masters

The new star signing of AI is neither an engineer nor a data scientist, but he masters stoicism: the philosophers

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A little less than a decade ago, studying philosophy implied a question: “And what are you going to live on?” Like many other races in the Humanities branchthe philosophy registered a low job insertion rate. According to published data in 2023 by EuropaPress, The unemployment rate for Philosophy graduates was 20 times higher than that of Electronic Engineering graduates. However, in the midst of the rise of AI, the companies that are training and evolving it have realized something: they do not need engineers to program, what they need is to hire philosophers who define how a model should think and how an AI that talks to millions of people every day should behave. Demand has reached a level where their salaries rival those of any senior engineer. From Socrates to defining AI. Studying philosophy was a risky bet due to its few professional opportunities (mainly teaching) and precarious salaries. But something has changed in the sector that was least expected: that of cutting-edge technology that was developing the AGI. According to collected In an article published in AtlanticIn 2013, only 1% of the offers published on PhilJobs, the academic job portal, mentioned artificial intelligence in the description of their offers. In 2025, that figure It was already close to 16%. And a good part of those positions were junior positions. That is, they join technology companies even with profiles with little experience. Why an AI company needs a philosopher. The reason for this change is that companies have made AI capable of processing data emulating the operation of a human neural network, but its interactions are with humansso their responses and decisions must be in tune with the ethical and moral values of humanity. Philosophers have been studying precisely that for centuries. Anthropic is perhaps the clearest case. Your philosopher Amanda Askell He leads the team that shapes the character of the model, and in January 2026 he published what the company itself calls the Claude constitutiona document of more than twenty thousand words that establishes the values ​​that the system must follow. As the company itself explains, this text is used directly in the training of the model. Askell counted to the magazine time that his way of approaching this work is as if he were dealing with a highly gifted child: “you have to be honest, because a smart child immediately detects when someone is lying to him.” Google opened the season to sign thinkers. Anthropic is not the only one that has incorporated philosophers into its staff. Google DeepMind took a similar step in April 2026. As and how I collected the university newspaper Varsitythe company announced the incorporation of Henry Shevlin, a philosopher of mind from the University of Cambridge, for a position that the company itself baptized, literally, as “Philosopher.” His work at DeepMind was to focus on issues of artificial consciousness, human-AI relations, and preparation for AGI. OpenAI has also taken note. OpenAI has followed a similar path, although less transparent in the details. Sam Altman has come to affirm that ChatGPT’s current responses “are the result of a consultation with ‘hundreds of experts’”, specifying that they were philosophers who have reflected on the ethics of technology and systems. In fact, even universities have jumped on the bandwagon and the American Philosophical Association (APA) has been delivering since 2024 two annual awards of 10,000 dollars for philosophical investigations on AI. Profession of the future, but a future that is too fast. Not everything is good news for the union. Daniel Fogal, professor of bioethics at New York University, told The Atlantic that this boom has a real distorting effect on the discipline. According to Fogal, there are philosophers who deep down do not want to dedicate themselves to AI, but feel that they have no choice if they want to enter the job market. The risk, he warns, is that a lot of mediocre work is published just to fit into a passing fad. Good philosophy takes time, Fogal summarizes, and rarely emerges as a direct response to the market. AI companies, on the other hand, launch new models every few months. The philosopher may be the star signing of the sector, but he will continue to be the person least comfortable with the rush. And perhaps for that very reason it is the one that is most needed in this development. In Xataka | We thought that leaving university and starting to work “on your own” was impossible: the key is knowing what to study Image | Unsplash (Sarah Sheedy)

We believed that a master’s degree was a guarantee of finding a job. It’s starting to be of exactly no use.

