obsessed

We have been obsessed with Japan for decades to understand people who live over 100 years. The key was in Brazil

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For decades, when science was searching for secrets of aginghe always looked in the same places: Japan’s “Blue Zones”Sardinia or the icy and homogeneous populations of northern Europe. However, researchers have pointed out that all this time we have been ignoring a biological gold mine: Brazil. The study. Understanding why there are people who live to be over one hundred years of age is undoubtedly an objective of science to to be able to unlock possible therapies in the future that will extend our lives much longer. Since it is curious that in specific areas such as Japan the population ages far beyond the normal average, being a mystery to science (although the reasons are already gone). The latest research on the matterpublished on January 6 in Genomic Psychiatry, has identified a genetic mix in the South American country that could contain protective variants invisible in more uniform populations. The Brazilian superhumans. The study, led by geneticists Mayana Zats and Mateus Vidigal de Castro, is based on the analysis of a group of more than 160 centenarians and at least 20 supercentenarians, who They are those people who are over 110 years old. Among these people, some quite relevant figures stand out, such as Sister Inah, who reached the age of 116, and several of the oldest men in the world, according to the LongeviQuest Atlas. But what really makes this group of people who have been analyzed by researchers special is not their age, but their biological resilience. Its biological resistance. The researchers’ main thesis is that the intense Brazilian miscegenation, fruit of centuries of interaction between indigenous populationsPortuguese colonizers, enslaved people of African origin and European and Japanese immigrants, has created a unique genomic diversity. By analyzing this genetic “breeding ground”, scientists have identified millions of variants that do not appear in large international biobanks. The hypothesis suggests that this mixture allows protective variants to emerge that are practically invisible in homogeneous populations. It is, in essence, a search for the genes of resilience in an environment of maximum diversity. COVID resistance. Without a doubt, it is one of the most fascinating examples of this history, since before the arrival of vaccines, three supercentenarians of the study they managed to survive the disease. By analyzing their immune response, the researchers found a concentration of cells related to innate defense that was very efficient. In this way, it was seen that individuals not only live longer, but also have a defense system capable of neutralizing threats that are lethal to people decades younger. Something that seems to be related to an increase in biological processes related to autophagy, that is, the ability of some cells to literally clean the body of harmful components. What was already known. This paradigm shift connects with previous works such as those done by researcher Manel Esteller on the epigenetic profile of the Spanish María Branyasthe oldest Spanish person of all time. In this case, what was done was to understand the “biological clock” of longevity in Europe. Now, the Brazilian project expands the map into the unknown. By sequencing entire genomes in this mixed-race population, scientists have discovered some eight billion undescribed variants, many of which could have a functional impact on how we age and how our cells withstand the test of time. Towards the future. The study of Brazilian supercentenarians is not only a matter of biographical curiosity about who holds the age record, but a critical step towards genomic medicine of the future. By understanding how the mixture of ancestors can concentrate protective factors against degenerative or infectious diseases, science is getting closer to discovering whether there is a biological “formula” for longevity that can be translated into therapies for the rest of the population. Brazil, with its genetic mosaic, is demonstrating that the most complex answers to our survival could be written in the genes of those who, against all odds, have seen more than a century of history pass by. Images | Unsplash In Xataka | The change of year has a weapon to slow down your aging: a list of New Year’s resolutions

There are people obsessed with doing a post-Christmas “detox” based on juices. Your body has something to say about it

