraftboth in its PC version and in its console and mobile versions, an object called cushion (cushion). It is made with three slabs of wool of the same color, exists in 16 different shades and allows, for the first time in the history of the game, to sit without resorting to mods or tricks. The same package adds a straw bed that avoids setting the respawn point when sleeping, designed for long expeditions. Learn to sit. The need was not new. For years, the community has built fake chairs by hiding a mine cart inside a stair block, or resorting to saddled pigs, boats, and invisible armor supports to simulate a character sitting. The cushion once and for all solves a void that the players themselves had been filling for more than a decade with botched work. Mohjang has only formalized a need. What have people done? More than sitting, of course. The cushion is classified as an entity and not a block, allowing it to break free from the usual ‘Minecraft’ grid and be placed in heights that a normal block could not occupy. It was not a decision linked to the game mechanics, but it has opened the door to experimentation. For example, there is no cooldown (mandatory waiting time before repeating an action) to sit and thanks to the possibility of being activated remotely and in a similar way to how beds work, chaining several cushions allows you to move faster than walking. Some players have already built vertical elevators by placing a cushion every six blocks, with the trick of leaving an additional unit at the top to be able to get off. Others use the cushions to decorate the ice roads on which the boats slide, because since there is no collision they do not slow down the movement as any other building block would do. There are those who have integrated them into mechanisms of redstone (the “electrical cable” of the game) to build illuminated dance floors, and who has used them as roof tiles or as the base of furniture previously impossible without mods. They don’t stop, they don’t stop. And of course, many creative constructions: there are those who have recreated a döner kebab only with cushions, but it is not the first time something like this has been done, this pattern has precedents. The update of redstone 2013 added a handful of technical blocks, including the comparator and the hopper (when the first is pointed at the second, it emits a signal of redstone proportional to the number of objects it contains), and ended up giving shape to a entire engineering subculture. Years later, the honey blocks of update 1.15, intended almost as minor filler, ended up allowing larger and more complex piston constructions than had been seen until then. Give me cushions. The reception has been, in general, enthusiasticalthough the truth is that the cushions are still in the experimental phase. Mojang may decide that collisionless behavior is too powerful before the part reaches its final release, which will be in Drop 3 in 2026, scheduled for fall. It doesn’t matter, because if it’s not with this, it will be with another inane and harmless object with which the players will build completely unforeseen devices. Such is the greatness of this seemingly inconsequential game. In Xataka | 60 euros/hour to be a gardener in Minecraft: a tempting remote job offer for experienced players

“My biggest fear was that everyone would switch to electric. I feel very alone”