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When you have higher education and can’t find a job or want to advance, historically a good idea has always been to go back to school. Getting a master’s degree was an almost safe investment in the face of uncertainty because it allowed you to specialize and find a better job. However, if we talk about master’s degrees, that reality is no longer true. More specifically, general master’s degrees. Because while doctorates or qualifying master’s degrees do work, general master’s degrees suffer an alarming devaluation in the market: according to a study by the Burning Glass Institute with data from the Bureau of Employment Statistics (BLS) of which echoesThe Wall Street Journalthe unemployment rate in the United States among those under 35 years of age with a master’s degree is at one of its highest levels in the last 20 years. Master’s degrees are worth less and less. What the Burning Glass analysis says is that those who have a master’s degree under 35 years of age are in the 77th percentile of unemployment when the normal is the 50th percentile. In fact, they are behind those with less education. Of course, we are talking about general master’s degrees, not qualifying ones. Furthermore, this phenomenon does not occur among those who have a doctorate. Gad Levanon, chief economist at the Burning Glass Institute, sums it up appealing to the law of supply and demand: “there are more titles competing for fewer positions than those titles were designed to unlock.” In short: once a master’s degree was a sign of distinction, but when everyone has it, it no longer makes a difference. Why is it important. Beyond statistical curiosity, it is a question of time, money and expectations. Making an effort to pay for a master’s degree thinking that it is an investment with a quick return and when it is not is frustrating. Plus, a 2025 Indeed survey collect that more than a third of graduates consider that their university degree was a waste of money or time and that they could do the same without it. In the case of generation Z, the percentage rises to 51%. The boom in master’s degrees has also reached human resources departments: the Society for Human Resource Management warns that more and more companies are replacing degree requirements with practical skills criteria. This represents a gap between young people who accumulate theoretical degrees and human resources offices, which are looking for talent prioritizing, not the paper that proves that you studied it. Context. The market for people with a master’s degree is saturated simply because there are too many master’s degrees: hyper-specific, online and blended, express… because non-qualifying higher education is a most lucrative business. In the United States between 2005 and 2021, the master’s degree offer grew by 69% to exceed 33,500 according to the Postsecondary Education and Economics Research Center. In Spain, more of the same: “The Spanish university in figures” collect that the offer of master’s degrees in Spain has skyrocketed by 54% since the implementation of the Bologna Plan, going from 2,626 to more than 4,000 official degrees. This boom has been driven exponentially by private universities, with enrollment growth of 250% more. Meanwhile, two things happened that helped this perfect storm: according to Lightcast data analyzed by the Wall Street Journal, the percentage of job offers that require a university degree fell to 17.8% in 2024 compared to 20.4% five years ago, a trend that already affects 87% of sectors. The second big problem of young graduates is called AI: while HR looks for decisive people, companies are betting on artificial intelligence for those junior positions essential to gain experience. In Spain they work, but with small print. The CYD 2024 report points out that in 2023 Spain reached the highest overqualification rate in the entire European Union: 35.8% of higher graduates between 20 and 64 years old work in low-skilled positions, compared to the 21.9% average in the EU. That is to say, it is not that these master’s degrees do not help you find a job, it is that they help you find a job below what they promise. Yes, but. Practical skills may be emerging as an important requirement for employability, but theory is one thing and practice another: although 85% of companies say they hire based on skills, when it comes down to it, only 1 in every 700 actual hires meets that criterion. according to a report joint Burning Glass Institute and Harvard Business School. On the other hand, there are master’s degrees and master’s degrees: we have already seen that the qualifications continue to work and there are also subjects with high demand that make them potentially attractive. In Xataka | If the question is “how can I earn more money throughout my life,” the answer is simple: by going to college In Xataka | The most in-demand master’s degrees right now in Spain: a volume of enrollees that continues to grow every year Cover | Irene Vega

the last film directed by one of the greatest masters in the history of cinema

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Clint Eastwood turned 96 on May 31. And a bit of coincidence, with a statement from his son, jazz musician Kyle Eastwood (saying that “he’s retired now, but I’ve been very lucky to be able to work with him on quite a few films”), we’ve learned that Eastwood is no longer going to make any more films. There have been no official statements, but the retirement of the person responsible for ‘Unforgiven’ or ‘The Pale Rider’ leaves us with a filmography full of great films, of all genres and intensities. Let’s celebrate by remembering the last of them, ‘Jury Nº 2‘, released in 2024 and which you can see in Movistar Plus and HBO Max. ‘Jury No. 2’ is a judicial thriller with a moral dilemma on board, as Eastwood likes them: Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) is called to serve on a jury in a high-profile murder case, and discovers that he himself could be more involved in the crime than he thought. The cast is completed with a veritable array of heavyweights such as Toni Collette, JK Simmons and Kiefer Sutherland. The film is Eastwood’s fortieth as a director. ‘Jury No. 2’ was conceived originally as a direct streaming premiere. The change to a limited theatrical release It arrived after some internal passes that yielded very favorable opinionsbut he barely received advertising coverage from the studio, which was said to have resented the author for the poor box office results of ‘Cry Macho’. It was finally released, as was later learned, not only out of respect for the director’s advanced age, but in recognition of his 50-year relationship with Warner Bros. This stimulating thriller closes an absolutely exemplary career, always halfway between popular genres and auteur cinema, since the time of his international fame aboard some of Sergio Leone’s most significant titles. Between those first successes and his recognition by critics starting with ‘Unforgiven’ in 1992, there was the creation of milestones such as Dirty Harry and a series of absolutely superb westerns and thrillers, often directed by himself. He has spent this entire century praised by critics and the public thanks to films like ‘Million Dollar Baby’ or ‘Mystic River’. In Xataka | Rafa Nadal won 22 Grand Slams and lost 18 more due to injury: the documentary that explores those last ones arrives on Netflix today

