reach

NASA’s new ion engine, a fundamental piece to reach Mars

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Ion engines are not new. There are many satellites that have used them to stabilize themselves in their orbit. It has also been used in small ships like that of the Psyche missionwhose objective was to explore the asteroid with the same name. However, NASA wants to go further and create an ion engine so powerful that in the future it can be used to take humans to Mars. There is still a long way to go; But, according to their latest evidence, they could be on the right track. The most powerful ion engine. Until now, the most powerful ion engine that has been used to go to space has been that of the Psyche mission. With it, a speed of 200,000 kilometers per hour has been reached. Instead, NASA scientists have recently tested a much more powerful engine on Earth. It is a lithium-powered magnetoplasmadynamic thruster, which uses an electric current, which interacts with a magnetic field to accelerate a lithium-ion-based propellant. All this is done in a vacuum chamber 8 meters long. After the tests, 120 kilowatts of power have been reached: 25 times more than with Psyche. It is still not enough to travel to Mars, but, after the success of the tests, these researchers hope to be able to scale the process until they achieve 4 megawatt engines. Several of those could be used to conquer the red planet. Different ions. Broadly speaking, an ion engine consists of a vacuum chamber in which an electromagnetic field accelerates electrically charged atoms through a nozzle, generating thrust. Those charged atoms are the ionic propellant. Traditionally, xenon is used, although metallic plasmas have also begun to be explored. That’s where lithium comes into play. Advantages. Ion-powered engines use 90% less propellant than chemical ones. That, in itself, is already a great advantage. On the other hand, although they start with a very low speed, they have the advantage that, in the absence of friction, as occurs in the vacuum of space, they keep accelerating for a long timeso they can reach very high speeds. This is how has been achieved that many satellites can adjust their orbit. A key piece is missing. In order to start this electromagnetic field, an energy source is needed, which is normally obtained through solar panels. However, to go to very distant places where the Sun does not reach so easily, it would be necessary to look for alternatives. For this reason, NASA scientists consider that this ion engine should be complemented with the nuclear thrusters that Both this agency and others have been studying for some time. In the case of NASA, They have made a lot of progress with Space Reactor-1 Freedoma nuclear-powered spacecraft, whose first launch is scheduled for 2028. Investment is needed. In order to scale what has been achieved so far, strategic investments will have to be made, as NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has already pointed out. in statements collected by Space. The scale they want to make is not small, so they are still waiting to receive adequate financing. In the meantime, you can at least be proud that the first 5 firings of this initial prototype went perfectly. Image | POT In Xataka | The West stopped building nuclear power plants because they were too expensive: China is teaching it a lesson

The hantavirus was going to reach Europe sooner or later and, as always, it caught us offside

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Well it’s already here. After passing through Cavo Verde, the MV Hondius cruise ship heads to the Granadilla de Abona anchoragein Tenerife. It’s a huge mess (including infected animals, ships isolated for weeks, and very bad luck), but it’s certainly not a surprise. Although europe’s emergency response is working well, no european country had specific protocols, nor own diagnostic capacity for a virus that has been causing problems since 2018 and has been in an ‘active outbreak’ in Argentina since 2025. What is happening. Under the solidity of the emergency response and humanitarian discourses, a clear problem is hidden: European surveillance and its response protocols are calibrated for local hantaviruses, but not for an emerging pathogen from the Southern Cone that has been mutating for years, expanding towards northern Argentina and doubling its historical lethality. And that, in a context like the current one, is unjustified clumsiness. What happens with the virus? In Argentina, the Andes is an old acquaintance. It is about the only hantavirus variant in which “transmission between people has been described, although this phenomenon is rare and usually requires close and prolonged contact.” Therefore, the Ministry of Health comes defending that, whatever happens with the cruise, “the risk for the general population is very low and remember that interpersonal transmission of the Andean hantavirus is extremely rare.” All of this is true and explains, in part, the situation. That is, the little interest that the virus has generated in the public health agencies of the old continent. What happens is that, in addition to being true, it is somewhat partial: the reality is that, despite the difficulties it has in getting infected, the Andes is leaving its Patagonian niche towards more populated areas. In Buenos Aires, 42 cases have been detected this season and A 10-year-old girl died on January 8 in General Belgrano. The clue that something is changing has a much better indicator: the second province with the most cases It is Salta, in the northvery far from the Patagonian region. The other indicator is lethality. Because yes, although we are talking about very few cases, the lethality is also changing. The history varies depending on the year and region, but there was a certain consensus that it was around 20%. In 2025 (partial consolidated data) rose to 33.6% with 28 deaths out of 86 cases. The 2025-2026 season confirms the trend (31.7%) No one is very clear why this is happening; there are theories that speak of an improvement in the notification of cases and others that speak of greater virulence. Data from the largest recent outbreak (that of 2018) do not allow us to opt for any option. Should we be worried? As the Ministry said and all the experts agree, the diagnosis is unequivocal: “the risk for the European population is very low.” Human-to-human transmission is very rare (and requires close and prolonged contact), management appears good, and there are no animal reservoirs for these viruses. What happens is that the Hondius case It is a clear example of something that we have been considering for years: that the ‘era of epidemics’ has not only begun, it is operating at full capacity. All the factors driving the emergence of pandemic diseases have become more robust since COVID: in 2024, global air traffic exceeded 4,890 million passengers108% of the pre-pandemic level; and forest degradation in the tropics has risen 163% between 2022 and 2024. Meanwhile, population density in problem areas continues to grow and climate change continues to expand transmission vectors. If the question is what can we do…the answer is a lot, although almost everything is unsexy. The general feeling is that we have been forgetting all the lessons we learned during the pandemic. Image | Manuel In Xataka | The Andes variant: why at first we all assumed it was zoonosis and now we are talking about contagion between humans