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That Akio Toyoda presides over a company with which he practically shares a name is no coincidence. The president of Toyota is the grandson of Sakichi Toyoda, founder of a Toyoda Automatic Loom Worksa machine-made loom company. That company opened its car division in the 1930s with Kiichiro Toyoda in front. The eldest son built an empire that Akio Toyoda now presides over. It is also no coincidence that Akio Toyoda has had a passion for automobiles since he was a child. And that, now, completely defines his position at the head of the company. “I feel very alone”. “I’m the only one who does it. I feel very alone.” Those are the words that Akio Toyoda has responded to Auto Expressan English media outlet that has been able to have a conversation with the president of Toyota regarding the steps the company is taking. What Akio Toyoda is talking about is your defense of the combustion engine. “Three or four years ago, he was the only one saying he loves the smell of it, he loves the sound of it, he loves the engines and he wanted to keep the engine suppliers’ jobs.” Toyoda assures that he feels very alone in this defense. The greatest fear. Asked what his worst fear is in the automobile industry, Toyoda is clear: “that everyone was switching to electric cars was my biggest fear.” And the reason, he assures, has nothing to do with being late to technology or that the path taken by Toyota was not the correct one. “If I only seek to balance the accounts and achieve profitability or if I only seek carbon neutrality… that is not interesting,” Toyoda defended. “If someone tells me, ‘hey, you’re too late, you should have gone electric sooner,’ well, we’re people who love cars and those people, including myself, have to fight within companies“he stressed. The Toyota electric. Toyota’s relationship with the electric car is nothing short of tumultuous. The leaders have always defended that the electric car it will not be the future of the automobile. Or at least will not be the dominant position in all marketswhich has marked its line of business until now. And it is that he Toyota Bz4X It was until very recently the company’s only car. It also arrived with manufacturing problems and a price that was too high, which buried its possibilities in the market. With an updatethe company has managed to skyrocket its sales and the electric Toyota C-HR also seeks to give a good boost to this part of its technology. Furthermore, the company has been announcing new releases for the coming years and has a clearly marked roadmap for the production of solid state batteries. Decisions that seem to go against what was said by its own president and that explain those statements in which he says that he himself has to fight within his company. To each market, its own. Toyota’s decision has a lot to do with practicality. When the European Union announced a roadmap to ban combustion engines, many of its manufacturers threw themselves into the arms of the electric car and announced that They stopped the development of these engines. Toyota, on the contrary, continued to bet on hybrids, aware that they would continue to be very important in the future. Time has proven them right in part because the European Union has slightly opened its hand but, above all, because our market is a very small part of global automobile sales. For Toyota, the United States remains a gigantic market where last year it sold 2.5 million cars. It is the same market that has paralyzed the promotion of the electric car. Only in Japan does it sell the same cars as in all of Europe. And in China, although he has tried to go on his owncontinues to have the obligation to associate with a local brand, so the performance of the electric cars launched there is lower. An alternative. Toyota defends that the electric car will not exceed 30% market share. We don’t know if Akio Toyoda has changed his perception since he made that statement, but he has always made it clear that solid-state batteries are the ones that can truly change the game. Until then, and like other Japanese brandsToyota continues to investigate new alternatives. Of them, hydrogen is said to be the most interesting. For now, your Toyota Mirai (the fuel cell car) remains exceptional in Europe and in US faces lawsuits over false advertising. The high cost of transporting hydrogen safely to a service station and, first, producing it makes the product too expensive, which still has no clear advantages. But Toyota has found another way to continue studying: burn hydrogen. This, they claim, allows a combustion engine to operate without expelling CO2 (although other polluting substances such as NOx) and at the same time maintain the sound and sensations typical of this type of propellant. Although It is even less efficient than the hydrogen fuel cellthat doesn’t seem to matter to Toyoda. a defense. And at this point, I’m going to make a defense of Akio Toyoda. The president of Toyota, a company that invented a new way of working and that perfected the just in time and with them their profits, he is right when it comes to defending that not everything should be done with profitability in mind. Toyota has become one of the few brands that continues to launch purely passionate cars without any specific objective. There is no car like it Toyota GR Yaris in the market, years ago they took advantage of their collaboration with Subaru to launch the Toyota GT86 (then GR86) and invested together with BMW to launch the new Toyota Supra. In recent months we have learned that they are launching a new and spectacular racing car adapted for the street, the Toyota GR GT. A few days ago they presented a radically sporty special edition of the Toyota Corolla that … Read more

If you feel guilty every time you leave your dog home alone, science has an explanation (and a couple of solutions)