a labyrinth of reserves that not even the G7 masters

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The alarms went off early on Monday, March 9. The barrel of Brent it shot up and touched the barrier of $120, figures that the market had not seen since the war broke out in Ukraine back in 2022. The fear of suffering the worst energy crisis in half a century has forced the G7 finance ministers to make urgent moves. Extraordinary meetings have already been called to try to stop the blow: The idea that is on the table is to suddenly release between 300 and 400 million barrels of its strategic reserves. But the real problem is not just the price, but the logistical collapse. The blockage has made it disappear from the board about 20 million barrels per day. To put it in perspective, this physical “hole” is five times larger than the impact of the historic Arab embargo of 1973. In the midst of this Western panic, all eyes point to a vital actor that could act on its own to save the furniture: Japan, holder of the third largest strategic reserve in the world, sAccording to energy expert Javier Blas. The Japanese dilemma. Japan is one of the most vulnerable economies to this blockade. According to oil pricethe country imports about 95% of its crude oil supply from the Middle East, and about 70% of those shipments transit through the now blocked Strait of Hormuz. Time is of the essence, since ships take between 20 and 25 days to get from there to Japanese ports. At the official level, the message is one of caution. The Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Ryosei Akazawa, has stated that there are “no immediate plans” to release reserves with the sole purpose of lowering prices, remembering that these are used to ensure supply. However, behind the scenes, the machinery is already moving. Akira Nagatsuma, an opposition lawmaker, in statements for Reuters, revealed that the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE) already instructed the Shibushi national storage base on Friday to prepare for a possible release of crude oil. Stagflation and industrial paralysis. The consequences of this blockade are already palpable in the real economy. Bloomberg warns that an oil above $100, combined with a very weakened yen (around 160 per dollar), raises the risk that Japan will fall into stagflation. On the streets, the blow is evident. According to NHK World, Gas stations are already raising prices, which suffocates land transport companies for which fuel represents 10% of their costs. The manufacturing sector is also bleeding: giants such as Idemitsu Kosan and Mitsubishi Chemical have had to suspend or reduce their production of ethylene, a crude oil derivative essential for the plastics industry. Japan’s complex and hermetic armor. To understand why Japan is key, you have to look at how it stores its oil. While other countries have more transparent systems, the Japanese model It is a three-layer bunker: national storage (government), private sector storage (mandated by law) and joint reserves with producing countries. The figures vary slightly depending on the source, but reveal a colossal volume. Javier Blas estimate the total at about 440 million barrels, enough for 204 days of imports. For its part, the METI and report of Argus Media They place reserves at around 449-470 million barrels, covering between 214 and 254 days of consumption. The facilities are engineering feats. In addition to traditional above-ground tanks, the country uses underground rock caverns and, as highlighted Shirashima basegigantic floating tanks in the ocean, protected by double hulls and breakwaters. But Japan’s real commercial “Trojan horse” is its international agreements. According to data from JOGMECthe Japanese government rents tanks in its own territory to state oil companies from Saudi Arabia (Aramco), the United Arab Emirates (ADNOC) and Kuwait (KPC). In normal times, these companies use Japan as a trading base for Asia. In case of emergency, Japan has the priority right to buy that crude oil. The Asian contrast. Western suffering contrasts sharply with China’s situation. Beijing did its homework, the country has record commercial inventories of almost 988 million barrels, in addition to its strategic reserves, and keeps 166 million barrels floating safely off its coasts. Its massive transition towards electric vehicles and renewable energies acts as an impenetrable national shield in the face of this crisis. In South Korea, the response has been blunt. According to the medium UDNSouth Korean President Lee Jae-myung has not waited to take internal measures, ordering the preparation of caps on fuel prices and demanding severe punishments against refineries and gas stations that hoard oil for speculation. The country is well equipped: its private companies have reserves for more than 220 days, and the State stores strategic crude oil for another 116 days. A pulse between diplomacy and the physical world. The current scenario has made it clear that financial projections collide head-on with the harsh reality of immobilized ships. While Washington attempts to calm the markets by assuming that high prices are a minor cost for global security, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warns that the barrel could rise to $200 if the offensive is not stopped. In the midst of this escalation of threats, Asian operators are clinging to a purely tactical deterrent: they trust that the sea route will not be completely blocked for fear of angering military powers such as China, South Korea or Japan itself. However, the paralysis of the oil tankers does not lead to commercial hopes and the diplomatic room for maneuver is quickly exhausted. If the G7 does not achieve convincing coordinated action in the coming hours, Japan could be forced to open the taps of its colossal and complex reserve alone. It will be the litmus test to discover whether its sophisticated three-layer bunker is enough to prevent Asia’s third-largest economy from drying up in the face of the biggest logistical collapse of the last half century. Image | sanjo Xataka | In 2015, Japan showed the world a train capable of reaching 600 km/h. Ten years later we … Read more

