reality

The reality is that we are facing a dead end

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There is a race among major AI companies to build a AGI or artificial general intelligence, that which surpasses humans in all areas of knowledge. Sam Altman has been hyping up about AGI for a long time, and he is not the only one. Mark Zuckerberg has spent a million on a team to create it, Dario Amodei believes it will arrive very soon and Elon Musk says Grok 5 could achieve AGI. What if it’s all a big lie? Language and intelligence. It’s not the same. OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic… all these companies have something in common: their path to AGI is LLM or great language models. They count in The Verge The nuance, and it is not just any nuance, is that language and intelligence are two very different things. Decades of research have shown that language is a tool of communication, not thought. In other words, mastering the language is not equivalent to more intelligence, in the same way that not mastering it does not mean ceasing to be intelligent. Language models. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini… are tools composed of hundreds and even billions of parameters, trained on enormous textual corpora. Their technical complexity is undeniable, but they are still systems that They predict the next word from statistical correlations. Its core is language, not ideas or abstract thought in the human sense. Achieve AGI. Getting to AGI with a language model is a dead end. I said it recently Yann LeCunconsidered one of the godfathers of modern AI and, until recently, head of AI at Meta. According to LeCun, the path to achieving AGI is not the LLM, but the LWM or world models. These models they learn from the environment and they can imagine scenarios, like humans do. He hype. If language models are not the way, why do AI companies keep saying they are on the verge of achieving AGI? Because they need it. Their premise is that with more computing power (more chips and more data centers), their AIs will become smarter, so fueling the hype is their way of justifying that absurd amounts continue to be invested to scale AI. Deceleration. At first the evolutionary leaps in AI chatbots were palpable; the first versions of ChatGPT they blew our minds. The reality right now is that Generative AI has entered a stage of continuity or deceleration. There are improvements, but they are no longer as notable or revolutionary. The solution is to generate expectation: with AI agents and, of course, with the AGI. Does this mean that AGI will never be reached? Not necessarily, but it will take more than language models and above all time. According to Andrej Karpathy, co-founder of OpenAI, AGI will take for at least another decade. Image | Meo, Pexels (edited) In Xataka | Someone has taken a look at the dotcom bubble and compared their data to AI. And it’s not optimistic

Someone has said that melatonin damages the heart. The reality, according to science, is that we can be calm

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Melatonin is a hormone that now is on many people’s lips being a key element in the regulation of our biological clock, and above all being well known for its relationships with sleep induction. It is precisely for this last reason that in recent years people have been supplementing with melatonin pills to be able to sleep better or regulate their sleep schedules more, but now the alarms have gone off about the possible side effects it may have. The alarm voice. There are many benefits that melatonin has with its continued use as a supplement beyond those related to sleep, such as anti aging thanks to its antioxidant capabilities. But beyond the benefits, a study has raised the alarm: it can cause heart failure. However, there is much to qualify in this statement. Obviously, something like this can generate great unrest in society, precisely because it is a widely used supplement in different countries because it can be purchased without any type of medical prescription (except for the highest doses). And this attraction has been used to create pills, gummies or even infusions that have melatonin inside. But the reality is that nothing we ingest can be harmless to our body, especially if very specific safety guidelines are not followed. Although in the case of melatonin everything indicated that it was completely safe and that everything behind it was something positive. Until now. What the study says. The focus of the controversy centers on a preliminary study (and this is important) that is going to be presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2025. This work analyzed the medical records of more than 130,000 adults with insomnia, comparing 65,414 people who had used melatonin for a year with another group who had not used it. The results of this study they pointed in this case because users who used melatonin chronically were twice as likely to be diagnosed with heart failure. But they went further by showing that there was a 3.5 times greater risk of hospitalization for heart failure. But saying ‘double’, the truth is that it does not provide much information (beyond fear), but what is important here would be to talk about the absolute increase in risk, as the Secretary of State for Health points out in his X account. Tranquillity. But the reality in this case is that there is no need to sound the alarm immediately because of the ‘fault’ of a study that has not yet been reviewed (since it is not even published in a journal). Right now there is a large amount of scientific evidence that proves how safe melatonin isand a single study does not put in check all the scientific literature behind it, although it does open a door to be able to investigate in a more in-depth way. melatonin side effects. For example, in 2022 a systematic review was published on high doses of melatonin in adults found minor adverse events such as drowsiness, headache or dizziness, but no increase in serious adverse events. The same thing happened with the StatPearls article of 2024 which indicated there was no evidence of toxic effects. Specifically in chronic use we have a 2023 study by Givler which confirms that the administration of between 5-6 mg of melatonin per day does not generate serious long-term risks. Although logically it is important to use it above all as an ‘help’ to have more adequate sleep hygiene with the aim of not depending on exogenous melatonin to be able to sleep. And it is necessary to carry out studies that are appropriate to look for this correlation. The study that has highlighted melatonin is not the most appropriate as it is observational and not a randomized clinical trial. This means that it has not been possible to verify exactly whether these differences are due to chance and, above all, there has been no control over the patient groups, since it has been done with their clinical histories. The correct thing to do in these situations is to propose a study with two groups: one where patients take melatonin and another where they do not. But until we reach this point, it is important to calculate the number of patients needed, how they are selected and the baseline characteristics they must have so that there are interchangeable patients in both groups and many other factors. Everything necessary so that the conclusion of the study has great external validity for the entire population. Investigation remains. Logically, any type of supplement, and especially if it is hormonal, can lead to different side effects. The issue in this case is that research is needed to look for side effects and ask ourselves if it is necessary for doctors to start prescribing it in all doses. And, as we have said before, a prescription is only needed for the highest doses, but the lowest doses can even be found in a supermarket. Although whenever you have doubts about the safety of the medication, the important thing is always to consult with your primary care doctor so that the dose can be adjusted based on the particular history of each patient. Images | Isabella Fischer Robina Weermeijer In Xataka | Of course melatonin has side effects. There is nothing special or alarming about it

