move

Meta was the big loser of the AI ​​race in 2025. She was actually preparing her big move

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Meta wasn’t dead, but she wasn’t partying either. He was working hard on a new AI model for which there are huge expectations. Now we know a little more about that project, but one thing doesn’t change: it better not fail. what has happened. Andrew Bossworth, CTO of Meta, has confirmed during the World Economic Forum in Davos that the Superintelligence Labs division already has a first internal version of its new AI models. This is an important and long-awaited milestone that they have been working on for six months. “Very good”, but not ready yet. Bossworth did not want to give too many details, but he did indicate that preliminary tests show that the models perform very well. These models will still take time to come to market: Meta is currently in a critical post-training phase for these models to be truly useful for both internal developers and end users. Two great models. Although the names of those models were not specified, rumors and leaks point to two major developments. On the one hand, Avocado, focused on text and which could be launched in the first quarter of 2026. On the other, Mango, focused on image and video generation. A 2025 of transition. The manager described the year 2025 as “tremendously chaotic”, and it was certainly a very complicated year for Meta. He Llama 4 failure It made the company completely change its philosophy and strategy. Zuckerberg did not stop hire talent with a exorbitant costespecially when it acquired Scale AI and signed its CEO, Alexandr Wangnow head of Superintelligence Labs. That investment has also been allocated to acquire companies like Manusthat could become another key component of Meta’s strategy going forward. Glasses as an AI device. If they behave as expected, these models will probably also end up being used in smart glasses from Meta, which has been collaborating with Ray-Ban for years and which you have just seen its second version accompanied, of course, by the striking and even more versatile Meta Ray-Ban Display. Interaction with AI models is one of the most striking features, and these models could take it to new limits. The mystery of Open Source. In July 2024 Mark Zuckerberg indicated that “Open Source AI is the way to go.” Llama was at that time the clear reference, but the disappointing launch of Llama 4 and above all the push for open models from various Chinese companies has made this panorama change significantly. It is not clear that Meta will launch its new models with open versions, and if it did not do so, Chinese hegemony would be even more notable. Will it be worth the investment? Meta is one of the companies that has spent (or bet) the most money on the future of AI. Mark Zuckerberg said that I was willing to lose “hundreds of billions of dollars in AI” because not investing them would be even more dangerous for Meta. He has been consistent with that statement, but It remains to be seen if it ends up working.. The company certainly has the resources to be a protagonist in this market, but today its solutions—with Meta AI at the head—have a very reduced role compared to that of their competitors. Image | Goal In Xataka | China’s best kept weapon in AI is not Qwen: it is the more than 100,000 variables created by other companies