Salmon have never taken so long to reach Asturias. And yes, it is as worrying as it seems

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14 days. That is, two weeks after the season opened, we are still waiting for the capture of the ‘campanu’the first salmon to be traced by any of the five Asturian salmon farms. Whatever appears when it appears, it will be the latest campaign in history. No one is surprised that the Ministry have requested an expert report to decide whether to classify the species as “endangered.” What has happened? On Saturday, April 18, 2026, two weeks later than the traditional date, the season opened. The counseling deliberately delayed the start to “accumulate more salmon entries” (in the same way that reduced the number of specimens that can be caught to 154): after all, last year only 472 specimens were detected in the entire Principality. And the problem is not only Asturian. In Cantabria (where 38 salmon can be caught) none have been caught either. Although it must be pointed out that in the Cantabrian rivers the ban opened this May 1st. And in Galicia a total ban was declared for 2026 (although some exceptions have been made). Why is all this happening? The causes are well known: we are talking about things like river fragmentation, pollution (agricultural, industrial and urban), the effects of aquacultureuncontrolled repopulation, invasive species and, of course, climate change. So, are we going towards a total ban? The truth is that no one can know. Especially because we have a very close precedent: Spain has repeatedly refused to ban eel fishing despite the fact that all scientific reports say that it must be done. In favor of the salmon it plays that, thanks to the farms, the money that the wild moves is rather symbolic. But the paths of agricultural regulation in an election year are inscrutable. What is clear is that these are not good times for wild salmon. Not in Spain, not anywhere. In Norway, for example, only 323,000 wild salmon were observed in 2024. The previous year, the figures They amounted to 481,463 copies. In Scotland, another of the great salmon-growing countries, the population of wild specimens has fallen by 80% since the 70s; and, in the Faroes, the total ban is on the table. As we said recently, there have never been more salmon in the world. And, for that reason, this species has never been closer to disappearing in the wild. Image | Brandon In Xataka | We are drugging the salmon with cocaine and anxiolytics. And that’s causing them to behave strangely.

PcComponentes knocks down the price (to reach a historic low) of this Samsung OLED TV