No, China has not turned off the tap on batteries for electric cars. The reality is much more complex

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China is, to the electric car, the child who arrives with the ball after having a snack. He is, in fact, the boy who has the ball, a regulation soccer field at home and lets in whoever he wants when he wants the most. Or that’s what we might think if we take into account its leadership in the supply chain, access to rare earths and battery production. The last step is to maintain greater control over lithium and, in the future, solid-state batteries. But to what extent is it true? The latest. A few days ago, China announced important changes when it comes to its exports. Among them, he confirmed that he was going to monitor the licenses that allow the export of vehicleswhich was understood as a way to prevent manufacturers without experience or infrastructure in the destinations from selling cars that they later cannot service. In the same way, has announced restrictions to the export of rare earths. My colleague Javi Márquez explained that “the country will be able to decide what is exported, to whom and for what purposes, under national security criteria. Applications for military purposes will bein principle, denied, while those related to semiconductors or artificial intelligence will be examined on a case-by-case basis. The last movement is related to the exports of batteries for electric cars and the music points to a similar melody. Starting November 8, licenses will be issued to export lithium batteries and graphite anode material compounds. Once again, it points to issues of national security and response to protectionist policies in USA and Europe. No batteries or equipment. With these new licenses, China will control both the finished product that is intended to be exported abroad and the equipment necessary to produce these compounds outside its borders. In summary, the following is controlled: Lithium batteries, cells and battery packs with a density greater than 300 Wh/kg. The equipment and technology to produce the above items. Iron phosphate and lithium needed to produce cathode materials. Also nickel-cobalt-manganese hydroxide and nickel-cobalt-aluminum hydroxide and lithium-rich manganese-based cathode materials. The equipment to produce all these compounds. Graphite anode materials The equipment necessary to produce them. The reaction? Numerous experts They have emphasized that these new licenses have the true objective of reducing and limiting exports to stop the advance of Chinese competitors in the electric car industry. Investors have understood the same and in Reuters They reflected the consequent fall in the stock market of giant battery producers such as CATL but also of vehicle manufacturers such as BYD. In South China Morning Post They also mentioned China’s intention to maintain its leadership in the electric car market. Putting the magnifying glass. But is it true that China is doing everything it can to torpedo its rivals? According to the International Energy AgencyChina manufactures three out of every four batteries for electric cars. However, the limitation of a density greater than 300 Wh/kg is not coincidental. Walter Zhang, senior analyst at Fastmarkets, points out that batteries for electric cars are really not in danger. “The policy ensures that the export and sales of NCM (230-280 Wh per kg) and LFP (160-210 Wh per kg) batteries for electric car application are not affected,” explains in this article. And he points to another point of view: “the measures may be more aimed at restricting smaller companies from entering into technology exchange agreements with Western partners.” Module and pack production equipment is not under this new regulation either, so It won’t impact that much either. in production abroad. So? If the majority of electric car batteries are not affected, what is the point of these restrictions? Everything indicates that there are two ultimate intentions when it comes to lifting this tighter control over the batteries. The first is to increase control over the export of batteries that can be used in military vehicles. In an increasingly tense international context, the State is guaranteed to have greater knowledge of who wants and can export but also in what quantities and for whom. The second thing is that as investments in research bear fruit, the next step should be the production of denser batteries. Batteries that would store more energy in less space. And there, the solid state batteries they are projecting themselves as the great leap in quality in the electric car market. Solid State Batteries. Solid-state batteries promise to be the definitive big leap for the electric car. With them, the manufacturers claim, an electric car will be able to travel more than 1,000 kilometers between recharges. They are also more powerful, safer and will suffer less degradation caused by charging cycles. Nothing sounds bad except that producing them is, at the moment, extremely expensive. Both companies and Toyota has already been lowering its expectations pointing out that it will be a type of compound that can only be included in vehicles with a very high price range. Again, ahead. And although Toyota says it has made progress in these compounds, Nissan has been researching them for years and Mercedes says it already has one (which obviously cannot scale) it seems that Chinese manufacturers once again have the lead. MG assures be very close to mass producing them. BYD too ensures that it can put them on the market in the short term. And beyond the promises, NIO has demonstrated that its semi-solid state battery (a previous step before reaching these energy accumulators) can travel a thousand kilometers without stopping to recharge. China controls the supply chain of the materials to produce these batteries but also the equipment that can produce these compounds. It seems that the measure is aimed at putting obstacles in the way of mass production of an innovation that can change the automobile market. free way. As we have seen, control over exports opens the door to selling current batteries for electric cars outside the country. It makes sense, now that Chinese companies like CATL have reached agreements with giants like … Read more