now they don’t even move

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For decades, the tank was the indisputable symbol of modern land warfare, a centerpiece in doctrines designed to break fronts and decide campaigns in a matter of hours. However, the massive drone outbreak cheap sensors and precision ammunition has gone eroding that role to turning today’s battlefield into an environment where moving or even shooting involves unprecedented risks, forcing major military powers to rethink how (and if) heavy armor can remain relevant. Russia is clear. Drones and stagnation. Despite the diplomatic contacts and rhetoric about a possible negotiated solution, Russia has maintained an offensive sustained to seize key territory from Ukraine, although yes, from a position of clear operational friction. Over the past year, Russian attacks have come in waves dismounted infantrysupported irregularly by motorcycleslight vehicles and even horsesan image that reflects the extent to which heavy armor has been sidelined by the constant threat of FPV drones and Ukrainian bombers. we have been counting: the attempts to return the tanks to the front using nets, improvised cages and other protections have produced limited results. Without effective armored support, assaults progress more slowly, become more exposed to defensive fire, and rack up high casualties with modest territorial gains, pushing Moscow to seek a tactical solution that allows the reintroduction of the armored weapon without repeating recent failures. The last tactic. And here appears the latest russian responsewhich involves a more fragmented and dynamic use of armor, articulated in pairs of tanks continuously supported by drones. In this scheme, the tanks act from a more rearward position, completely stopped and providing fire, while the drones execute a move towards the line of contactresponsible for detecting targets, correcting shots and offering a situational idea in real time. The roles are then alternated to prevent any tank from remaining static long enough to become a predictable target. The objective: to desynchronize enemy sensors and attack systems, generate brief windows of local superiority and force rapid penetrations before the Ukrainian defense can fully react, partly replacing traditional paper of the artillery for a binomial direct fire and persistent aerial surveillance. The breakdown of Soviet doctrine. This approach contrasts sharply with the doctrine inherited from the Soviet era, based on large concentrations of tanks and artillery advancing after massive bombardments to crush weakened defenses. On the current battlefield, dominated by reconnaissance dronesthese types of movements are detected quickly and punished with precision. Furthermore, in urban or semi-urban environments, bottlenecks abound, where the destruction of a single vehicle can block an entire column and turn the rest of the tanks into easy targets, as observed in failed attacks near Pokrovsk at the beginning of 2025. The new tactic recognizes that reality and tries to adapt, but it also highlights the extent to which the drone has gone from being a prop to becoming in the central axis of modern combat. Sensors, communications and logistics. Despite its innovative nature, the new method does not solve structural problems that continue to burden Russian forces. Even dispersed and moving, the tanks remain vulnerable to drones operated from outside their direct fire range, and each shot reveals their position by increasingly easy-to-detect acoustic and visual signals with advanced sensors. The tactic also depends on reliable communication links between tanks, drones and infantry, a weak point compared to Ukrainian capabilities. electronic warfarecapable of degrading or interrupting those connections and increasing the risk of isolation. Added to this is the already fragile logistics, since tanks consume large amounts of fuel and resupply vehicles are priority objectives for Ukrainian drones, making it difficult to sustain armored operations under constant surveillance. Immediate impact and adaptation. In the short term, this controlled reintroduction The armor can provide Russia with the necessary firepower to support limited advances in critical sectors of the almost thousand kilometer front, where it tries to pressure strategic nodes such as Pokrovsk, Kostiantynivka, Chasiv Yar or Toretsk. The infantry assaults have achieved punctual penetrationsbut they usually lack the muscle necessary to consolidate them, and tanks could partially cover that deficit. However, conflict experience suggests that Ukraine will react quicklyfitting their drones with better sensors and prioritizing not only the destruction of tanks, but also their supply lines, in addition to reinforcing obstacles, mines and barriers on foreseeable routes of advance. Thus the probable result is a ephemeral tactical advantage which is unlikely to translate into a lasting change in balance. A scenario that redraws a duality that has been repeated before: that of the Russian capacity for adaptation in a battlefield dominated by drones, and the limits of that adaptation in the face of vulnerabilities that remain unresolved. Image | Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, RawPixel In Xataka | “Robots don’t bleed”: the Ukrainian drone that stopped Russia for six weeks with a machine gun and not a single human soldier In Xataka | Russia has reminded the planet that the war in Ukraine is a ticking bomb. And for this he has pressed a nuclear button: Oreshnik

We joke about porn at ChatGPT, but it’s the most lucid financial move OpenAI has had in a long time

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There are people so hooked on AI who needs professional help to get out of there. Others they fall in love with one and even they cheat on their partners. In the midst of the debate about the effects of AI on mental healthOpenAI took a radical turn: would allow erotic content on ChatGPT. Porn on ChatGPT is on the decline, and it may be the push OpenAI needs to start monetizing its invention. adult mode. They count in The Verge A few days ago the head of OpenAI applications confirmed the approximate date for the arrival of this new mode. The adult mode was expected to be ready for this month of December, but apparently they do not have the age prediction system ready yet, so it will arrive sometime in the first quarter of 2026. Rudder turn. The measure represents a turn in Altman’s speech, which in August of this year He was “proud of not making a sexbot to squeeze profits”, in which many of us saw a swipe at Elon Musk and his competitor Grok. His change of position provoked criticism from many users, to which responded saying that Open AI was not “the world’s moral police” and that “as AI becomes more important in people’s lives, giving them the freedom to use it as they wish is an important part of our mission.” Subscriptions. Only one word is needed to understand the change in position: money. If there is something that OpenAI needs as May water, it is money, a lot of money. The subscriptions They were proposed as the most logical way to monetize AI chatbots, but the reality is that of the 1.8 billion users that ChatGPT has, only 3% pay any of the subscriptions. OpenAI’s plan is that by 2030 the number of subscribers will increase by at least 8.5% and adult mode is part of that plan. A sector that moves millions. Grok is one of the AI ​​chatbots that has fewer restrictions regarding erotic content, but there are more apps like Character.Ai or Replika that also allow sexual content. They count in The Economist that the adult content AI market will bill $2.5 billion in 2025 and is expected to increase 27% annually until at least 2028. It is too juicy a business to be left out, even if that means going against what he said just a few months ago. Something more will be needed. Sam Altman himself recently said that OpenAI’s spending projections over the next eight years amount to $1.4 trillion (European trillions, add twelve zeros). Although the adult mode was a success and they managed to double their subscribers, There is still a long way to go to achieve the desired profitability. OpenAI has other open fronts such as the creation of the highly anticipated “AI iPhone” or robotics, but they are businesses that require a huge investment. The advertising It is emerging as another path to follow and, together with porn, they seem to be the two most realistic and effective ideas of all those that OpenAI has on the table. Image | Unsplash In Xataka | OpenAI has lost $11.5 billion in a single quarter. Sam Altman doesn’t like to be reminded