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In the era of scroll infinite, the TikTok algorithm seems to have found the potion of eternal youth in 250 milliliter format. One day is the water with lemonother apple cider vinegar and, more recently, the beet shots either beet shots. Under labels like #detox or #guthealth, influencers with millions of followers promise to “cleanse” the body, flatten belly and speed up metabolism with a simple morning gesture. However, behind the careful aesthetics and pseudoscientific jargon, the medicine is forceful: your body is not a room that needs a three-day “cleaning spree”, but a complex system that already knows how to take care of itself if we do not hinder it. The viralization of deception. Behind the fascination with miracle cures operates a multi-billion dollar industry that capitalizes on consumer vulnerability. after the excesses, according to a report in The Washington Post. However, the phenomenon transcends conventional marketing to establish itself on social networks with alarming data: an analysis of Eating Behaviors Magazine on content on TikTok revealed that 97% of videos promoting supplements and dietary products lack any scientific basis. “Microbiota“. This gap between digital popularity and medical evidence evidences a public health problem where misinformation is monetized on a large scale. According to this same study93.6% of content creators do not mention their credentials, and the vast majority of promotions (95.7%) do not even clarify whether they are sponsored by brands. We are literally entrusting our metabolic health to strangers who they use terms as “microbiota” or “low-grade inflammation” to construct an illusion of rigor that sells much more than the boring reality of eating whole vegetables. The “detox” myth. Why do we feel “better” after a juice program? According to expertsit is not because of the mystical properties of celery or cayenne, but because we have stopped consuming ultra-processed foods, added sugars and alcohol for a few days. However, the concept of “detoxifying” the body with fluids is, biologically, nonsense. Dr. Tinsay Woreta maintains that the human body It operates with a highly efficient natural filtration system, where lungs, intestines and kidneys constantly eliminate toxins and pathogens. In tune, Mayo Clinic highlights the lack of scientific evidence on the alleged accumulation of waste requiring external “washing”; On the contrary, the institution warns that extreme cleansing, such as colon cleansing, poses an unnecessary danger that can lead to dehydration, infections or even rectal perforations. What science says (and TikTok remains silent). Far from being harmless, these diets can be counterproductive. According to a study from Northwestern Universityeliminating fiber to consume only juices—even for just three days—drastically alters the oral and fecal microbiome, increasing bacteria linked to inflammation and cognitive decline. Fiber is food for “good” bacteria that produce anti-inflammatory compounds; Without it, sugar-loving bacteria multiply. Even the “king” of home remedies, apple cider vinegar, has fallen from its pedestal. The famous study that supported its benefits for losing weight was retracted due to inconsistencies in the data and statistical errors. The reality is that taking it on an empty stomach can irritate the esophagus and permanently damage the enamel of your teeth. What is the real alternative? If the goal is longevity and liver health, science proposes replacing the “shot” with sustainable habits: Fruit is eaten, not drunk: Longevity expert Peter Diamandis a vital advice: If you like oranges, eat them whole. By juicing, you destroy fiber, which worsens satiety and triggers sugar absorption. Look North: As we obsess over supplements, the “new Nordic diet” is winning the battle to the Mediterranean in some studies. This pattern (based on canola oil, whole grains like rye, and berries) reduces the risk of fatty liver by a staggering 58%. Strength versus fragility: Walking is great for the heart, but to age with autonomythe body needs weights or elastic bands. Strength exercise is the only way to stop sarcopenia (muscle loss) and release myokines, proteins that protect the brain against Alzheimer’s. Be careful with him Protein Chic: The trend of adding protein to everything (coffees, yogurts, bars) is often an unnecessary expense. Dr. Stuart Phillips points out that excess protein It doesn’t build muscle on its own—training does that—and can unnecessarily strain the kidneys and liver. Health has no shortcuts. In short, science suggests that the best “cleanse” is one that is not done intermittently. As the experts consulted by The Washington Post concludea week-long juicing regimen cannot undo the damage of a sedentary lifestyle or a regular poor diet. The next time you watch a video with a magenta liquid promising miracles, remember: your liver is already working at full capacity while you sleep. What he really needs is not a trendy juice, but rather that you give him three days of weekly alcohol rest, a diet rich in fiber and, perhaps, that you stop searching on your cell phone for what can only be found in the market and in the gym. Image | freepik Xataka | We have been obsessed with the Mediterranean diet for decades. Turns out the Nordics had a much better solution

We have been obsessed with the Mediterranean diet for decades. Turns out the Nordics had a much better solution