China has always dreamed of a “Polar Silk Road” so that its ships reach Europe sooner. It is already a reality

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Monday was an important day in Felixstoweone of the largest container ports in the United Kingdom. Towards the end of the afternoon, their workers saw the silhouette of the Istanbul Bridgea container ship loaded with lithium batteries and parts for the photovoltaic industry. In itself, the appearance of the Istambul did not represent anything new, the curious thing was where it came from or (more precisely) where it arrived: with its arrival at the docks of Felixstowe the ship completed a historic voyage of 20 days through the Arctic Ocean. Its journey to the British coast has allowed China to take a key step in achieving one of his big dreams: a ‘Polar Silk Road’ with Europe. What has happened? That China has achieved a milestone in maritime trade. Perhaps more symbolic than decisive, but still important. Late on Monday the container ship Istanbul Bridge arrived in the United Kingdom after a trip that had started 20 days before in Ningbo-Zhoushana very important port hub on the coast of the East China Sea. So far nothing strange. The key is that the Istanbul Bridge did not reach Felixtowe in the usual way, after detouring south to cross the Suez Canal and advance through the Mediterranean and the Atlantic towards Europe. No. He did it on the voyage that took the ship through northern waters, through the icy Arctic Ocean and the North Sea. AND that is relevant. Why is it important? The Istanbul, a ship with capacity for 4900 containers standard (TEU), 299 meters in length and flag of liberia (although in reality it has operated bound to the Chinese Sea Legend and Haijie Shipping) it is not the first ship that sails along what is known as the Northern Sea Route, but its voyage has had a special meaning. As remember CNNthe first ships loaded with containers began sailing through the Arctic more than a decade ago, but it is normal for them to do so on special and specific trips. The Istanbul Bridge has another approach. Since his departure from Ningbo-Zhoushan has been presented as proof that the northern route can be used as “a traditional line service”, with commercial stops. “It’s something we haven’t seen in the Arctic until now,” recognize Malte Humper, from the Arctic Institute. The ship took 20 days to complete its journey between China and the United Kingdom loaded with about 4,000 containers and its objective, beyond Felixstowe, is to unload merchandise in other ports in Germany, Poland and the Netherlands. As required According to the Chinese agency Xinhua, the ship was mainly transporting lithium-ion batteries and parts for the photovoltaic industry, goods that are sensitive to heat and in which delivery times are a strategic factor. And why this interest? Because the ultimate objective is not to stop at the feat of the Istanbul Bridge, but to promote the trade route known as “China-Europe Arctic Express”, an itinerary that connects first-class ports such as Ningbo, Shanghai, Qingdao, Dalian, Felixtowe, Rotterdam, Hamburg and Ganks. In fact even Ningbo Customs has referred to the expedition as “the official opening of the first China-Europe Arctic Express container route.” State broadcaster CCTV it is very clear in fact when referring to the voyage of the ship. In his opinion, “it represents the maiden voyage of the first Arctic express container route between China and Europe and demonstrates the commercial viability of the Northwest Passage.” High North News precise that at least for now the route will be seasonal and the shipping company Haijie Shipping plans a single sailing in 2025 (the navigation window is still limited and lasts a few months), but the company seems to have noted the interest of manufacturers and shipping platforms. e-commerce. Is it that interesting? Yes. And it is because its main advantage is speed. The container ship has taken only 20 days to complete its journey, two more than those initially planned. The reason for the delay was a storm passing through the Norwegian Sea that forced him to slow down. Despite this, it represents a notable time saving on China-Europe trips when compared to other much more established alternatives in the sector. As remember Xinhuathe China-Europe Express Railway requires 25 days of travel, transporting goods through the Suez Canal route requires 40 and doing so through the Cape of Good Hope 50. “Trade between China and the European Union has remained strong despite the volatility of the global trade landscape and having a third route, in addition to the traditional shipping corridors and the China-Europe rail service, will bring stability and inject new vitality into bilateral trade,” highlights Cui Hongjianfrom the China Institute of International Studies in Global Times. The Asian newspaper (linked to the Government) does not leave much room for doubt in its report on the Istanbul Bridge: “It represents an emerging international shipping artery of great value to optimize the global supply chain.” Why right now? For several reasons. The main one, because the Arctic of 2025 is not the same as the one of three, four or five decades ago. And it probably won’t be the same in the future either. As climate change progresses and ice fractures and melts, the Arctic is gaining interest as a navigable space. Nikkei assures that its loss has caused the number of ships accessing Arctic waters to have increased by nearly 37% while the total distance traveled has doubled. All in the last 10 years, according to the data managed by WWF. More factors come into play, the reinforced interest that the European market has gained for China in the midst of a tariff war with the United States or the challenges that maritime traffic has encountered in other latitudes, such as the Suez Canala key logistics point that has demonstrated its vulnerability. The northern route also offers extra advantages, such as considerable time savings for shipments destined for Christmas shopping in Europe and low temperatures. Are they all advantages? At all. Perhaps the Arctic has changed, … Read more