can’t move forward without it

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Europe speaks increasingly loudly about technological sovereignty, risky suppliers and the need to shield its networks. Brussels, Washington and several European partners They look at Huawei with suspicion. However, in the guts of the energy transition—in the inverters, connected batteries, and management systems that keep the grid stable—Huawei’s name appears again and again. And that dependence is so deep that no one in Brussels wants to say it too loudly. The Spanish case triggered everything. It all started with a 12.3 million euro contract for Huawei to provide the storage hardware for the Interior’s judicial wiretapping. What could have remained a technical file became a political earthquake after the formal warning from Brussels, which according to elDiario.es recalled that Huawei and ZTE “present higher risks than other suppliers.” The second blow came from the United States. As detailed by the Financial Timesthe presidents of the intelligence committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate asked to review the exchange of information with Spain for this contract. An unusual diplomatic signal between allies. The Spanish Government defended that “there is no security risk” and that the equipment complies with the National Security Scheme. Huawei, for its part, insisted that it does not have access to the data and that storage is “exclusively the customer’s.” Europe discovers its technological heel. According to an analysis by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), Europe has delivered more than 220 GW of solar capacity to inverters manufactured by Chinese companies, with Huawei as the dominant player. In fact, from POLITICO they reaffirm it with the fact that 65% of the solar power installed in Europe depends on Chinese technology, and that Huawei is the largest supplier of inverters on the continent. The concern is no longer just economic: it is structural. Inverters are the digital brain of the energy transition: they regulate voltages, stabilize frequencies, process data, receive firmware updates and can be turned off—or altered—remotely. According to experts cited by POLITICOsimultaneously manipulating thousands of these devices could generate serious disturbances in the electrical grid. Researchers consulted by the ECFR They warn that, if compromised, these devices could “optimize the impact” of failures and amplify them within the network. Added to this is a detail that highlights European analysis: China keeps its market practically closed to Western investors thanks to a network of cybersecurity regulations that function as a trade barrier. Europe, on the other hand, completely opened its own. And this asymmetry has contributed to the loss of share of the European industry compared to Chinese manufacturers. The real cost of trying to cut the cord. This dependence would be manageable if Europe could easily replace Chinese technology. But the reality is different. According to Xataka Mobilereplacing Huawei equipment in Spanish networks would cost 4,000 million euros for telecoms alone. In Germany, according to Article 14removing components from Huawei would mean 1,000 million for Deutsche Telekom and 700 million for Telefónica. The Energy Newspaper collects internal estimates of the sector which speak of cost overruns of 20% to 40% in mobile networks, smart grids and connected energy infrastructure if Chinese suppliers are excluded. And then there are the geoeconomic consequences. Europe knows well the risks of retaliation: when Sweden banned Huawei in 2020, China counterattacked in its domestic market. Ericsson went from having almost 11% share to less than 2%. So with Beijing dominating key sectors such as solar panels, critical materials or batteries, few governments are willing to repeat that scenario. How can you get out of this mess? Europe has written a roadmap for a problem that has no roadmap and that is why the European Commission is moving in several simultaneous directions: Turn the 5G Toolbox into binding legislation. According to Bloombergwould be the largest European regulatory movement in this decade: going from a recommendation to a legal obligation to remove Huawei and ZTE from critical networks. Extend the logic of 5G to the entire connected infrastructure. How POLITICO progressedBrussels is preparing a new “toolbox” for ICT supply chains that will include solar energy, smart grids, connected cars and smart cameras. Condition European funds. Brussels studies denying financing to projects using “high-risk” vendors, and impose mandatory audits of firmware, cloud, and updates. Multi-pillar regulatory shield. According to The Energy Newspaperthe tandem NIS2 + Data Act + Network Code + Cyber ​​Resilience Act will leave little room for companies subject to foreign intelligence laws. Partial vetoes by Member States: Lithuania banned remote access from Chinese manufacturers to installations of more than 100 kW, Czech Republic has issued alerts on Chinese components in energy networks and Germany has been analyzing for a couple of years the Huawei equipment installed in its infrastructure. The message is clear: Europe wants to protect itself. What is not clear is how to do it without slowing down its energy transition. Huawei moves forward as Europe debates how to expel it. While Brussels designs barriers, Huawei is not retreating. It is in full return and as my colleague in Xataka explained: It has returned to manufacturing 7nm Kirin chips without accessing TSMC. HarmonyOS already surpasses iOS in China and is preparing to expand to 60 countries. Its automotive division has become the “digital brain” of several Chinese manufacturers. Watches, headphones and wearables keep the brand alive in Europe, cultivating a loyal base. The more autonomous Huawei becomes, the harder it will be for the EU to limit its presence. The dilemma that will mark the next European decade. The Commission seeks new rules, calibrates sanctions and repeats that it is about “strategic security.” The reality is that Washington is tightening and Beijing is not giving up, but European capitals are trying to navigate between two giants that do not accept half measures. The reality is that the energy core of the continent – ​​those networks that must power millions of electric cars, absorb gigawatts of renewables and sustain a digitalized economy down to the last meter – continue to depend on and be built by … Read more