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If we go back to 2009, many of us will remember a program known as The Deadliest Warrior (Deadliest Warrior). The premise was to pit two combatants from different eras against each other to see who would win in a duel to the death. Although on the screen we saw the Viking measure his axes against a Samurai, and the Gladiator against an Apache, we never got to see the direct duel between the colossus of the north and the warrior of the Mediterranean. That “fight of the century” was left hanging on television, but in the field of nutrition, the Roman side (the Mediterranean diet) has been the undefeated champion for decades. However, science has decided to simulate that combat in the laboratory in 2025, and this time the Viking’s ax has nipped Mediterranean leadership in the bud. According to the latest studies, the Nordics have a much better solution. A new discovery. Given that we live in the Mediterranean area, it seems impossible to do without olive oil and wheat. But, as nutritionist Dawn Jackson Blatner explains in National Geographica “cousin to the Mediterranean diet in colder climates” has emerged that is demonstrating surprising results. Originally created in 2004 by a committee of scientists and chefs—under the premise that health is not incompatible with gastronomic pleasure—the “new nordic diet” It does not seek longevity, but rather does so with a focus on local sustainability that the Mediterranean model often ignores outside its borders. The most recent milestone is the study published in Frontiers in Endocrinology. After analyzing a young and middle-aged population, researchers led by Abdelgawwad El-Sehrawy found that those who strictly follow the Baltic Sea dietary pattern have a 42% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. If the strictest adherence index is used, protection rises to a staggering 52%. This finding is crucial because it shows that the benefits act as a preventive shield from youth, and not only in old age. A shield against modern diseases. The robustness of this diet is supported by an “artillery” of previous research that already pointed in this direction. As a 2024 study details published in Scientific Reportsthe Nordic diet is one of the best tools to combat non-alcoholic fatty liver, reducing its risk by 58%. Added to this is that the benefits do not remain in the metabolism. According to a 2022 meta-analysis published in Diabetology analyzed data from more than a million people, confirming that those who follow this lifestyle have a 26% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, a 22% lower risk of premature death from any cause, and a 14% lower chance of dying from cancer. As Dr. David L. Katz states“all good diets are made up of real foods, mostly plants; the Nordic diet is a masterful variation on that same theme.” What does it mean to eat like a Nordic? Many will surely have thought that it would be something like “eating aranques every day”, but (happily) it is not like that. The mainstay is canola (rapeseed) oil, rich in omega-3 fatty acids and more affordable than olive oil, along with: Whole grains: Rye, barley and oats (essential due to their low glycemic index). Forest fruits: Blueberries, raspberries and wild berries. Tubers and cruciferous vegetables: Beets, carrots, cauliflower and cabbage. Fatty fish: Salmon, mackerel and herring. Fermented dairy: Like skyr or kefir. Beyond diet. One of the points to highlight about the diet is that, according to research by British Journal of Nutrition, Women who followed the Nordic diet reached old age with significantly greater physical performance, easily passing walking and strength tests. The Nordic diet has an ‘inevitable’ side effect: weight loss. And it does this by hacking the feeling of hunger. The NORDIET study put to the test to subjects with high cholesterol and the result was a drop in weight and blood pressure without the stress of measuring each gram. But the most compelling data came from the NND trial. in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: Participants with abdominal obesity lost an average of 4.7 kg by eating on demand, without quantity restrictions. Compared to the few kilos lost by those who followed a normal diet, the Nordic system appears to be much more efficient. A solution for everyone. What the north teaches us is that health is not the exclusive property of one geography. As dietician Joan Salge Blake points out,the success of this diet lies in its ability to add strength. It’s the mix of fiber, healthy oils and antioxidants that really matters, acting as a balm against inflammation. It is there, in that inflammation that fuels the diseases of our century, where the Nordic diet fights and wins its most important battle.” You don’t have to live in Oslo to benefit. The key, according to experts, is to prioritize whole foods, choose fatty fish (even if they are frozen or canned due to their affordability) and replace white bread with whole rye. The Nordics seem to have found the recipe for a long, strong and sustainable life. In 2025, the fight is over: the Viking knows how to take better care of himself. Image | Unsplash Xataka | Although it may not seem like it, chickens and pigs are not the most farm-raised animals. Prawns are

The origin of December 25 is in an obscure third century antipope obsessed with the birth of Christ