The garbage rate has become the big hot potato of Spanish politics. In reality there is little unexpected

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They call him the rubbish and, whether you like it more or less, what is undeniable is that the word sums up well the surprise that thousands of Spanish households have encountered when reviewing their accounts: suddenly their town councils have started charging them sums more than considerable for garbage collection or have skyrocketed their rates (in some cases going from 67 to 126 euros), which even it is already felt in the CPI. In reality there is little unexpected, if you take into account that it is something that can be seen coming (at least) from 2022. What there is behind it is debate… and doubts. What has happened? That Spain has seen how garbage became a huge political hot potato. And rightly so, if we take into account that thousands of homes spread throughout the country have found that the bill their city council passes them to finance waste collection has been shot. In some cities a new rate. The rise has been so forceful that it is already reflected clearly in the IPC and in some municipalities has provoked heated protests. The best example was left on Monday Cangas (Pontevedra), where a thousand residents gathered in front of the City Hall to protest against what has already been called (there and in the rest of the country) rubbish. The neighborhood anger escalated to such a level in the municipality that the councilors had no choice but to leave escorted by the police. But why is the rate more expensive? By the BOE. To understand it you have to go back to Law 7/2022 . Among other issues, the rule establishes that the town councils of Spain must provide themselves with “a tax or property benefit of a non-tax public nature, specific, differentiated and non-deficit that allows the implementation of a payment system per generation and that reflects the real cost, direct or indirect, of the collection, transport and treatment operations.” The wording is somewhat confusing, but at least it leaves two ideas clear. First, municipalities have to charge a specific bill focused on garbage. Second, the ‘polluter pays’ maxim must prevail, with a rate that covers “the real, direct and indirect cost” of the collection service. It is not a minor nuance if we take into account that in many municipalities the service was deficient and it was compensated via taxes. The Commonwealth of O Morrazo, for example (the one that suffered Monday’s protests) handles a report that reveals that its service suffered a deficit of about two million of euros. Why is it news now? Because the Law 7/2022 included another indication: it gave the town councils a maximum of three years to comply with this requirement, a period that ended at beginning of april. Since then, the municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants They are obliged to conform to the norm. Some, like Barcelona, they have been for years preparing the ground to soften the blow; but others have waited until almost the end. The majority of councils have in fact chosen to drag their feet and some have not yet adjusted, as is the case in Malaga either Balearics. Where the change has been noticeable is in Madrid. There the impact has been especially notable because in 2015 the then mayor (Ana Botella) decided “eliminate” the garbage rate for the sake of “less fiscal pressure on the citizen’s pocket.” After years with the amount included within the IBIresidents of the capital have encountered a Waste Management Fee that, according to the calculations published by the Consistory itself in October, will have an average cost of 141 euros for homes and 310 for commercial properties. Does it affect the pockets that much? The best way to answer that question is to use the INE. Its latest calculations on the CPI, corresponding to the month of September, show a year-on-year increase of 30.3% in garbage collection, the largest (by far) in a historical series dating back to 2008. The data far exceeds the general index (3%) and has in fact influenced its upward trend. It is an important nuance because, although the deadline set in the 2022 law has already ended, its guidelines have not been applied in all cities of the country. When that happens, it is not unreasonable to think that that 30.3% will be even higher. Why so much controversy? If he rubbish has raised such a political stir, it is not only because of the cost it entails for residents and businesses. The debate has revolved around more formal but equally important questions: Who is ultimately responsible for the increases? Is it the city councils with the formulas they apply when calculating it, is it the Government for promoting the 2022 standard or is it Brussels, through the community directives that cites the law itself? Some town councils, such as Alcobendashas already released statements to inform its neighbors that the new “mandatory” garbage receipts apply. The truth is that months before the deadline set by law expired, in October, the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) already demanded the Government to review a law that, in his opinion, is “complicated to understand and apply” and ignores municipal autonomy. Specifically, they asked the Sánchez Government for “a much clearer and more concise regulation that avoids the discretion of each local entity” and at the same time guarantees the objectives set by Brussels. Is that important? Yes. And for several reasons. The first because one of the topics that is raising the most debate about the rubbish They are the differences between cities and the risks that this implies. “It can be applied depending on the address, the number of people residing in the home, the cadastral value… There are many possibilities and without a guide we can end up with more than 8,000 different garbage rates, which will surely generate resources and even different criteria in the courts until the Supreme Court unifies doctrine,” explained already last December ABC the Association … Read more