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Anyone who has a dog as a pet has probably faced a big problem when they grab their keys and coat and head out the door. This is nothing more than the whining and nervous pacing of an animal behind its owner that can end up barking or even destroying some object in the home due to the stress they feel when they are left alone and ‘abandoned’ under their conscience. However, science suggests that This separation anxiety is a bidirectional phenomenon. In two senses. As stated in different texts, leaving our pet alone not only triggers a peak of stress in the animal, but also generates a deep burden of guilt and anxiety in the human. And no, it is not that we are excessively humanizing our dogs, it is that our brains and theirs have developed an attachment bond that is comparable to that of interpersonal relationships. It’s not parenting. One idea we have in mind is that when a dog has anxiety when its owner leaves, for example, for work, it is the result of having had a very permissive childhood in which no animal restrictions were imposed. But today this has changed with important data. We can find these data in a large study published in 2020 on the canine population in Finland that revealed that between 14% and 20% Of dogs suffer from separation anxiety, they often have a strong fear of other stressors, such as loud noise. Why do they do it? Neither revenge nor general anger at having been left alone come into play here, but rather this behavior is linked to patterns of frustration and panic. Besides, there are some factors that predispose animals to have these problems, such as being male, coming from a shelter, having suffered early weaning or facing an environment that lacks predictability. In the human. Staying with only the reaction that the animal has, the truth is that it is a very short understatement. And here science has seen that owners also experience stress, difficulty concentrating at work or even cancel social plans to avoid the distress of leaving their pet alone. And here the bond that is generated between the human and the animal comes into play, being an attachment bond like that of a father with his newborn. And the people who develop an “anxious attachment” to their pets are precisely those who experience higher levels of anxiety when separating from them, as well as much more serious depressive and somatic symptoms when the animal dies or is not present. The solution. One of the important points in this case lies in teaching the dog’s brain that “exit signals” such as taking the keys or putting on the shoes, do not necessarily mean the end of the world, doing them without leaving the house. But also, we must keep in mind that when we return home we do not have to ‘throw a party’ to compensate for the guilt, since we only confirm to the dog that our absence was a terrible state of exception that has finally ended. This is why reunion should be normalized when we talk about a few hours of separation. Images | Wade Austin Ellis In Xataka | We have been using our pets to relieve our anxiety. And now the stress is on them

For decades we have been told that seafood does not feel pain when boiled. We were seriously wrong

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An action that can be quite common in the world of gastronomy and cooking in general is that of literally boil the lobsters and the crabs while they are alive. Something that was quite accepted, since it was thought that these animals were not aware that they were being boiled and did not even feel pain. But this is changing radically, although it does not transfer to kitchens. What we knew. This idea that the animals did not suffer any type of pain is something that could be doubted (a lot), since when you put them in a pot of boiling water they begin to have great shakes. But this is something that was pointed out as a mere reflex, but that did not have any type of awareness of the pain. A new study. A team from the University of Gothenburg has pointed out that this is not the caseand they have done so by focusing on Norwegian crayfish or lobsters. And to demonstrate that this is so, they have simply given him analgesics that humans take, such as aspirin (although it is no longer as prevalent due to its analgesia) and even local anesthetics such as lidocaine that is used in humans, for example, when they are going to give stitches to a wound. In this way, once the lobsters were anesthetized, they were placed in boiling water again and their movements, which were supposedly a reflex, were seen to be drastically reduced. What does it mean? Here logic tells us that if the animal’s behavior were a simple reaction due to the stimulation of a nerve, an analgesic should not affect it and would have to be generated in the same way. But the fact that drugs that block our own pain also work in crayfish suggests that there is more than a simple reflection when it comes to putting them in the boiling water, but they are really suffering. The ethical problem. The fact that it was thought that a crustacean with these characteristics could not be aware of pain was based on the fact that they have a very simple nervous system, so boiling them alive had no influence on animal well-being. But now researchers call for reflection and reopen the debate about whether we really should continue recommending this type of practices within the culinary world. This is not the first time this has been seen, since other studies analyzed the crabs through electric shocks given to them when they passed through a specific area. In this way, the crabs learned that they should not go through the area that gave them an electric shock, demonstrating that they did have awareness of this unpleasant experience and also memory. Now, with evidence of response to painkillers, the lobster’s “insensitivity” argument appears to have its days numbered. The legislation. Today, in many countries it is not considered that these practices are prohibited, as it is punishable, for example, to physically harm a dog or a cat. But the truth is that in some countries they are trying to adapt to the new reality, such as the United Kingdom, which recognizes lobsters, crabs and octopuses as sentient beings. Besides, in New Zealand This includes a requirement that animals going through the pot be declared desensitized through techniques such as extreme cooling or electrical stunning, to prevent them from being alive and conscious before being cooked. But the problem is that in much of the world it is still completely legal to cook them alive. Images | Monika Borys In Xataka | Batch cooking is taking off for a very simple reason: if you want to eat well, you can’t trust yourself.