Europe has been warning for years that firing in Spain is a bargain. Now Congress is making a move with the “restorative dismissal”

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Unfair dismissal in Spain is a bargain for companies. At least that is what the European Committee of Social Rights (CEDS), dependent on the Council of Europe, has been telling Spain for years. Throughout this time, the Government has turned a deaf ear to the recommendations from Brussels. However, an unexpected turn caused by the mistake of a representative of the Popular Party During a vote in Congress, a Non-Law Proposal (PNL) by Sumar was allowed to prosper, which urges the Government to present a bill to reform the laws that prevent the application of the restorative dismissal that Europe has actively and passively requested. Europe has been warning since 2021. When Spain ratified in 2021 the European Social Charterassumed the commitment to harmonize its labor legislation with its principles. Since then, the European Committee of Social Rights (CEDS), an advisory body of the Council of Europe, has reiterated that the Spanish system, based on a fixed calculation of 33 days per year worked and a maximum of 24 months, does not meet the criteria of said commitment. The problem is that the European Social Charter is a set of guidelines, but it is not binding, and the CEDS is a consultative body, so it cannot demand legislative modifications from Spain. Its resolutions are recommendations, valuable from a legal and political point of view, but without executive force. This lack of obligation has allowed Spain to postpone reforms that would change the way compensation is calculated for employees for unfair dismissal. The cornerstone: article 24. The point of greatest friction to undertake the reforms is found in article 24 of the European Social Charter. It requires “the right of workers dismissed without valid reason (unfair dismissal) to adequate compensation or other appropriate relief.” This means ensuring that compensations to employees for unfair dismissal must be “appropriate and dissuasive”. Something that, as a general rule, does not occur in the system of fixed compensation that is currently applied in all judicial processes for unfair dismissal. This time the request has not come from Europe. Despite having dictated different resolutions and requestsnothing has changed in Europe’s position, nor has it gained power to force Spain to implement the legislative changes. However, what has changed is internal politics. In September, a Non-Law Proposition promoted by Sumar managed to get ahead thanks to the voting error of a PP deputy, repeating the scene that in 2022 allowed approve the labor reform. This NLP does not modify the law itself, but it does urge the Government to begin the legislative process to adapt the regulations to the European framework. This implies the opening of a social dialogue table with unions and employers and, subsequently, the preparation of a bill that must return to Congress to be voted on. The reform of the regulations to legislate unfair dismissals, therefore, is still a long way off, but for the first time the Executive is obliged to put it on the table. “Restorative dismissal” is not a type of dismissal. Among all the CEDS recommendations, none has generated as much debate as the so-called restorative dismissal. The name can lead to confusion: it is not a new category of dismissal as the disciplinarynull or inadmissible, but refers to a proposal to transform How compensation is calculated when a dismissal is declared unfair. Europe considers that the current Spanish system is too predictable and, in many cases, insufficient. The result is that companies can treat unfair dismissal as a more or less easy cost to assume and choose which employees or how many to dismiss based on the cost of the operation. Restorative dismissal causes this calculation to vary from one employee to another and is under the sole discretion of a judge, which would prevent companies from calculating in advance the final cost of the dismissal. What is restorative dismissal?. As its name indicates, restorative dismissal is a model that seeks to individualize the severance payment to the specific damage it causes to the dismissed employee, instead of an automatic calculation based in days per year worked. Judges could assess specific factors in each case, taking into account factors such as the age and social situation of the worker, the real probability of re-entering the labor market, the economic and personal impact of the dismissal, or the size, solvency, or economic capacity of the dismissing company. Based on these factors, for example, a 60-year-old worker with children and a 24-year-old single worker who were fired by the same company in similar positions would obtain different compensation because, statistically, the older one would have less likely to return to the labor market than the young person. Europe understands that this flexibility is essential to repair the real damage of dismissal and to act as a preventive mechanism. Deterrence, protection and less business calculation. The objective of restorative dismissal is not only to better compensate the worker based on the impact caused, but also to discourage the appeal of unfair dismissal and that, if companies really have economic problems that justify dismissals, they do so through dismissals for objective reasons. If the cost is no longer predictable, the company loses the ability to make profitability calculations. This protection measure especially affects precarious groups who, due to their low salary or short seniority, are very cheap to fire: young people, women and precarious workers. Furthermore, Europe insists that the reinstatement after dismissal inadmissible should no longer be optional for the company as it is currently, and should become a real possibility imposed by the court when it is appropriate. Restoration, in this sense, is not only economic, but also labor-related. Justice has its hands tied. Despite Europe’s insistence, the Spanish courts have rejected impose compensation higher than the current scale included in the article 56 of the Workers’ Statute. The reason was not a lack of judicial will, but the absence of a legal framework that would allow additional compensation to be established without generating legal uncertainty. In Xataka | … Read more