In reality, the workslop is sinking her

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One of the mantras most repeated by the apostles of AI automation is that AI-assisted work was going to boost productivity in companies that apply it, but the data shows that the reality is very different and depends on How is that productivity measured?. For example, the study data ‘Forrester Consulting’s Total Economic Impact 2023′ from IBM, highlight an increase in productivity based on a 30% reduction in the time it takes to manage an incident, but it does not measure the quality of that management. It is at that point where AI, more than boosting productivity, is sinking her. The effect “Workslop“. As and how do they count in Harvard Business Reviewin many companies, the mass adoption of AI tools translates into enthusiasm and apparent advances, but behind these figures lies an increasingly evident problem: the proliferation of mediocre content generated by AI, known as “workslop” or work garbage. The phenomenon occurs mainly when AI is used to produce documents, reports and materials that are very apparent at first glance, but are superficial at their core and end up generating more work in reviewing and correcting them than it would have taken a person to do it from the beginning. A recent study conducted by BetterUp Labs together with Stanford Social Media Lab reveals that 40% of US employees reported having received content “workslop” in the last month. Data indicates that 15.4% of all the content they received at work falls into this “Workslop” category. BetterUp Labs estimates put the cost of reviewing AI-generated work at $186 per employee, or about $9 million per year for a large corporation with 10,000 employees. It is useful to get rid of “paperwork”. AI is proving useful in routine tasks, such as email automation, simple summaries or basic content generation, allowing the employee release cognitive load. That is, freeing your brain from work that, although necessary, does not really represent progress in tasks or projects. The report GenAI Divide (MIT, 2025) confirms that 70% of employees prefer to use AI to compose quick communications and perform simple analyses, noting that “AI has already won the battle of easy work.” However, for complex projects and jobs that require memory, continuous adaptation and deeper analysis, 90% still prefer to turn to human professionals. The investigations from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Duke University point out that AI can serve as a starting point for developing an idea, but it fails in 70% of the cases in which tasks are asked to complete unattended. The invisible “tax” of AI. Every time an employee receives AI-generated workslop content, the process requires an additional investment of time and resources to unravel and correct any errors or inaccuracies that come with it. The aforementioned BetterUp Labs study estimates that each employee wastes an average of one hour and 56 minutes analyzing or reviewing this “junk” content. So much so that it has even given rise to the birth of a new professional niche in which professionals who previously carried out that work now charge for analyzing it and fix your mistakes. The biases of AI. The study also analyzes the social and labor impact of this type of content. His conclusion: it is as harmful as the economic impact. 53% of employees say they feel upset after receiving these texts and 38% say they are confused. According to published Forbes, approximately half of those surveyed consider their colleagues who submit workslop work to be less creative, less capable. Furthermore, 42% say they see them as less trustworthy, generating a deterioration in reputation and collaboration within the team. This social impact does not have its origin in the fact of using AI to generate documents, code or graphics, but in the fact of not having taken the trouble to check if the content generated by AI is correct before sending or using it in his work. Use AI with common sense. Researchers at MIT and BetterUp Labs agree that using AI indiscriminately, only following the mandate to adopt the technology, like some big technologies they want to do at all costsis not a good idea to increase productivity. According what was published by CIOdespite the fact that the CEO of Google beats his chest assuring that 25% of your code It is already generated with AI, that work is not free nor does it result in notable improvements in productivity of its engineers. Before they were dedicated to generating code, and now they use that time to review it or repair the errors produced by the new integrated code. Therefore, using AI on complex tasks that must then be supervised by engineers does not improve productivity, but rather displaces it at best and even can reduce it depending on the use case. In Xataka | We believed that AI was going to take our jobs. At the moment he has started whispering to your boss who he should fire Image | Unsplash (Sigmund)