Science has named what you feel when a Pixar movie makes you cry

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Watching the end of a Pixar movie and witnessing an unexpected reunion at an airport can trigger something in some people: a lump in the throat, a warmth in the chest, and even watering in the eyes. And it is not sadness nor euphoric happiness, but a sensation that has received a name very recently. A problem. For years, psychology has had trouble categorizing this specific sensation. We call it “being moved”, “striking a chord” or having “mixed feelings”. However, for a decadea group of scientists from UCLA and the University of Oslo has given it a technical namea theoretical framework and an evolutionary explanation. Is called ‘Kama Muta‘, and it is the scientific label for one of the most powerful tools of our survival, which is sudden connection. Something that we can also feel on social networks when we see the video of a grandmother with her grandson, for example, in a very idyllic situation. Kama Muta. A term that comes from Sanskrit and literally means “to be moved by love” (or “to be filled with love”). And although the name sounds very mystical, there is a scientific part behind it that supports it, since it has been systematically studied. by Kama Muta Labled by anthropologists and psychologists. According to his founding article from 2016and later reviews in Annual Review of Psychologykama muta is not a “new” emotion in the sense that we have just discovered it, but rather that we have just classified it. That is, we had these localized feelings, but we didn’t know what name to give them. Its definition. A positive emotional response triggered by a sudden intensification of communal relationships. In other words: it is what your body feels when you perceive that a social bond is suddenly created, repaired or strengthened. A physical triad. Unlike other abstract emotions, kama muta has a very clear physiological signature that researchers have validated in cross-sectional studies. According to research by Zickfeld published in Emotionwhich spanned 19 countries and 15 languages, the universal symptoms are clear: wet eyes, goosebumps, and a feeling of warmth. A sensation of warmth that curiously centers right in the heart of the chest. Something that already says a lot about this new emotion. Why we are sorry. Why did evolution design us to cry and tremble when we see others hugging? The answer is in group survival. Science suggests that this emotion acts as a social glue, since by feeling physically rewarded by the connection (our own or someone else’s), we are more predisposed to take care of others and sacrifice ourselves for the group. In this way, it has the power to humanize “others.” In an experiment, showing moving videos that induced kama muta significantly increased the perception of humanity towards outgroups, reducing any prejudices one might have. It’s not just “feeling good,” it’s a biological mechanism to expand our circle of empathy. Climate action. The most interesting from recent research is that kama muta does not remain a passive experience, but predicts behavior as well. A 2023 study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that messages about climate change that evoked kama muta (focused on connection to the planet and shared responsibility) were more effective in predicting pro-environmental intentions than those based on fear or guilt. Images | Nik Shuliahin In Xataka | If the question is “where is the secret to happiness,” an expert believes it is hidden in these 15 statements

You feel like going to Sri Lanka because you saw it on Instagram. The problem is that the person who recommended it to you was an AI