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For years, we have repeated that Christmas is an invention. Not only does the Bible not specify that Jesus was born on December 25, it is that It is implausible that it was on that date. The gospels themselves detail that there were shepherds tending flocks outdoors (something unlikely in the Decembers of the time in Bethlehem), but the idea that the Romans were going to take a census on those dates is almost delirious. For this reason, we have repeated over and over again, the most reasonable explanation is that during the 4th century, the Church set the birth of Christ on December 25 to make it coincide (and in the process ‘Christianize’) the pagan festivities of Sol Invictus and Saturnalia. The only problem is that the latest available evidence goes in another direction: that of an obscure third century antipope who, obsessed with making a chronology of the scriptures, arrived at the date of the 25th independently. This is the story of how Hippolytus of Rome invented Christmas. The myth of the Christianization of Roman festivals Hail, Caesar! Io, Saturnalia! by Lawrence Alma-Tadema But let’s start by reviewing the best-known theory and seeing why some authors They have started to doubt them. As is often read on the Internet, this theory tells us that there is nothing coincidental about the December 25 election. On that date there was already a birthday, that of the “Unconquered Sun” (which would be the winter solstice for the Romans) and the Church, which during the 4th century struggled to — and would succeed — to become the official religion of the Empire, would have taken advantage of the pull of the pagan festival to place Christmas there. And the theory makes sense. However, it has a big problem; does not really resolve the question at hand: why 25? As explained Thomas C. Schmidta researcher at Princeton University, indeed the Roman Saturnalia fell on those dates, but not on that date. Certainly, it is difficult to be conclusive when we talk about that historical period, but everything seems to indicate that the strong day of Saturnalia fell closer to the 17th than to the 25th. In fact, if this approximation is true, we could not even say that it is the end of the ‘sigilarias’ (the celebrations – of a week – that followed the birth of the Unconquered Sun). Other festivities such as the Kalends (which were already celebrated in January) or the brumals (the solstice festival) do not fit well with the date in question either. That is to say, the idea that these Roman festivals are the origin of Christmas is, as I say, suggestive; but it still does not provide a convincing explanation as to why the Church chose the 25th. To answer that question we have to dig a little deeper. Since when is Christmas celebrated in “Christmas”? As says Schmidt.the first historical reference to December 25 as the day of the “birth of Christ in Bethlehem of Judea” can be found within the Filócalo Calendarin a document dated 336. It is a curious fact. And, although it is not something that explains the central issue of our question (the reason for December 25), it does give us a time frame: it tells us where to look for that explanation because, for practical purposes, we can assume that during the 4th century the festival was already relatively consolidated. That is, you would have to search a little before. Specifically to 222. In that year it is dated a statue of Hippolytus from Rome found in 1551 near the Via Tiburtina. The interesting thing about the statue is that, among its many inscriptions, it includes a lunar tablet that is kept today in the Vatican Library. Who is Hippolytus of Rome and what does he have to do with all this? Adoration of the Shepherds, by Gerard van Honthorst Hippolytus of Rome is a very multifaceted figure. Considered one of the great theologians and preachers of his time (in fact, Origen can be considered his disciple in some respects), he led a schism in 217 that led him to distance himself from the Church for a decade. He is, at the same time, the first antipope in history and a saint who, according to what is said, died martyred 235: he is, in fact, the only antipope canonized to this day. Well, we know that already in 220 after Christ, Hippolytus (in a commentary on the book of Daniel) defended that “The first coming of our Lord, in Bethlehem, was on Wednesday, December 25.” However, we also know that this text is manipulated. There are several versions with modified dates: among them, some that explain that the birth was in March or April. And the truth is that if Jesus was born in April many of our problems would be solved suddenly. However, looking only at the texts, it is not clear. That’s where the statue comes in. Because in the lunar table of the inscriptions, all past and future Easters appear calculated and, along with them, two key notes for us: the original Good Friday (which fell on March 25) and the “genesis” of the Lord (the year 2 AD) which fell on April 2. In the year 235, in a very ambitious work in which he traced the complete chronology of creation, Hippolytus It advanced that origin to March 25 for the simple (and, seen from today, absurd) reason that that was the date on which, according to their data, the world had been created. The true “genesis” of Christmas Paolo de Matteis But what does all this have to do with December 25? The answer is in the statue although I have overlooked it: specifically, in the word “genesis.” Because what is the “genesis” of a person? His birth or his conception? While it would be better for us if it were his birth (because it would fit with what the Bible says about Christmas), … Read more

There are dozens of influencers obsessed with helping us choose the perfect can of tuna. The problem is that what they say doesn’t make much sense.