In 1973 a German dreamed of exploiting Lanzarote. 50 years later no one has been able to move the ruins of his monster

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Of all the ghost architectures and abandoned to their fate in Spain, few like the shadow that rises in a unique place in the Canary Islands. Its history begins in the early seventies, at a time when Lanzarote was opening up to international tourism in the heat of expansive urban planning, laws favorable to foreign investment and a climate of economic optimism that seemed to have no limits. And then a “visionary” arrived. A hyperbolic dream. In that context, the German businessman Erick Becker imagined a gigantic tourist complexmade up of five hotels, an aparthotel, more than twelve hundred bungalows and a capacity for four thousand people. The emblematic piece, the Náutico hotel (renamed over the years as Atlante del Sol), was to be the gateway to an urbanization in German capital that saw Lanzarote as an ideal territory to attract European visitors. The legislation of the time, headed by the Strauss Law of 1968encouraged German investment in developing countries and helped direct a flood of capital towards the Canary Islands that found an apparently perfect opportunity on the island. However, the choice of location would prove to be a major mistake. Tourism against the landscape. The Rubicon coast It had virulent waves, constant winds and rugged geography without a beach or adequate access. In those decades, Lanzarote’s infrastructure was fragile, and the area even lacked a road that connected the place with the inhabited centers. Despite this, the project moved forward in fits and startsraising the main structure of the hotel before the oil crisis of 1973 paralyzed the European economy and brought with it a promotion that would never open its doors. Since then, the unfinished mass was abandonedconverted into an unused concrete skeleton that began to hint at the ghostly silhouette that would mark its future. Abandonment, illegality and law. After the abandonment of the project, the Atlante del Sol was suspended in a legal limbo that the subsequent evolution of Canarian urban planning ended up resolving against it. The Island Management Plan of Lanzarote from 1991a pioneer in the protection of the island territory, reclassified the area as rustic land for natural ecological protection, nullifying the urban character it may have had under the regulations of the 1950s and 1960s. With the passage of time, the area was also incorporated into the Natura 2000 Network as a Special Bird Protection Area, reinforcing its ecological value and further shielding its non-urbanizable nature. In parallel, Spanish and regional legislation chained new land laws in 1976, 1990, 1998 and 2007, which consolidated environmental regulations. much more demanding than existed when the original license was granted in 1972. Final blow. The Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands made it clear in 2016 that this old license was invalid operational, because an unfinished work loses any right protected by obsolete regulations when subsequent laws come into force. In essence, what may have been legal in the 1970s ceased to be legal decades ago. Added to this was a determining fact: the property it was never finished nor to be used, and its current state (absolute ruin, no services, no access and no technical possibility of becoming operational equipment) prevented it from being considered a heritage work. The court concluded that reviving a license from 1972 was as inappropriate as pretending that the island had not changed in fifty years. That ruling legally sealed the fate of the hotel: either remain abandoned or be demolished. The ghost and watchman hotel. With the passage of time, the Atlantean of the Sun It went from being a frustrated project to becoming a strange element embedded in one of the natural spaces most beautiful and unique of Lanzarote: the natural pools from Los Charcones. There, between the wind, the volcanic rock and the crystalline puddles, the abandoned hotel took on a disturbing, almost sculptural presence. For tourists who discover the area, the semi-ruined structure has become part of the landscapean example of beauty in decay that contrasts with the serenity of natural pools. For others, it is an open wound, a reminder of the speculation of the seventies and the urbanism that was promoted without paying attention to the physical reality of the territory. Chaos tourism. His inaccessibility (the absence of roads continues to be one of the main limitations today) has kept it outside the conventional tourist circuit and has contributed to its degradation. The wind, saltpeter and abandonment have turned the building into a dangerous shell, used occasionally as an improvised shelter by campers since the seventies, especially at Easter, when entire families came to occupy the windowless rooms applying minimum standards of coexistence. The picture is as unusual as it is revealing: a hotel that never opened turned into a sporadic camp for those seeking a unique experience in an isolated place. Between memory, business and protection. Over the decades, different owners tried to recover the building’s destiny, either by giving it tourist use or transforming it into healthcare facilities. Among them, the company Hipercan Don Jersey SL tried to reclassify the land to convert the hotel into a social and health center, claiming that the 1972 license was still valid and that the reform would allow the municipality to be provided with a new public service. But the administrations maintained a firm position: Yaiza already had sufficient equipment, the property was in ruins and the land belonged to a protected natural space whose ecological value should prevail about any intervention. The courts confirmed this position repeatedly. Neither the heritage argument, nor the intention to reconvert the building, nor the appeal to old investments managed to reverse a situation that had been legally closed for decades. Even if there was a will to rebuild, the cost of rehabilitation would be exorbitant. And if demolition were chosen, the operation (valued at more than one million euros) would require facing considerable technical and environmental obstacles. Uncertain future. In recent years, the discussion about the future of the Atlantean Sun has regained … Read more