ASML and TSMC are masters of semiconductors. A US startup believes it knows how to end them: with X-rays

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A mysterious American startup called Substrate has made its appearance with a purpose extraordinarily ambitious: compete head to head with ASML. The Dutch company has become the master of the segment of advanced photolithography machines for chip manufacturing, but at Substrate they believe they have the key to turn the tables. Why is it important. ASML has no competition in the market since it placed its first equipment of UVE photolithography. The ASML thing is a monopoly de facto: If a chip manufacturer or designer wants to access to produce the most advanced models, it depends entirely on the Dutch company. No one has managed to stop it since then, and even China, which is trying to free itself from that dependence, it’s really complicated. Substrate. This is the name of this startup that has developed a new team in which use particle acceleration to manage lithography. This technology allows microscopic circuits to be etched onto silicon wafers, and this new company claims that its machines could be in manufacturing plants in the US within the next two years. It all sounds very good. Maybe too much, but they already have funds to try: they have just raised 100 million dollars and among investors There is Peter Thielco-founder of PayPal and current CEO of Palantir. And already, they will try to help create the new TSMC. The challenge is enormous: ASML has invested decades and billions of dollars to perfect its photolithographic equipment, and the complexity of this market makes it very difficult for companies created from scratch to compete. Substrate’s objective is twofold, because it also aims to ensure that its machines enable the affordable chip manufacturing in the US. Or what is the same: it not only wants to compete directly with ASML, but also allow American manufacturers to compete with TSMC on American soil. There it is nothing. Light is everything. When creating those circuits, some of the lines created are so fine that their dimensions are even thinner than the wavelength of light. To solve that ASML problem they do use of extreme ultraviolet light (EUV) through a very complex set of lenses and mirrors. These machines generate a type of artificial light that is capable of engraving those very fine lines on advanced chips. Very special X-rays. In Substrate they propose a different idea. Although they do not give all the details to prevent someone from copying them, their machines use X-ray lithography (LRX). A particle accelerator creates a light source from x-rays with a shorter wavelength, allowing the beam to be used to create advanced chips. Current Substrate machines are currently capable of working with 12 nanometer nodes, comparable to ASML High NA EUV machines: That would put them on par with the most advanced chip production lines in the world. LRX technology is not new. This technique has existed since the 1970s, but had been abandoned because longer wave techniques (UVP and UVE) continued to scale without the need to overcome the great technical challenges of RXL. In substrate they seem to have precisely the solution to those problems, which focused on optics and the need to use massive particle accelerators as a light source. And they promise brutal cost savings. At Substrate they maintain that their LRX equipment will have an estimated cost of about 40 million dollars, compared to 400 million for ASML’s High-NA EUV. In addition, there would be another associated revolution: the possibility of carrying out the so-called single exposure patterning at advanced resolutions (2 nm, 1 nm and beyond), thus eliminating the additional costs of the multipatterning (multiple exposures). If that promise is fulfilled, the production cost of advanced wafers would be 50% lower according to Substrate. But. Of course, it’s one thing to say it and another to do it. The precision of the process, they explain in Semianalysisis a monumental obstacle. The transfer of patterns (going “from light to silicon” almost “carving it”) remains problematic, and among the challenges is solving the roughness of the edges of the printed patterns, which is amplified during engraving. There is also the problem of stochastic noise (shot noise, random fluctuations in photons that cause defects) and secondary electron blurring inherent to the high energy of X-rays, which fundamentally limits resolution. There are also currently problems with the 1.6 nm overlay, which is still high for more advanced processes where 1.0 or 1.2 nm are sought. In Xataka | AMD is today a semiconductor giant. In its beginnings it was something much more humble: a blatant copy of Intel

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