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The image is familiar. A young woman smiles from a beach with turquoise waters. In the following publication, he appears walking along a cobblestone street in Marrakech. Below, he poses at a luxury hotel in the Maldives. The skin is perfect, the body responds to the prevailing canons and the text accompanies with inspirational phrases about traveling, discovering cultures and “living in the moment.” Nothing seems out of place. Until you discover the reality. That traveler has not flown, she has not walked those streets or tried the food she recommends. It doesn’t exist. She is an influencer generated by artificial intelligence and is part of a phenomenon that is growing quietly: the normalization of artificial profiles that influence the real decisions of millions of people. A silent, but massive boom. In the last two years, Instagram and other social networks have been filled with virtual influencers: characters created with generative AI who pretend to be real people and publish travel content, lifestyle or fashion, the best known case in Spain is Aitana Lopez. Some indicate it more or less clearly in their biography; others do so ambiguously or almost invisibly. However, what is interesting here is how the examples multiply in the tourism sector. Sena Z has been presented as “the first travel and hospitality influencer created with AI”, It’s a collaboration between the luxury group Cenizaro Hotels & Resorts and the technology firm Bracai. Sena publishes cultural recommendations, messages about sustainability and photographs from exotic destinations. Another notable case is Emma, ​​the official influencer and chatbot of the German National Tourism Office. Emma not only publish content on Instagrambut answers questions in more than 20 languages ​​from the official website of the organization. As explained from the entity to the Washington Postits creation is part of a strategy to “stay at the forefront of digital innovation.” Other profiles are added to these profiles, such as Radhika, Emily Pellegrinior corporate avatars like Samathe Qatar Airways virtual stewardess who appears both on the airline’s website and on social networks, publishing as if she were living real experiences. These are not isolated experiments. As detailed by The New York Timesairlines, tourist offices and brands are increasingly turning to these avatars because they are cheaper, faster and completely controllable. An AI influencer does not get sick, does not get tired, does not age and does not generate personal controversies. Inexperienced influencers. The question is inevitable: what happens when the experience is not real? Just look through these profiles to see it: they recommend destinations, restaurants and cultures that they have not experienced. Even so, they generate engagementaccumulate thousands of likes and comments, and influence travel decisions. From the brands’ point of view, the appeal is evident. According to data collected by the New York mediacreating an advanced avatar can cost between $5,000 and $15,000, compared to traditional campaigns that easily exceed six figures. In addition, content can be produced without travel, without filming equipment and without negotiating with human talent. However, for real creators, the impact is already being felt. Human influencers cited by the same medium explain that brands are reducing payments, eliminating extras and offering less advantageous collaborations. AI thus becomes a new direct competition within the creative economy, a sector valued at more than 200 billion dollars globally. Is someone regulating it? While Technology advances quickly, regulation tries to catch up. Going home, in Europe, the clearest answer comes through the Artificial Intelligence Regulations (AI Act). Article 50, which will come into force in August 2026establishes transparency obligations for providers and users of AI systems. Among them: Report when a person interacts with an AI system. Mark content generated or manipulated by AI (text, image, audio or video) in detectable format. Force deepfakes and AI-generated texts that report on matters of public interest to be declared, unless there is human editorial review. The European Commission has already started the preparation of a Code of Good Practices for the marking and labeling of content generated by AI, with the participation of experts, platforms and civil society. The goal is to facilitate compliance before the law is fully applicable. However, many virtual profiles do not clearly indicate either their artificial nature or their commercial links, leaving the user in a field of ambiguity. Unreal bodies, algorithmic authority. Beyond destination promotion, most AI influencers share common traits: eternal youth, slim bodies, perfect skin and a total absence of imperfections. This phenomenon coincides with the return of Y2K aesthetics and extreme thinness on social networks, a trend that has been linked to a decline in body diversity. The most notable case was due to advertising campaigns with models generated by AI, like Guess in Vogue. Mental health experts warned that constant exposure to unreal bodies can aggravate self-esteem problems and increase risk of eating disorders. The difference, they point out, is key: while traditional retouching started from a real body, AI creates bodies that have never existedimpossible to achieve even in theory. This logic has been taken to the extreme with phenomena such as the Miss IA pageantwhere artificially generated models compete showing bodies without pores, without age and without history. According to plastic surgeonsmore and more patients come to consultation with images created by AI asking for impossible interventions and pointing out the risk of frustration, obsession and psychological damage. The underlying problem: we no longer know what is real. All of this occurs in a broader context: a crisis of visual confidence. As my colleague in Xataka has analyzedthe massive generation of hyperrealistic images has broken a chain that for centuries seemed solid: if something was seen, it had probably existed. Today, that presumption has disappeared. Seeing is no longer equivalent to knowing. In this new scenario, we not only doubt whether an influencer has really traveled, but also whether the image itself corresponds to something that happened. The consequence is a permanent suspicion that affects memory, attention and the way we relate to digital reality. The technical solution—seals, metadata, … Read more