Some say Mercury retrograde ruins their life, but the planet didn’t even move from its spot.

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Mercury retrograde season returns. From November 9 to 20, 2025, many people around the world – and especially on social networks– They will blame this curious planetary phenomenon for the argument they have had with their partner, the breakage of their refrigerator or the failure in an exam. But the question we must ask ourselves is if there is something behind this phenomenon that seems astronomical. What is ‘Mercury retrograde’. Despite its magical name, “Mercury retrograde” is described according to NASA as an optical effect: from Earth, Mercury (the planet closest to the Sun) appears to move backwards in its orbit for a few weeks. Astronomically, that “recoil” It is an illusion created by the difference in speed and position between Earth and Mercurybut nothing in the cosmos really changes, only our point of view. This is a phenomenon that occurs several times a year and has no physical effect on the Earth, our communications, travel or emotions. This is why astronomical science is clear: it is pure visual effect, not causality. Another interpretation. In the case of astrology the interpretation is very different. For this branch, Mercury is attributed powers over the communication, thought and movement. In this way, when it is ‘retrograde’, astrologers advise avoid signing contracts, taking trips or having difficult conversations. But this is something that has no scientific support behind it. A real meme. The interesting thing, according to experts in digital cultureis how Mercury retrograde has become a lifeline to cast our blame away. It is the perfect meme to explain everyday chaos: when WhatsApp crashes or the AI ​​responds strangely, the fault is not ours, but Mercury’s. In this way, everything stops being our fault, and for psychology it is something that we use as a strategy to attribute the disorder to external factors that reduce anxiety and connect us with the community. In countries like Spain, each Mercury retrograde cycle activates dozens of interactions on TikTok, Instagram and X, full of jokes, astrological advice and memes. This narrative allows us to find order (or at least, poetic meaning) in digital unpredictability. There is no relationship. Whether the computer or the refrigerator stops working or you have had a fight with your boyfriend or girlfriend has nothing to do with the position of Mercury. However, the myth and the joke will live on. Perhaps it is therapeutic to look to the sky for an answer when reality surpasses logic, even if we know that looking at the sky will not change whether our router breaks or not. Images | Wikipedia Afif Ramdhasuma In Xataka Basics | 19 apps and tools to see and have more information about stars and constellations