In reality, it hides elevators that take boats up through the heart of a mountain

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Let’s imagine a ship that, instead of descending through locks, rises up a mountain inside a chamber of water. That’s exactly what happens in Goupitana dam in southwest China where the difference in level between the reservoir and the river reaches almost two hundred meters. To overcome this gap, engineers designed three consecutive elevators capable of transporting boats of five hundred tons. It is a system that combines the scale of a hydroelectric dam with the precision of a clock and has once again transformed the Wu River into a continuous navigable waterway after more than twenty years of interruption. For years, the Wu River was a natural highway for Guizhou. From its mountains, barges descended towards the Yangtze loaded with minerals, cement or fertilizers. Everything changed with the construction of large hydroelectric dams in the early 2000s: the reservoirs generated power, but completely cut off shipping. Between 2009 and 2016 there was no continuous navigable passage in Goupitán: the goods had to be unloaded before the damget on trucks, go around the mountain and embark again upriver. That transshipment could take one or two days and cost more than 20,000 yuan per barge, an obstacle that discouraged river transport and made the local economy more expensive. Three elevators, the same river and a mountain in between Goupitan is not one boat lift, but three that work in series to allow the river to become navigable again. Each one overcomes a part of the unevenness and, between them, a connection channel It combines tunnels dug into the mountain and an aqueduct suspended over the valley. According to the Guizhou Department of Transportationthe group forms a route of just over two kilometers where they can operate barges standard five hundred tons. The design distributes the total elevation into three sections, with a fully balanced central level and two submersible-type ends. This system became the first in the world in applying three consecutive elevators within the same project and in achieving an unprecedented single level elevation of 127 m. The investment was around three billion yuan (about 400 million euros), and the infrastructure can move almost three million tons of cargo per year. The operation of Goupitan is based on a principle as simple as it is effective: that of balance. Each ship enters a chamber filled with waterso that the total weight hardly changes when the boat floats inside. This almost constant mass is compensated by counterweights and steel cables that raise and lower the drawer with a precision of centimeters. The first and third elevators are submersible type, with the box that sinks into the water to equalize levels, while the central one uses a fully balanced system, similar to a conventional elevator but on a monumental scale. Electric motors drive the drums that wind the cables, and the entire operation is controlled by sensors that measure tension and position in real time. If they detect a deviation, the system stops immediately. Three years after the hydroelectric dam came into service, navigation works began. For almost ten years, the place was transformed into an engineering laboratory. Navigation tunnels had to be opened under the rock, metal towers had to be erected and the steel caissons had to be assembled by hand inside the valley. In June 2021, a boat five hundred tons completed the journey of the three elevators, marking a milestone. In 2023After the latest inspections, the Ministry of Transportation declared the system operational and handed it over to the provincial authorities for commercial exploitation. Once in service, the system operates as a synchronized chain. The complete transit through the three levels takes approximately 38 minutes, according to official data. The process is automated: sensors, cameras and a central control room manage the gates, water pressure and cable movement. The impact was noticeable from the first day. In November 2021a convoy of fourteen barges carrying seven thousand tons of phosphate completed the journey of the three lifts and marked the official return of navigation on the Wu River after more than twenty years of interruption. Since then, river traffic has established itself as a real alternative to road transport, with lower costs and a much smaller environmental footprint. For Guizhou, a landlocked provincethat difference is strategic. The Wu River connects with the Yangtze and, through it, with the port of Shanghai. The reactivation of traffic makes it possible to export minerals and construction materials directly from the interior and, in turn, receive raw materials without depending on land transportation. Maintenance tasks are constant. Each elevator undergoes daily inspections and more in-depth checks every few weeks. The technicians, for their part, have received specific training to operate the machinery. Keeping such a structure in balance requires the same precision as building it and close operational coordination with the exploitation of the reservoir. Goupitan’s system changed the map of boat lifts. Until its entry into operation, the reference was the elevator the Three Gorges Damwith a difference in altitude of 113 meters. In Europe, the Strépy-Thieuin Belgium, with 73 meters, and the Falkirk Wheel Scottish, a rotating structure of 35. None approaches 199 meters that covers the whole of China nor the 127 of its central section, the highest individual elevation recorded to date. The Goupitan boat lift is nestled in one of the most rugged landscapes in southwest China. The river meanders between forest-covered mountains and villages scattered on the banks. Official photographs taken with drones show the real scale of the complex: three gigantic chambers connected by tunnels and aqueducts, with ships that appear tiny as they ascend. The contrast between industrial precision and the geography of the valley explains part of the visual impact of seeing them in motion. Although its purpose is strictly logistical, The place has attracted the attention of curious people and visitors. From the road that borders the reservoir and the access to the damand get panoramic viewsand media coverage has popularized aerial images of the maneuvers. Images | Guizhou Government In Xataka … Read more