With AI, Microsoft has once again insisted that we talk to our computer: experience says that we don’t feel like it

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You get up in the morning, go to work and sit in front of the computer, but the first thing you do is not pick up the mouse and keyboard, but say “Hey, Copilot”. Can you imagine it? Me neither, completely, but that is Microsoft’s clear obsession: to get us to talk to our PC instead of using the usual peripherals. That futuristic vision is striking, but it faces several enormous challenges. what memories. The thing about Microsoft and other technology companies with their intention for us to talk to machines goes back a long way. The first generation of voice assistants precisely pursued that goal. There we saw how Alexa, Google Assistant and of course Cortana tried to make us talk much more with our devices. We were not prepared to talk to machines. Its success was rather limited, and even Nadella himself admitted in 2023 that, for example, those “smart” speakers They were “dumber than a stone”. In Xataka Voice assistants and the fight to gain our trust Cortana tried. The Redmond company certainly tried to make Cortana successful. It offered it on both Windows 10 and on Android and iOS…and even the sadly defunct Windows Phone. Over time the company realized that that assistant was not a good fit, and was killing him little by little. The launch of ChatGPT was used by Microsoft to raise your new assistant powered by AI and definitely kill to his first assistant: Copilot wants to be what Cortana could never be. Who asked for this? With that “Hey, Copilot” the same thing is happening as with Cortana: did someone ask Microsoft to integrate a voice assistant into Windows? The voice assistants of that first generation were relegated to residual use, and Amazon suffered this problem firsthand. He bet billions of dollars that Echos would become devices we wouldn’t stop talking about, but most people I just used them to set timers and music. AI promises to go much further. But in spring 2024 we live in a hopeful moment for this type of technology. OpenAI launched GPT-4o and demonstrated that natural conversations with a mobile phone were not only possible, but also They were very powerful. AI could be ours confidant and companion -with controversy included— or our private teacherand as others later wanted to demonstrate, it could also do things for us just by talking to her. Let them tell you to the vibe coders. But we still have a hard time talking to the PC. Since then it certainly seems that we have become a little more accustomed to talking with our smartphone, but things seem to be different on the PC. The statistics reflect that 77% of young people use their voice on their smartphone, while only 38% of them do so on the PC. “But everyone on the PC listens to me”. There is also a sociological component in this use of voice on the PC. The mobile phone is more intimate and personal, while the PC is often used in a static setting in which there are people around who can capture what we say. Furthermore, in the physical context, the unspoken rules of coexistence—do not disturb, do not invade others’ acoustic space—outweigh the promise of comfort. And then there is distrust. Microsoft is not helped by its recent history, especially with Recall, that option that seemed really striking and ingenious but ended up being delayed to generate a great controversy regarding privacy. The launch of the new Windows 11 options, with “Hey, Copilot” as the main protagonist, does not seem to have been received with too much enthusiasm, and the tone, for example, of the comments from this long thread It is skepticism. Rivals focus on mobile phones and speakers, not the PC. The truth is that the adoption of voice as a way to interact with our devices does not seem to be particularly viral. The erratic launch of Alexa+ does not seem to be providing great advantages, Apple continues to make itself wait with its renewed version of Siri, and only Google has taken a step forward with Geminialthough not clearly on the desktop. Talking to machines works, but not as much on the PC as on the mobile. {“videoId”:”x9jvzns”,”autoplay”:false,”title”:”Project Astra Exploring the Capabilities of a Universal AI Assistant”, “tag”:”Project Astra”, “duration”:”116″} A triumph for accessibility. Where there is a clear use scenario for this technology is in the area of ​​accessibility. For users with reduced mobility, the ability to dictate or control the device with their voice can be transformative. This need is concrete and well defined, however: it does not justify a general redesign of the interaction or a marketing campaign that tries to get us all to talk to the computer. The voice should solve things, not be a fair trick. Microsoft’s real challenge is not technical — the technology is there — but human. The company must convince people that talking to the PC makes sense. To do this, it must address three fronts: privacy, the social context—that you don’t mind talking to your PC—and of course, that said interaction has practical use and works. For example, they come in there Copilot Actionswho will have to demonstrate – like everything else – that Microft is on the right path here. Otherwise, “Hey, Copilot” could become the new Cortana. In Xataka | Sundar Pichai (CEO of Google) believes that ‘Her’ is inevitable: “there will be people who fall in love with an AI and we should prepare ourselves” (function() { window._JS_MODULES = window._JS_MODULES || {}; var headElement = document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)(0); if (_JS_MODULES.instagram) { var instagramScript = document.createElement(‘script’); instagramScript.src=”https://platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js”; instagramScript.async = true; instagramScript.defer = true; headElement.appendChild(instagramScript); } })(); – The news With AI, Microsoft has once again insisted that we talk to our computer: experience says that we don’t feel like it was originally published in Xataka by Javier Pastor .