More and more countries want to prohibit minors from using social networks. Denmark makes a move

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Should minors have social networks? The debate is raging and more and more voices are advocating a total ban. Australia has a law on the table that will prevent minors under 16 years of age from using social networks and our french neighbors They have also shown their inclination to follow this path. Now it is Denmark that makes its move. what has happened. The Danish government has reached an agreement to ban social media for those under 15 years of age. In statements to the Associated PressDanish Prime Minister Caroline Stage has assured that 94% of Danish children under 13 and more than half of those under 10 have profiles on social networks. “The time they spend connected to the Internet, the amount of violence and self-harm to which they are exposed online, poses too great a risk for our children,” he stated. The measure contemplates that parents who wish may authorize their children to access social networks from the age of 13. Why is it important. Denmark becomes the first European country to agree to such a ban. The ban could take months to take effect because they want to tie everything together. According to Stage, “We must ensure that the regulations are adequate and that there are no loopholes that technology giants can exploit.” The European position. This summer several countries, including Spain, approached the European Commission to request a ban at the European level. The commission’s response was clear: The ban must be carried out by each country, there will be no common prohibition. However, the EU is developing the European Digital Identityan app to identify ourselves when carrying out procedures and that will also work as an age verifier. How will they do it. The plan is to use Denmark’s electronic ID system, although they have not given many details on how it will work. The Prime Minister talks about forcing technology companies to “carry out appropriate age verification, and if they do not do so we will be able to enforce the regulations through the European Commission and ensure that they are fined up to 6% of their global income.” Pajaport. In parallel to the debate about access to social networks there is also that of porn. Spain announced the Beta Digital Wallet, known as ‘pajaporte’ to limit access to porn by minors. At the moment it is not in force, but there are other countries that have similar initiatives that are already underway, such as France, where its implementation caused the closure of Pornhub in the country. The United Kingdom is another of the countries where you have to identify yourself to watch porn. The traffic of Pornhub plummeted 77%, so it seems that the measure had an effect. However, the huge growth of VPN tools It suggests that many users could be masking their location to bypass the ban. Doors to the field. Using a VPN is a way to bypass restrictions, and in the case of access to social networks by minors it could also be an option to bypass the restriction. There are still many doubts about how it will be executed on a technical level, but with easy access to the screens and the ability of some children to avoid limitationsdoes not seem like an easy task. Images | Pexels 1, 2 In Xataka | Neither TikTok nor Instagram until the age of 16: Spain will raise the minimum age to register on social networks in two years

move 400,000 people a day without a driver

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Line 6 of the Madrid metro is about to become the first line in the network to operate with fully automatic trains. There will be no driver, but more frequency, more capacity and less electricity consumption are expected. The project, valued at 300 million euros, will end in 2027 and has the objective of transforming the most used Madrid suburban line into one of the most advanced in Europe. A technical achievement. The Circular transports daily about 400,000 peoplemaking it the busiest line on the entire network. Automating it entails both a technical and logistical challenge, since they must maintain the service while the electrical infrastructure is renovated and security systems, such as platform doors, are installed. Madrid Metro describe as “a new technical achievement in the history of the suburban”, and no wonder. It will be the largest renovation since 2008 and will affect more than 11% of the current fleet. In detail. Automation requires profound changes to the infrastructure. The most important one is increasing catenary tensionfrom 600 to 1,500 volts, a jump necessary to power the new trains and reduce electrical consumption by up to 30% on L6. Across the entire network, the savings will be 3.6%, according to inform the organism. The works include the comprehensive renovation of seven electrical substations and the installation of automatic doors on the platforms. The Community of Madrid has invested more than 450 million euros in the purchase of 40 new convoys manufactured by CAF, designed to coincide with the openings of the current carriages and facilitate the transition. How it affects the user. The new trains promise a passing frequency of two minutes33% more speed and 17% more capacity by eliminating the driver’s cabins. All this translates into less waiting time and more space for travelers. But the process has not been easy. The works, which began in May 2024 and will last until the end of the year, have forced complete sections of the line to close. The buses replaced the service, although it was insufficient given the demand, forming collapses in stations like Moncloa. A first step. Madrid is betting on automation not only to improve its service, but as its particular strategy to aspire to sustainability. Reducing electricity consumption and increasing energy efficiency fit with European decarbonisation targets of public transportation. Furthermore, the project places Madrid in the select group of cities with fully automatic metro lines. We can see examples of these in Copenhagen or Lille, among others. Now it remains to be seen if the L6 project will be replicated on the rest of the lines. And now what. The works will continue until the end of the yearand it is expected that starting January 1 all stations will be open to the public during their usual hours. However, full automation of the network will not come until 2027, when the new trains enter service. Until then, the Madrid metro will continue to be a testing ground. The good thing is that if it works, the L6 will be the perfect showcase for what awaits the future of public transportation in the city. Cover image | Madrid Metro In Xataka | In 2018 it was a countryside on the outskirts of Chongqing. In 2025 it will be the largest train station in the world