The founder of WhatsApp thought he lived in luxury. In reality I was surrounded by fakes and trinkets

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The world of millionaires is full of stories of betrayal, disloyalty and fortune hunters who seek to profit from economic tranquility of the 1% of the population whose pulse is not altered by paying 20,000 euros for a chair. Jan Koum, one of the founders of WhatsApp, has recently been the victim of one of these abuses. The millionaire has demanded to the interior designer who decorated a good part of his mansions and their yachts for scamming him with furniture and other decorative objects, which he passed off as luxury pieces, when in reality they were nothing more than crude imitations at best. They also give millionaires a hard time According what was published by the British Dailymail, The co-founder of WhatsApp is immersed in a legal battle with the French interior designer Remi Tessier, accused of selling him counterfeit luxury products and of applying extra costs on the decoration bills for his mansions and superyachts. The dispute arose when Koum discovered that several pieces he purchased through Tessier were simple imitations that neither had the expected quality of a luxury piece nor the price of a piece of junk. The interior designer’s scam ranged from designer furniture to rugs made by hand by artisans with a centuries-old tradition, who later turned out not to be artisans. According to published data by luxurylaunchesthe complaint details that the millionaire paid extra costs of between 10% and 20% on purchases made through his interior designer. An example would be a luxury chair for which the magnate paid 19,550 euros instead of the 12,400 euros it cost in the store, or the 1,731 euros he paid for a glassware set that actually cost just over 1,000 euros. What is even more serious is that the scam by his interior designer was not limited to adding a bite in his favor, the matter escalated when in charge of decorating the interior of his properties he was billed 642,000 euros for a supposed set of pashmina rugs that were supposedly made by hand. As revealed in the documents attached to the lawsuit, the rugs were be fakes Made with low-cost synthetic materials that did not cost even half of what the millionaire paid for them. The lawsuit also revealed somewhat more complex practices to deceive the millionaire. One of them was to transform prices between dollars and euros to benefit from exchange differences. Bites left and right According to collect he New York PostTessier helped decorate five of the millionaire’s homes, and from his studio in Paris, where he employs 15 people, Tessier decorates the homes and yachts of some of the richest people in the world. Among his billionaire clients are names as Larry Ellison and Ken Griffin, who are suspected of having also applied cost overruns showing a “predatory pattern,” as the lawsuit specifies. However, Tessier not only inflated his customers’ invoices, but also demanded commissions from the distributors who provided them with the products. The lawsuit indicates that the French interior designer convinced the millionaire of Ukrainian origin to buy a Picasso valued at 7.8 million dollars. On this occasion, the painting was authentic, as were the $600,000 that Tessier pocketed in a hidden payment from the gallery that sold it and that was never communicated to the millionaire. Jan Koum, has manifested that this lawsuit is not about personal gain, ensuring that any economic recovery will be donated to charities in France. “It’s about protecting others,” said Orin Snyder, Koum’s attorney in this case. According to the British media. Designer Remi Tessier rejected the accusations of fraud, claiming to have acted with respect towards Koum and reproaching the decision to take the matter to trial. “I reject all allegations against me. I have always treated Jan with the utmost respect and protected his privacy. I am surprised he took this action.” In Xataka | A businessman built a mega mansion without permission: the neighbors have gotten the city council to demolish it Image | Flickr (Hubert Burda Media), Unsplash (Kam Idris)

Anthropic says that Claude Sonnet 4.5 can clone a service like Slack in 30 hours. Reality is more complicated