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There is a fine line that connects volcanic eruptions, oil combustion, and waste incineration with our kitchens: mercury. A mercury that is produced in dozens of activities (mostly human), which ends up deposited in the waters, transformed into methylmercury by millions of microorganisms, stored in fish and, finally, in our stomach. It was only a matter of time before it became the huge food scandal it is today. Methylmercury also reaches social networks. The problem is so big that there is no shortage of experts and influencers that defend messages such as choosing cans of “tuna” over cans of “light tuna.” The music is that of institutions such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that recommends avoiding large fish; The lyrics hide many problems. At the end of the day, the viral message mixes correct intuitions, with more than debatable scientific evidence (it uses, to begin with, commercial classifications that do not have direct Spanish correspondence). This is not the first time that an idea that sounds good ends up giving us headaches. And why is that a problem? Because, like it or not, fish is a centerpiece of many diets. Not only for its protein contribution, but as a priority source of certain fats that are very difficult to replace by any other means (e.g. omega-3). The thing is, with all that, comes methylmercury. And exposure to methylmercury is a tricky thing: it can harm brain development and be toxic to the nervous system. In fact, it can cause symptoms such as tremors, memory loss, and cognitive dysfunctions. The most vulnerable groups are pregnant women, nursing mothers, babies and young children. Do all fish have the same amount of mercury? No, it doesn’t. According to the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutritionthere are four really dangerous species: the swordfish or emperor, the bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus), the shark (dogfish, mako shark, dogfish, dogfish and blue shark) and pike. These are problematic in women who are pregnant or planning to be pregnant, nursing mothers and children under 10 years of age. In fact, AESAN recommends directly avoid its consumption. The rest of the species are not problematic for the effects of mercury: they are safe and healthy. And the AESAN recommends between three and four servings a week even in the at-risk population. And aren’t there more differences according to levels? That is, are there only dangerous and non-dangerous species? No no. It is true that each species contains a different amount of mercury. In fact, each copy has different levels. That’s where the problem comes from: we need simple ‘rules’ to help us deal with uncertainty. On a practical level, according to the available studies, we can only define species with low mercury content as those on this list: Pollock, Anchovy, Herring, Cod, Bacaladilla, Cockle, Mackerel, Squid, Shrimp, Crab, Cane, Coquina, Carp, Squid, Clam, Choco/Cuttlefish, Lobster, Coquina, Sea bream, Sprat, Prawn, Horse mackerel, Lobster, Prawn, European sole, Dab, Sea bass, Mussel, Merlan, Hake, Razor clam, Oyster, Pomfret, Flounder, Squid, Octopus, Shrimp, Atlantic salmon, Pacific salmon, Sardine, Sardinella, Sardinopa, Plaice, and Trout. Everything else has medium levels and making distinctions between them is impossible on a practical level. So it doesn’t make sense to follow these types of recommendations? In general, any attention we pay to food is good. The system is configured in such a way that, if we let ourselves goour diet gets worse. However, we know that Obsessing over diet is also full of problems.. Using heuristics that complicate the purchase without substantial improvements is not as good an idea as it seems. Image | Tobias Tullius In Xataka | The scientific reason why miracle diets don’t work is you

Ford CEO is completely obsessed with Chinese electric cars

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“Xiaomi is the Apple of China.” These are the words not of just anyone, but of Jim Farley, CEO of Ford. The boss of the American company is one of the bosses who has been the most talked about in recent years. And the reason is approach when studying rivals. It is rare to see the CEO of a company praising a rival, but Farley not only does not mince words, but is determined to air the details that need to be improved to catch up. And if there’s one thing that’s catching Farley’s attention, it’s Chinese cars and, in particular, the Xiaomi SU7. Knowing the competition. The automobile industry has embarked on electrification, and if this adventure is making one thing clear, it is that China is leading the way. Although Tesla struck first from the West, it is the Asian giant’s companies that are pushing both technology and batteries. This is generating an ecosystem in which chinese cars They are extremely competitive in the market, something that is making Western manufacturers nervous. To better understand his competition, Farley had the idea of ​​carrying out a series of trips to China to select cars to take back to the United States. Not to dismantle them – or not only – but to drive them on a daily basis on everyday trips. In a recent interview with La Naciónstates that the entire management team is going on that trip to choose 50 cars. He doesn’t want to get off his SU7. Of those 50, they keep five, and they are the ones they take back to Detroit. The one chosen by Farley? He Xiaomi SU7. He liked it to the point of saying that “it’s fantastic,” stating that he didn’t want to get off of it. Previously, already rated the company as “an industry giant and a much stronger consumer brand than automotive companies,” but now it has gone a little further. The Apple of China. “Everyone talks about the Apple car, but the Xiaomi car already exists and it is fantastic,” said before the official cancellation of the car was known. And, in fact, in that interview for La Nación, Farley commented that he is not surprised that Xiaomi is so successful. “It is the Apple of China.” Precisely, it is the “ecosystem” that stands out, something that is Apple’s strong point: “You get into the car with your phone and you don’t have to pair it because it automatically identifies it. It has facial recognition, an AI assistant and can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in three seconds with just the push of a button. It looks like a porsche taycan”, he assures. Humiliating. Is it perfect? “No, and we could surpass it in the segments in which we compete,” adds the manager. But Farley’s ‘flowers’ are not only for Xiaomi, but for the Chinese industry. At the Aspen Ideas Festival held in June of this year, CEO described what he saw in China as “lor most humiliating thing I have ever seen in my life”. The reason? That 70% of the world’s electric vehicles are manufactured in China and that they have cabin technology much superior to that offered by many Western brands. “Automatically, your entire digital life is reflected in the car.” Technology gap. Farley’s interest in competitors, both Chinese and domestic, is evident. When Ford entered the electric segment, He did it like an elephant in a china shopwith a Ford Mustang Mach-E which was very expensive to develop when its competitors already had much more optimized processes that allowed the price of cars to be lowered. Since then, they have been changing strategy and moving chips. They hired Doug Field, former chief engineer of the Tesla Model 3 and member in Apple car design, and was the one who opened cars to Farley. Field sincere: “Jim, your parts release system and development architecture are 25 years behind. You can’t compete like that with BYD”. The acid test will be the new electric pickup that Ford is preparing for 2027 with the aim of making it affordable. We will see, of course, how the market responds, but what is clear is that Farley does not fall short when it comes to praising the competition. Images | Xataka, Ford In Xataka | Ford invested 1 billion to produce electric cars in Europe. Now it will invest money in laying off 1,000 employees