To build an “artificial sun” we need to be able to move the weight of ten elephants with millimeter precision. This is what China has just done

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In Chinese mythology, Kuafu was a giant who challenged the gods when trying to catch the sun to give light and heat to their people. Centuries later, China re -pursues that same ambition, but now with avant -garde science: to create a “Artificial sun” that provides clean and unlimited energy. And in that way, the engineers have just presented a new protagonist worthy of legend: a colossal robot. The arm for fusion. The Asian giant has developed a remote manipulation platform for future fusion reactors. It is a system with three robotic arms, whose main manipulator can raise up to 60 tons – the weight of ten African elephants – with a millimeter accuracy, According to South China Morning Post. Meanwhile, the two secondary arms stand out for even more extreme precision: ± 0.01 millimeters, which makes it the most advanced remote management system in the field of fusion. Closer to the “artificial sun.” The objective of this whole project is to achieve stable nuclear fusion, that almost inexhaustible energy that mimics the process that occurs in the sun’s core. In fact, China has been breaking records for years in its East experimental reactor, which this year has achieved Maintain a confined plasma for 1,066 seconds, a world record that exceeds 403 seconds Realized in 2023. But for this energy to become commercial, it is necessary to resolve a major challenge: maintenance. The internal components of a reactor, such as coating or the diving, are constantly damaged by heat, radiation and magnetic fields. And this is where this new robot comes into play: no human being could work in these extreme conditions. The in -depth project. The robot is part of the craft (Comprehensive Research Facity for Fusion Technology), an installation in Hefei, Anhui, nicknamed “Kuafu” in honor of the mythical giant. More than 300 scientists and engineers participate in this project, According to SCMPunder the supervision of the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. “We have developed a machine capable of meeting extremely demanding requirements by overcoming obstacles in materials, sensors and control,” explained Pan HongtaoInstitute researcher. The idea is to use craft as a test bank to develop and validate key fusion technologies, including those that will be applied in the future Chinese experimental fusion reactor (CFETR) and in the International Iter project In France. Ready to go into action? For now, we are not talking about an operational robot in a reactor, but of an experimental platform. According to China Dailythe system has already exceeded the evaluation of experts and will serve as an engineering verification platform to ensure that, when reactors enter into operation, remote maintenance is safe and precise. Craft, where it is housed, plans to be completed in the late 2025. Beyond fusion. Although the immediate objective is to maintain fusion reactors, technology is not limited to that field. According to CGTNthe advances achieved in this robot could also be applied in inspection of nuclear plants, aerospace industry, operations with heavy machinery or even emergency rescues. A global career for the artificial sun. The Kuafu robot does not arise in a vacuum. Other countries also develop remote maintenance systems, although with much lower capabilities. The most advanced arm of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (Japan) supports only 2 tons. In contrast, the Chinese robot can manipulate 30 times higher loads. At the international level, the Iter project in France – in which 35 countries participate – will have a system Able to handle up to 45 tons. The new Chinese system already exceeds it in load capacity, although both remain development platforms rather than operating systems. The road map is clear but slow: Chinese experts They calculate that they are still 30 to 50 years to see commercial fusion reactors. And the European Union, with its Eurofusion projectdoes not expect to start testing with plasma until the end of this year. Forecasts The Chinese commitment to nuclear fusion advances with firm steps. The development of a robot capable of lifting 60 tons with surgical precision is not a simple engineering achievement: it is an essential piece for someday fusion reactors to maintain and function stable. Humanity He has been trying to replicate the energy of the sun on earth. With advances like this, China shows that it is determined to be the protagonist in that race. Decades may be missing to see fusion plants in operation, but every step we bring us a little more to that utopia to capture the sun. Image | Freepik Xataka | The largest nuclear fusion project on the planet has survived the setbacks. This is the date on which Iter should be ready

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