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Until a few years ago, if you wanted to enjoy Samsung’s best panel technology (OLED) you had to buy a 55-inch TV or larger. This left anyone looking for a screen for a smaller room out of the game. But this has been until the arrival of the Samsung QE48S90F that you can now get at the lowest historical price in PcComponentes: 816.57 euros compared to the 1,699 euros that it has as a recommended RRP. Samsung 48″ S90F OLED TV – 4K The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A TV with Pantone certification and great for gaming The S90F series is not an entry range. We are talking about an OLED panel that stands out for offering us a infinite contrast. This means that each pixel is completely turned off, eliminating the annoying grayish halo in dark scenes that other cheaper technologies offer. Another thing that this TV stands out for is having Pantone certificationthus guaranteeing that the colors you see are exactly what the film director (or the creator of the game, since it is also a good TV for gaming) imagined. Its refresh rate is 100Hzalthough if you choose gaming mode, the refresh rate increases to 144 Hz, so you can enjoy greater fluidity in more demanding games. As far as games are concerned, it can also be noted that it incorporates four ports HDMI 2.1 and VRR and ALLM technologies, as well as Gaming Hub, so you have direct access to cloud games without the need for a console. This TV is compatible with HDR10+ (in image) and Dolby Atmos (in audio). Its speakers offer a power of 40 W, which is more than the average of TVs on the market, although to maximize this section, the ideal is that you connect a sound bar. ⚡ IN SUMMARY: offer for the Samsung QE48S90FAEXXH smart TV today ✅ THE BEST Unbeatable image quality: The contrast of the Samsung OLED is excellent. The colors are more vivid than in traditional OLED panels from the competition. Versatile size: 48 inches is the perfect size for those who want a cinema experience in small living rooms (or even the bedroom) or a giant monitor for productivity and gaming. ❌ THE WORST Brightness in brightly lit rooms… Although they have improved a lot, OLED panels still suffer a little more than MiniLED if you have a window with direct sun right in front of you. Without Dolby Vision… As is usual with Samsung, they are betting on HDR10+, leaving out the Dolby standard, although for most users it is a subtle difference. 💡 BUY IT IF… You are a movie buff with limited space, since if you have a bedroom or a small living room where a 55-inch TV would be overkill, but you don’t want to give up watching movies with the black quality of a movie theater, this TV is a good investment. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… You are a Dolby Vision purist and you have a huge collection of Blu-rays in this format and you are very demanding about it, this is not your TV. Samsung will disappoint you because it only supports HDR10+. Some sound bars that may interest you for this TV LG DS60T – Sound Bar, Bluetooth, 340W, 3.1 Channels The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Hisense HS2100 – Sound Bar 2.1, 240W The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Webedia and Samsung In Xataka | Best televisions in quality price. Which one to buy and seven recommended 4K smart TVs In Xataka | Best sound bars in quality price. Which one to buy and seven recommended models from 140 euros

In China, 470 series made with AI are produced per day. 99.9% of them do not reach anyone