The industry became obsessed with training AI models, while Google prepared its masterstroke: inference chips

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In recent years, what was truly relevant was training AI models to make them better. Now that they have matured and training it no longer scales as noticeablywhat matters most is inference: that when we use AI chatbots they work quickly and efficiently. Google realized this change in focus, and has chips precisely prepared for it. Ironwood. This is the name of the new chips from Google’s famous family of Tensor Processing Units (TPUs). The company, which began developing them in 2015 and launched the first ones in 2018now obtains especially interesting fruits from all that effort: some really promising chips not for training AI models, but for us to use them faster and more efficiently than ever. Inference, inference, inference. These “TPUv7” will be available in the coming weeks and can be used to train AI models, but they are especially aimed at “serving” these models to users so that they can use them. It is the other big leg of AI chips, the really visible one: one thing is to train the models and quite another to “execute” them so that they respond to user requests. Efficiency and power by flag. The advance in the performance of these AI chips is enormous, at least according to Google. The company claims that Ironwood offers four times the performance of the previous generation in both training and inference, and is “the most powerful and energy-efficient custom silicon to date.” Google has already reached an agreement with Anthropic so that the latter has access up to one million TPUs to run Claude and serve it to its users. Google’s AI supercomputersand. These chips are the key components of the so-called AI Hypercomputer, an integrated supercomputing system that according to Google allows customers to reduce IT costs by 28% and a ROI of 353% in three years. Or what is the same: they promise that if you use these chips, the return on investment will be multiplied by more than four in that period. Almost 10,000 interconnected chips. The new Ironwoods are also equipped with the ability to be part of joining forces in a big way. It is possible to combine up to 9,216 of them in a single node or pod, which theoretically makes the bottlenecks of the most demanding models disappear. The size of this type of cluster is enormous, and allows for up to 1.77 Petabytes of shared HBM memory while these chips communicate with a bandwidth of 9.6 Tbps thanks to the so-called Inter-Chip Interconnect (ICI). More FLOPS than anyone. The company also claims that an “Ironwood pod” (a cluster with those 9,216 Ironwood TPUs) offers 118x more ExaFLOPS FP8 than its best competitor. FLOPS measure how many floating-point math operations these chips can solve per second, ensuring that basically any AI workload is going to run in record times. NVIDIA has more and more competition (and that’s a good thing). Google chips are a demonstration of the clear vocation of companies to avoid too many dependencies on third parties. Google has all the ingredients to do it, and its TPUv7 is proof of this. It’s not the only oneand many other AI companies have long sought to create their own chips. NVIDIA’s dominance remains clearbut the company has a small problem. In inference CUDA is no longer so vital. Once the AI ​​model has been trained, inference operates under different game rules than training. CUDA support remains a relevant factorbut its importance in inference is much less. Inference focuses on obtaining the fastest possible answer. Here the models are “compiled” and can run optimally on the target hardware. This may cause NVIDIA to lose relevance to alternatives like Google. In Xataka | When you’re OpenAI and you can’t buy enough GPUs, the solution is obvious: make your own

Bill Gates was obsessed with knowing how long his Microsoft employees worked. So I looked at the parking lot