not for money, but to feel useful again at work

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In recent years, something surprising is happening among those who occupy management positions in companies: many leaders no longer want to continue promoting or change companies and prefer to return to find motivation in his own position. The latest report ‘2025 Workplace Engagement Report’ made by Kahoot! points out that 46% of the managers consulted would be willing to leave their position in the company simply to feel comfortable again. committed to his daily work. This trend coincides with an environment in which motivation and a sense of purpose are becoming a priority for employees. Being in a thousand things, but not being in any. One of the effects of “hustle culture” is that excess workload or responsibilities overshadows the real motivation for the work being done, creating a kind of abstraction among those who lead teams. The data obtained by Kahoot! They point out that only 47% of the leaders surveyed consider themselves “completely involved” in their work, although 79% believe that their team sees them as having sufficient energy. As and how they stand out in Inc.comthis contrast shows that the disconnection begins with the managers themselves and can filter down to the rest of the employees. Furthermore, more than a quarter of leaders have thought about resigning during the last year. Burnout and demotivation in record numbers. The appearance of burnout (emotional exhaustion from work) is especially common among those who manage teams: 34% of those who occupy these positions acknowledge feeling exhausted daily or suffering from this exhaustion frequently. The report ‘State of the Global Workplace 2025’ prepared by the consulting firm Gallup confirms this trend, with a drop to 27% in manager commitment. In this context, it is striking that only 17% of companies offer their leaders the tools they consider useful to keep motivated of your team. 57% have never received adequate leadership training to re-involve their colleagues when the first symptoms of demotivation appear or tension increases. Only 38% admit that they have only received partial training. Given this, 40% of those responsible say that they would resign from their role as head of the team if it guaranteed that employees were committed again. Feel useful and valued. In recent months, a good part of the layoffs in large companies have been aimed at intermediate positionswhat have they seen underestimated his work within companies. Therefore, most managers are not asking for a raise or more power, but for something much more important to them: 69% indicate that what they need to feel more involved is to have their work recognized. In fact, the lack of recognition appears as the main element that 21% of these professionals miss. On a personal level, the managers surveyed for the Kahoot! say they would regain engagement if their days had more energy, creativity or fun (58%), more opportunities to learn and grow (52%) or better technology to connect with the team (48%). What all of this data reflects is that managers no longer aspire to just be promoted, but rather to more real and tangible jobs that allow them to be more creative and develop their skills. Bosses looking for a new role. Faced with these challenges, more and more organizations are criticizing rigid hierarchy models, valuing more those who facilitate work and encourage creativity from any position, regardless of the position. “If leaders are willing to trade their title for the opportunity to feel engaged, this is a sign of something deeper,” said Eilert Hanoa, CEO of Kahoot! in the report. According what was published According to Inc.com, today’s leaders prefer to act as companions to their teams, more attentive to the real work than to the office or the corporate hierarchy. The flexible structures they start to gain strengthpossibly driven by the arrival of generation Zencouraging the exchange of ideas and the active participation of the entire team in decision-making. In Xataka | At the end of this year, one in three young people will have changed jobs: it’s nothing personal, it’s just salary Image | Unsplash (Vitaly Gariev)