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In January 2026, the platforms streaming Chinese companies recorded the launch of more than 14,600 short series generated with artificial intelligence. There are 470 new titles a day, all ready to be distributed through applications like Douyin or Hongguo. The fact that is not widely disseminated is where almost all of that content went. Long live the microdramatic. The microdramas (either duanju) They are mobile series with episodes of between two and five minutes, usually adaptations of novels previously published in web format, and which are disseminated on pages financed not with subscriptions, but through micropayments and algorithmic advertising. The narrative of these series is extremely formulaic, despite the fact that on paper it seems very varied: the rich also cry, time travel, sentimental revenge, melodramas concentrated in a few minutes, all designed (circular and repetitive plots, characters that enunciate what is happening) to consume between subway stops. The irresistible growth of duanju. The format had been flourishing for years before AI will arrive. The Chinese microdrama market lost revenue from 500 million dollars in 2021 to 7,000 million in 2024surpassing the national film box office that year for the first time. In 2025, the sector was already close to 9.4 billion. It is estimated that more than 830 million users consumed the format, and about 60% of them pay or make transactions on platforms that offer a few free episodes to hook viewers. As in so many other industrial aspects, China has built, without attracting the attention of the rest of the world, the largest serialized entertainment market in terms of volume on the planet. AI Invasion. A live-action microdrama cost more than one million yuan to produce in 2024. With AI tools like Kling or Seedancethe same project It costs between 50,000 and 100,000 yuan (between 6,000 and 12,000 euros). In the cheapest production studios, the figure drops to 30,000 or 40,000 yuan per complete series. The cost per minute of content fell from between 3,000 and 5,000 yuan at the beginning of 2024 to between 200 and 1,000 today. Everything changes. This fall has transformed the structure of the microdrama industry, and has boosted companies specialized in the AI ​​variant of the genre such as Jiangyou Culture, which with the support of China Literature (the publishing group affiliated with Tencent), grew to a thousand employees and has a turnover of around 1 billion yuan annually with net margins of between 20% and 30%. Judian, another production company, generates around a hundred microdramas photorealistic films per month and between one thousand and two thousand audiodramas with synthesized voice. 99.88%. Of the 127,800 AI series in circulation in February 2026, the proportion that crossed the 100 million views threshold was 0.117%. In 2025, the specialized app Douyin launched 60,000 series generated with AI, and only ninety-six reached that same number. That 0.16% success rate has been dropping as production volume has risen. But there are also differences with live-action microdramas: the most watched AI series accumulated about one billion views, and the most successful live-action series, 4.4 billion. Viewers detect the synthetic quality and the uncanny valley the emotional commitment is burdened, which leads, according to experts, to a significant abyss: the viewer does not want to pay for it. Advertising spending. The dominant business model in this million-dollar sector is known as “traffic arbitrage”: produce cheaply with AI, invest aggressively in advertising within the platforms to generate visits and pray to survive on the margin. In March 2026, daily advertising spending on AI microdramas on Douyin exceeded 70 million yuan, surpassing that of live-action productions for the first time. That is to say: the loop can be financially sustained even if the audiences do not attend. The actors suffer. Actor Li Wenhao entered the microdrama industry in 2023 and worked 50 consecutive days. In March 2026, only six worked, according to Hello China Tech. Castings are increasingly rare, microdrama production companies they hire fewer and fewer humans: For example, Chengdu Zhongdu, a medium-sized studio, announced in March that it was abandoning production live-actionconverting its entire workforce to AI. Actress Hao Lei, one of the most respected figures in Chinese dramatic cinema, has said that AI will replace 90% of actors, adding that in certain records it already surpasses the human equivalent. Stolen faces. The displacement of professional actors was foreseeable, but the massive and unauthorized appropriation of real faces was not so predictable. In early 2026, a 72-episode AI-generated historical drama appeared in Hongguo and gained widespread popularity before a blogger specialized in traditional Chinese clothing discovered that one of the characters had her face. The same thing was detected by another content creator, and neither of them was compensated or informed, Hello China Tech also says. And of course, professional actors have also been victims of this type of practice: Yi Yangqianxi (Jackson Yee), Xiao Zhan and Dilraba Dilmurat are some of them. But the cases of semi-anonymous people, like these content creators, are much more bloody: they discovered the theft of their face almost by chance, so anyone who has uploaded enough content to the internet to train an AI may find themselves in a similar situation. Header | pandaily

Europe is within your reach, including Spain

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A ballistic missile can reach speeds greater than Mach 10 and travel thousands of kilometers in less than half an hour, even leaving the atmosphere before falling back towards its target. That combination of speed and height is what has made this type of weapon one of the pillars of military strategy since the mid-20th century. Europe enters the map. A few days ago, Iran crossed a line that had been theoretical for years. The launch of missiles towards Diego Garcíaabout 4,000 kilometers away, was not only a military movement, it was a full-fledged strategic message. This distance is approximately equivalent to that between Iran from many European capitals. For the first time, range has ceased to be a hypothesis and has become something demonstrated in combat. Because although the missiles failed, the gesture changes the board, and Europe is no longer out of reach conflict potential. What really happened. Iran fired two long range missiles towards a joint base of the United States and the United Kingdom in the Indian Ocean. One failed during flight and the other was intercepted by American defenses. The attack did not achieve the desired impact, but it did demonstrate a capacity that until now had not been shown clearly. It is not so much the result that matters in this case, but the fact that Iran decided to use that type of weapons. In other words, the step indicates a change in your strategy and your willingness to escalate the conflict. The jump to 4,000 km. Until now, Iran had defended that it limited the range of its missiles to about 2,000 kilometers, a range that covered the Middle East but left out Western Europe. However, the attempted attack suggests it can operate at much greater distances, close to 4,000 kilometers. That figure places cities within its potential radius, for example, like London or Paris. Also to a large extent from southern Europeincluding Spain in certain scenarios. The key is not whether you can do it accurately. The thing is that distance is no longer a clear limit. Diego Garcia How these missiles work. Ballistic missiles continue an arc path after being launched by a rocket. The larger the scope, the larger it should be rocket size and the technical problems are more complex. The reason: increased vibrations, heat on re-entry and navigation errors. There are “tricks”, for example, to gain distance weight can be reduced of the explosive charge, but that limits its destructive capacity. Additionally, accuracy worsens the longer the flight. Therefore, reaching a distant objective is not the same as doing so with real military effectiveness. More psychological than operational. The results of the attack itself they point to their limits. Only two missiles were launched, and one missed and the other was intercepted. This suggests, a priori, that Iran does not have of large quantities of this type of weaponry nor high reliability at these distances. Furthermore, Western defense systems are designed precisely to intercept this type of threats. In a real scenario, the missiles would be few, inaccurate and faced with advanced defenses. The military impact would be limited, while the political impact, on the other hand, would be much greater. Europe, with Spain, within the calculation. If you also want, the important change is not technical, but rather strategic. Until now, Europe viewed the conflict as something very distant. With this movement, enter of range calculationalthough the immediate risk is low, because being within the potential radius changes perception security. In that sense, Spain, due to its geographical position, is at the extreme of that theoretical scope. It is not an immediate objective, much less probable. But stop being off the map. And so, in strategic termsit is already a relevant change. The message in the middle of war. In short, everything indicates that the main objective of the launch It was not so much destroying the base, but send a signal. Demonstrate capacity, surprise your adversaries and increase international pressure. At a time when Iran is under severe military and economic pressure, showing that it can expand the conflict is a form of brutal deterrence. Also a message to the United States, to its allies and to all of Europe. And as in many phases of war, the psychological effect it may be even more important than the material result. Image | Ballistic Missile, Google Earth In Xataka | If the question is whether the US is going to invade Iran, the answer right now is 3,000 paratroopers on their way to the Gulf In Xataka | Iran has drones and ballistic missiles: Iran’s enemies apparently have the ability to steal its rains