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All the millionaires who have triumphed in the field of technology They tend to be people of remarkable intelligence, who over time have developed skills that, to the rest of humanity, They seem curious to us at the very least. Jeff Bezos developed an almost unhealthy obsession with optimize time in meetings and Elon Musk He can’t stand anyone opposing him when he has made a decision. Bill Gates, for his part, is known for being especially inquisitive with his employees, developing his own techniques that bordered on toxic to control whether his employees were in the office or already they had gone home. If the boss doesn’t leave, neither will the employees.. In 2016, the founder of Microsoft made some surprising statements on the BBC about how it controlled which employees worked the most hours. One of the things Gates valued most when he ran Microsoft was the commitment and dedication of his employees. “At that time I was quite extreme with work. I worked on weekends. I didn’t really believe in vacations,” he told the British network. The millionaire has an excellent memory for data, which is why he was able to memorize the license plates of his employees’ cars and relate them to their owners to know who was in the offices when he arrived and who had left before him. His partner Paul Allen corroborated Gates’ confession in an interview with Vanity Fair. “Microsoft was a high-stress environment because Bill drove others as hard as he drove himself. He was becoming the foreman who hung around the parking lot on weekends to see who had arrived.” In-person presence is not enough. In addition to being a somewhat toxic attitude towards their employeesGates soon realized that this was not the most effective system to monitor your staff. Verifying the unreliability of this system helped Gates to recognize that presence is not the best indicator for measure employee performance. An approach that, perhaps, the current managers of some companies should review when it comes to design return to office policies. “The Fireproof” Gates. Paul Allen tells in his interview with Vanity Fair a Gates anecdote with an employee who had worked 81 hours in four days to get a project done: “Toward the end of the work week, Gates asked Greenberg what he would be working on the next day. Greenberg notified Gates that he planned to take the next day off, to which Gates responded, ‘Why would you want to do that?’ Gates couldn’t understand it. “He never seemed to need to recharge his batteries.” However, as Gates himself acknowledged when analyzing his own behavior, Working long hours has nothing to do with being more productive. Burnout takes a toll on productivity and can end up being counterproductive to your company’s interests. Furthermore, the company grew so much that it was increasingly difficult to learn all the car license plates. ”In the end, I had to relax when the company reached a reasonable size.” Burned worker syndrome. Overloading employees in this way with eternal hours is one of the main causes of sick leave and resignation among employees. The World Health Organization (WHO) includes the Burnout worker syndrome in your International Classification of Diseases This syndrome affects 10% of workers and in its most severe forms can cause more serious disorders in between 2% and 5% of workers, leading to depression and anxiety. The 2022 Labor Market Guide prepared by Hays detected that more than 30% of the workers surveyed stated that, after the pandemic, the feeling of burnout among employees had increased, being one of the main reasons for many of them to join the company. silent resignation. Take care of employees to improve productivity. Work culture has evolved significantly since the days when Gates was at the helm of Microsoft. Companies increasingly value work-life balanceand they recognize that employees need time to rest and recharge. Even Gates himself has changed his stance on vacations, recognizing the importance of rest for mental and physical health, as he stated in a talk about Alzheimer’s in your YouTube channel. In Xataka | Bill Gates has been a famous “workaholic” but he knew who to hire to solve problems: the lazy ones In Xataka | Bill Gates liked to step on him: his Porsche 911 discovered him on a 2,000 kilometer trip and the police also discovered him Image | Commons

OpenAI is obsessed with making ChatGPT the best financial AI, and it makes all the sense in the world