If after running you feel "In a cloud" You are not alone and it has a name: it is the "Upon of the corridor"

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Running is a healthy exercise that can help improve the health of our heart, our lungs, or our state in a general way. But running has other advantages, and one of them has to do with the pleasant sensation that seizes us at the end of the exercise, a feeling of being “in a cloud” and that we could say is similar to a “colocon.” Only that is exactly that, a “colocon.” The detail is not trivial. For a while we think the “rush of the corridor” (Runner’s High In English) it was caused by endorphins, but now the focus of experts It focuses on another group of hormonesendocannabinoids (ECB), as responsible for this sensation. Parallelism between the names of endorphins and endocannabinoids It goes beyond the shared prefix. The prefix in question refers to the fact that these are compounds that our own body synthesizes internally, which distinguishes these similar ones that we obtain externally. So, Endocannabinoids They are molecules produced by our body and that are able to activate the cannabinoid receptors of our cells, the same receptors as to those who attach the THC or the CBD present in the marijuana. If ECBs are internal cannabinoids, Endorphins They receive their name from morphine. The function of these compounds is to serve as internal analgesics that our body secretes under certain conditions. In Xataka At 34ºC, ten more beats per minute: the effect of heat on our heart rate when playing sport in summer One of these cases is exercise. According to the neuroscientist David Linden In a publication In the blog of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, when we run, our body responds with a series of changes: our breathing is altered, our pulse accelerates … We need more oxygen to develop this activity and our body works to provide it. But there is more. Exercise also makes our body begin to secrete endorphins. Details that, for a long time, we assume that these compounds were Behind the “Away of the Corridor”but something does not fit: the endorphins are transported by the bloodstream to relieve muscle pain, but they are unable to reach the brain due to the presence of the hematoencephalic barrier, a retaining wall that prevents certain compounds from reaching the brain. Endorphins cannot skip this wall, but endocanabinoids do. Confirming suspicion A study published in 2021 In the magazine Psychoneuroendocrinology He suggested that endocanabinoids were “better candidates than endorphins to explain the ‘rush of the corridor’ in humans.” The team used opioid receptor blockers to try to rule out the effect of endorphins, after which it ran to a group of participants in order to verify that the blockade of these receptors did not reduce the sensations of euphoria and reduction of anxiety in the participants. For now it is little that we have discovered about the relationship between endocannabinoids and exercise. A review of literature published in 2022 In the magazine Neuroscientist This would suggest it. The review found 14 studies that after an intense session of exercise, the ECBs increased in our bloodstream; At the same time that four other studies found indications that, after long -term exercises, the presence of these compounds fell. The conclusion: we need investigate more Regarding this relationship. {“Videid”: “X83E1W0”, “Autoplay”: False, “Title”: “Postural exercises for those who spend many hours on the computer Avoid back pain!”, “Tag”: “”, “Duration”: “445”} With or without endocannabinoides, going to run is usually a good idea. Our cardiorespiratory health is the great beneficiary of this type of physical activity and this is reflected in the data: running can extend our life expectancy. Running is not only important for physical health, but also for Mental health. This exercise It has been linked With advantages such as improving the ability to concentrate, less irascibility or a better sleep, among others. Understand whether there is a relationship between the “rush of the corridor” and these benefits are also a reason for study for those who investigate the neuroscience of this popular sport. In Xataka |To the big question of whether you can lose weight, science has an answer. And it has everything to do with genetics Image | Bohle tremble (Function () {Window._js_modules = Window._js_modules || {}; var headelement = document.getelegsbytagname (‘head’) (0); if (_js_modules.instagram) {var instagramscript = Document.Createlement (‘script’); }}) (); – The news If after running you feel “in a cloud” you are not alone and it has a name: it is the “climb of the corridor” It was originally posted in Xataka by Pablo Martínez-Juarez .

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