Carrefour offers two 50 and 65-inch QLED TVs at outlet prices and none of them reach 400 euros

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Carrefour usually constantly launches offers on a wide range of televisions, and shortly at the end of February we can find two very attractive discounts on Daewoo and Toshiba models. Both have QLED panel technologybut the interesting thing lies above all in the price drops that will occur until next March 11. Daewoo 50DM75QV The first model is Daewoo 50DM75QVa television that, for 211.65 euroshas a very competent technical sheet. First of all, it incorporates a 50-inch QLED screen, includes several image modes for games, cinema and sports (among others) and is compatible with Dolby Visiona format that adjusts the brightness, color and contrast of the content being played. It also includes a speaker system that offers good sound power, is compatible with Dolby Audio for a more immersive sound experience and comes with several audio modes, such as one dedicated to sports. In addition, it has a function to mirror the screen from your mobile. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Toshiba 65QV3463DG The second television that is on sale is the Toshiba 65QV3463DGa model that, for 381.65 eurosit is especially interesting if you are looking for a larger diagonal. It incorporates a 65 inch QLED panel. Its VIDAA operating system is the same as that of Hisense televisions and its screen is compatible with Dolby Vision and its speakers with Dolby Atmoswhich further improves immersion in movies and series. Its speakers also offer good power and are signed by Onkyothus offering more powerful and clear sounds with improved bass. It also includes a function to mirror the screen from a mobile and is compatible with Alexa to open apps using voice commands. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links You may also be interested Hisense AX5125H – 5.1.2 Sound Bar, 500W, Subwoofer and Wireless Rear Speakers, Ceiling Speakers, Dolby Atmos, Hi Concerto, 7 EQ Modes, 4K Pass Through, Bluetooth 5.3 The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, compatible with Wi-Fi 6, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos and HDR10+ The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Carrefour and Compradicción (header), Daewoo, Toshiba In Xataka | Best home theater projectors. Which one to buy and five recommended models from 299 to 18,000 euros In Xataka | Mega-guide to set up a home theater: projector, screen, sound system and more