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OpenAI has launched a secret project to train its artificial intelligence models on complex financial tasks, according to Bloomberg quotea medium that claims to have had access to internal documents. As the media shares, the company led by Sam Altman has recruited more than 100 former employees of large investment banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to teach its AI to build financial models, one of the most time-consuming jobs for junior analysts. Project Mercury. As pointed out by documents to which the media has had access, this initiative pays $150 per hour to these contractors to write instructions and develop financial models of different types, which can range from corporate restructuring to IPOs. Sources Bloomberg assures that participants also have early access to AI that is being trained specifically to replace these types of financial tasks. A selection process almost automated. As well as detail From sources close to the company, candidates go through a 20-minute initial interview with an AI chatbot, followed by tests on financial statements and a final modeling assessment. Once in the program, contractors are expected to submit one model per week, prepared in Excel following industry standards, from margins to percentage format. Another way for OpenAI to become profitable. Although OpenAI recently reached a valuation of $500 billionthe startup still has not been able to be profitable. And the company is burning money to invest in all kinds of projects, while large data centers are built with excessive consumption of energy and water. And all this while the subscription of your users It is one of the few ways through which the company obtains direct income, something that currently does not pay off. Mercury can enable its AI to penetrate a key sector such as consulting and finance, while providing a new avenue for income. Investment banking. Just like point In the middle, banking analysts usually work more than 80 hours a week, especially when it comes to managing active operations, building detailed models in Excel for all types of tasks. For this reason, allowing them to choose a reliable language model for their tasks could save them a lot of time. The same old dilemma. According to some experts to whom he has had access the Fortune mediumconsider that a transformation is more likely than a direct elimination of employment. “I’m not convinced we’ll get rid of junior workers anytime soon, but I could imagine a world where the skill set we need them to have is different,” explains to the medium Shawn DuBravac, economist and CEO of Avrio Institute. The first wave of automation in banking. DuBravac esteem that in the next year firms will try to automate between 60% and 70% of the time that analysts currently spend on routine tasks such as cleaning data, formatting spreadsheets and building basic models. However, according to a McKinsey survey published in March, only 38% of organizations using AI predict that generative models will have little effect on their workforce size in the next three years. AI in banks. OpenAI already has important links with the financial sector. In fact, Morgan Stanley uses its technology in its wealth management division, and Altman’s company recently obtained a line of credit of 4 billion dollars from JPMorgan Chase, among other examples. What is also interesting is that JPMorgan itself is actively working on becoming the first “completely AI-powered megabank” of the world. Cover image | OpenAI and Lo Lo In Xataka | Anthropic has seen what OpenAI is doing with its circular financing and has decided that you only live once

We’ve been obsessed with strong passwords and public Wi-Fi for years. It turns out that the data sink was in the satellites

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While we worry about choose strong passwords and Don’t let the neighbor steal our WiFiit turns out that anyone can capture private data simply by pointing a dish at a satellite. It is not a government conspiracy, it is what some Californian researchers have discovered using a piece of equipment that only costs $800. What has happened? They count in Wired that several researchers from the universities of California and Maryland have been capturing communications from various satellites for three years. During this time they have collected a huge amount of private data. Among the information collected there is data on calls and messages from users of various operators, the pages visited by airplane passengers who used WiFi on board, communications between different critical infrastructures such as oil platforms or electrical companies and even police and military communications that revealed the position of their equipment. Why it is important. According to the study’s conclusions, it is estimated that around half of the signal from geostationary satellites carries sensitive information of consumers, companies and also governments. We strive to protect our WiFi networks, our online accounts or mobile devices, but the results of the research make it clear that satellites are a critical element through which data can also be leaked. A basic equipment. What is striking is that the researchers did not use super complex technology to obtain these findings. They simply placed a satellite dish on the roof of a university building and started pointing it at the satellites. They only invested $800 in the entire equipment. The data they obtained is only from the satellites that they could capture from their position in southern California, which according to their calculations is 15% of the total, so logic leads one to think that the amount of sensitive data will be much larger. In addition, it also shows that anyone could do it from another part of the world. Operators. The most significant data came from telephone providers, mainly T-Mobile, but also Telmex and AT&T México. In just nine hours of communications logging, researchers were able to collect the phone numbers of more than 2,700 T-Mobile users, as well as text messages and phone calls. After contacting T-Mobile to alert them, the company took steps to encrypt the data. AT&T also fixed this and claimed it was due to a satellite provider failing to configure some towers in a region of Mexico. Telmex has not said anything about it. Military and police data. That anyone’s data is exposed is already problematic, but that it is data from the army and security forces adds another layer of seriousness. Investigators were able to intercept communications between US military ships and the names of those ships. Since they were in Southern California, they also obtained data from Mexican authorities, including transmissions of confidential information about ongoing operations. “When we started looking at military helicopters, it wasn’t the sheer volume of data that worried us, but rather the extreme sensitivity of that data,” says Aaron Schulman, co-director of the research. Cybersecurity in space. In August of this same year, researchers found several vulnerabilities which, under certain conditions, could allow remote control of satellites. At the beginning of the Ukrainian war, Russia carried out a cyber attack against ViaSat which affected thousands of users. Cases like these highlight the need to bring the cybersecurity debate to space systems as well and not just terrestrial systems. Image | SpaceX on Pexels In Xataka | There are so many satellites orbiting the Earth that Starlink has a new concern: avoiding colliding with them

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