the power is ready, but the cables do not reach

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While the country breaks renewable generation recordsits nervous system – the transportation network – suffers an administrative thrombosis that threatens to stop reindustrialization and access to housing in its tracks. The diagnosis we’ve been counting for days: We have the power, but we have nowhere to plug it in. The problem is more about papers than cables. The main person accused in this crisis, Red Eléctrica (REE), has decided to break its technical silence to point directly at the bureaucracy. As explained by the CEO of Redeia (REE parent company)Roberto García Merino, the company does not suffer financial or supply restrictions; The problem is that “he does not have permission to invest more.” The gap between administrative times and physical execution is abysmal. As detailed by El Economistawhile building a substation barely requires one year of work, its prior processing can take between three and six years. In the case of long-distance lines, the scenario is even more bleak: six to twelve years of “paperwork” for only two years of actual construction. The “waiting room” in data. This paralysis has left a worrying x-ray: 130 GW of renewable generation have access permissionbut they wait for the infrastructure to expand so they can pour their energy. It is a figure equivalent to the entire current generation fleet. 20 GW of industrial demand and data centers await a connection that does not arrive. REE’s investment in 2024 reached a record of 1.5 billion euros, but the company insists that every project with construction permit is already underway. A collapse that extinguishes brick and industry. The situation is not just an office debate; It has direct consequences on the street. The Spanish electrical system has suffered an administrative “heart attack”. As we have explained in Xatakathe CNMC has been forced to postpone the publication of the capacity maps for three months (from February 2 to May 4, 2026) due to fear that 90% of the network nodes would appear “red”, blocking everything from factories to 350,000 new homes that, according to the Asprima employer’s association, are at risk due to lack of power. Given this, García Merino calls for shock measures: the application of “positive silences” or “responsible declarations” that allow work to begin while the bureaucracy continues its course, a strategy that is already beginning to sound loudly in Brussels. The Pyrenean wall. As the internal grid collapses, Spain produces so much cheap energy that it is forced to throw it away (curtailment). The Peninsula registers a surplus of renewables that plummets prices to levels close to zero or even negative. However, this wealth cannot be exported towards the rest of Europe. The culprit, according to various analysts and the CEO of Redeia himselfit’s France. The neighboring country acts as a “buffer” to protect its nuclear industry, preventing Spanish solar and wind energy—much more competitive—from sinking its prices. With barely 2.8% interconnection, Spain continues to be an energy island that wastes its green potential. The price of modernization Spain’s electrical future not only depends on volts, but on politics and bills. To finance this “reinforced mode” of operation and unlock investments, it is expected that in 2026 citizens will assume an increase in tolls and charges on their bills. As industry sources conclude“the plans are very nice, but they have to be built.” Spain has everything to be the battery of Europe, but as long as the processing of a cable lasts a decade, that potential will continue to be trapped in an endless bureaucratic waiting room. Image | freepik Xataka | The great electrical jam in Spain: we have plenty of electricity, but there are no cables to build houses and invest more

This year more will be invested in data centers than what the US spent to reach the Moon

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We are witnessing live a technological race that is no longer measured only in announcements or demonstrations, but in tangible investments that grow at a speed that is difficult to ignore. In the United States, and also in other regions, large companies are allocating increasing amounts of money to build and expand the infrastructure that supports the current deployment of artificial intelligence services and the expansion of computing capacity that these companies pursue. Some speak of excessive enthusiasm and even a possible bubblebut the money already invested is part of the economic reality of the sector, while the projected figures point to an even larger scale. The question, therefore, is not whether the bet exists, but how big it really is. The numbers. If the first step is to assume that the investment exists, the second is to quantify it precisely. Data collected by The Wall Street Journal They suggest that Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet (Google) could concentrate a joint expenditure of up to $670 billion in 2026 aimed at artificial intelligence infrastructure. We are talking about capital outlays associated with data centers, hardware and capacity expansion, not just “brick”. When a single annuity reaches that order of magnitude, the conversation shifts from expectations to measurable economic consequences. Dollars are not compared. What the analysis proposes is not a direct equivalence between amounts spent in different times, but rather a way of measuring the economic weight of each effort in its own historical context. Instead of adjusting old figures to current prices for inflation, the article uses the percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) as a common reference for separate projects over time. That shift in focus shifts the conversation from absolute money to relative magnitude within the U.S. economy. And it is precisely there where the investment associated with artificial intelligence acquires a historical dimension that is difficult to ignore. The investments. Among the great economic milestones that are often used as historical references in the United States, there are episodes as different as the Louisiana Purchase, the railroad expansion of the 19th century or the construction of the interstate highway system, all of them with different relative weights within the economy of their time. Using that same metric, this effort has been estimated around the following magnitudes: Louisiana Purchase: 3% of GDP Railway expansion: 2% of GDP Interstate highways: 0.4% of GDP Apollo Program: 0.2% of GDP As we can see, the planned investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure is around 2.1% of GDP. It’s not the same, but. Historical parallelism functions as a scaling tool, not as institutional equivalence. The large projects with which the current moment is compared were, in many cases, public initiatives financed directly or indirectly by the federal State, while investment in AI infrastructure corresponds mainly to corporate spending. That distinction is important, however, from a strictly economic perspective, the relative size of the effort remains comparable. The State does not pay the main bill. That the bulk of investment is private does not mean that the public sector remains on the sidelines. It’s no secret that the U.S. government influences the pace and shape of deployment through regulatory decisions, permitting, energy planning, and federal land use for new data center infrastructure. This set of levers is not a substitute for corporate capital, and at the same time it fits with a broader strategy aimed at preserving American leadership in the global race for AI. Historical comparison. This ends up pointing out something deeper than a simple number: it indicates the type of priority that a society decides to give to certain technologies at a specific time. When investment in AI infrastructure reaches a relative weight comparable to that of major American economic milestones, reading transcends the technology sector and enters the strategic realm. Images | POT | freepik In Xataka | Daniela Amodei, co-founder of Anthropic: “studying humanities will be more important than ever”

OpenAI will start placing ads on ChatGPT. We already know who this first test will reach

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For years, ChatGPT It has functioned as one of the most accessible gateways to artificial intelligence, an assistant that many people use daily without a subscription. That model, which helped popularize generative AI at a speed that is difficult to match from the end of 2022is now beginning to show its limits. Maintaining that promise of mass access has an increasing cost, and OpenAI has decided to explore an avenue that had been on the table for some time: will start testing ads in the chatbota movement that puts back on the table how the AI ​​we use every day is financed. ChatGPT is about to change. OpenAI says that ads will only be shown on the free and Go plans, while users of ProBusiness and Enterprise will be left out. The decision introduces a clear separation between plans aimed at the general public and those designed for professional or business use. As we can see, in this pilot, advertising is associated with the cheapest access levels, while higher subscriptions maintain an ad-free experience. This is what ChatGPT ads will look like Where the advertising will appear. There are also details on how advertising will be integrated into the user experience. In this first phase, ads will appear at the end of ChatGPT responses when there is a sponsored product or service related to the ongoing conversation, always separated from organic content and, as the company promises, clearly labeled. Therefore, we should be able to know why we are seeing that specific ad and we will have the option to hide it. What about conversations. Along with the announcement of this test, OpenAI wanted to establish in writing the principles that, according to the company, will guide its advertising approach. It insists that ads will not influence ChatGPT responses, which will continue to be optimized based on what is most useful to the user, and emphasizes that conversations will not be shared or sold to advertisers. It also promises control: we can disable personalization and delete data used for ads. For adult users only. Not all users or all conversations are included in this test. The firm points out that the ads will only be shown to adults who are logged in, and that both accounts in which the user indicates, or the system estimates, that he or she is under 18 years of age, as well as content linked to sensitive areas, will be excluded. Health, mental health and politics are among the topics prohibited from appearing in advertisements. Someone has to pay for AI. Generative AI has become an extremely expensive technology to operate, while, as is often the case with services with a massive free plan, converting those users into subscribers is not easy, even with cheaper paid plans. OpenAI earns revenue from subscriptions and its API for developers, and in that context testing ads fits as one of the ways the company puts on the table to expand revenue without closing access. The financial hole. The economic context is best understood by looking at the numbers published at the end of 2025. According to financial documents seen by The Wall Street JournalOpenAI assumes that it will continue to accumulate very high losses for several years before achieving significant profits towards the end of the decade. The projection for 2028 is even more demanding, with operating losses that would reach $74 billion, driven mainly by the cost of computing. The competition is getting fiercerz. Added to this financial pressure is a competitive context much more demanding than that of ChatGPT’s first months. OpenAI’s initial leadership is no longer as undisputed as in 2022 and 2023, with rivals such as Google with Gemini and Anthropic with Claude reinforcing its offer and gaining presence. Staying ahead requires constant investment, not only in research, but also in infrastructure and operational capacity. The announcement does not close the debate, it opens it. OpenAI insists that this is a limited test with no long-term commitments, but the simple fact of introducing advertising sets a precedent. It remains to be seen if this model is limited to the United States or if it ends up spreading to other markets, and how users react to this change. Ultimately, the question is broader and affects the entire industry: who pays the real cost of artificial intelligence that aspires to be in the hands of everyone. Images | OpenAI In Xataka | If we ask Spaniards how they feel about AI, the answer is simple: more productive

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