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Anthropic has launched Claude Sonnet 4.5 ensuring that they put it to work 30 hours in a row to build a Slack replica. During that time, it generated 11,000 lines of code without supervision and only stopped when completing the task. In May, its Opus 4 model managed to operate for seven hours. The company presents it as “the best model in the world for agents, programming and use of computers.” Why is it important. Anthropic, Openai and Google free a battle to dominate Autonomous agents and programming tools. Those who convince will capture a lot of money in business licenses. Scott White, product manager, says that “at the level of a cabinet chief”: coordinates agendas, analyzes data, writes reports … Dianne Penn says he uses it to search for candidates on LinkedIn and generate spreadsheets. Yes, but. The developers tell another more nuanced story. Miguel Ángel Durán, known as @Midudevsummarizes it: “Claude Sonnet 4.5 Refactor my entire project in a Prompt. 20 minutes thinking. 14 new files. 1,500 modified lines. Applied clean architecture. Nothing worked. But how beautiful it was. “ Other developers They report the same: thousands of lines with an impeccable structure, but do not execute. Code that seems professional but collapses when compiling it. Between the lines. Anthropic has not shown the application of Slack working. He has only said that he built it. Nor has it shown that the code is operational. The difference between communicating something and demonstrating it, Underlined by Ed Zitron. The company is indirectly recognizing the problem: Claude Sonnet 4.5 arrives with extra infrastructure to build agents – virtual management, memory management, context management, multiagente support …–. Translation: Even with the most advanced model, developers need extra tools for agents to program reliably. In detail. Penn He explained to The Verge that the improvements surprised the internal team. The model is three times more skilled using computers than the October version. The team spent the last month working with feedback of github and cursor. Canva, Beta-fieldsHe says he helps with “complex long context tasks.” The contrast. There is a huge gap between marketing and technical reality. Anthropic promises an AI that operates 30 hours building complex software. Developers confirm that it generates very well structured but functionally broken code. This pattern is repeated throughout the industry. The models improve generating code that seems professional. They systematically fail generating code that really works without important human intervention. And now what. The question is still unanswered: when will we pass from Which generates beautiful but diffunctional code What generates functional code alone? Anthropic bets that his combination of powerful model and extra infrastructure closes that gap. At the moment we must continue waiting for concrete evidence to arrive, do not give without verifiable code. In Xataka | Openai signs with Samsung and SK Hynix for a potential chips demand of 900,000 wafers per month. It is an absurd figure Outstanding image | Anthropic

The “best mechanic in Spain” says that Low Cost gasoline is of worse quality than the premium. Reality is much more complex

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In the long term, fuel Low Cost “It can cause breakdowns.” We do not say it, says Carlos Pérez, recognized as “best mechanic in Spain” in an interview with Canal Moveo de The avant -garde. And we don’t give it because, simply, there is no reasons to say it. In fact, Carlos Pérez himself emphasizes that “all gasoline ultimately come from the same wholesale suppliers.” So what happens? Who. As we say, one of the spaces that The avant -garde He dedicates to the mobility sector has interviewed Carlos Pérez, known on the Internet as “the best mechanic in Spain.” The title is no invention, among the different awards he has obtained we find the one delivered by The workshop community who are focused on communication within the post -sales market. Since then, Pérez has granted various interviews to different media in which he has been explained about What are the most reliable brandswhat are they the car models that recommend Or, simply, which is the best gasoline to use. Yes, but. And here comes the controversy. In his statements about gasoline to use, Carlos Pérez assured the following to The avant -garde: “Although all gasoline ultimately come from the same wholesale suppliers, the differences are in the additives that each company incorporates. These additives are those that help to keep the feeding system clean and prevent the accumulation of waste in the engine, which can affect the performance and durability of the vehicle. The price can be tempting, but in the long term, the use of fuel That supposes in repairs “ That is, a Yes, but in full rule. According to Pérez, there should be no reason to distrust the cheapest fuels but in the long run “it can cause breakdowns and greater engine wear.” Obviously, the price would not compensate for the expense and headaches of the breakdowns. Same origin. The truth is that in Spain there should be no differences between refuel Low Cost or supposed fuel Premium. Because deep down, the fuel is exactly the same. And this is not much less. In Xataka We already played this topic in 2015. Then we explained that the origin of both fuels is the same: CLH or hydrocarbon logistics company that In 2021 he changed his name to exolum. This receives the fuel from the refineries that are distributed by Spain in the hands of BP, Cepsa Moeve or repsol. This fuel already arrives with quality standards that guarantee a good product. This fuel is maintained in the exolum facilities until it is distributed by the service stations. It is here where the difference between products occurs: additives yes or additives no. The additives. To begin with, the exolum itself already has His own additives (HQ300) For part of the fuel it stores. It is the responsibility of the Marketing in charge of fuel with additives or without them. Obviously, this second is cheaper. What is an additive thinking? In theoryto improve long -term engine and vehicle care. Companies Premium Do you sell that their formulas manage to leave less remains in the engines or allow more kilometers with the same amount of fuel. And is there scientific evidence? Really, none. At least that is what Carles Fité, Professor of Chemical Engineering, and Rodrigo Soto, chemical engineering reader, who asked about this same matter, pointed out that “all are equal. I see no difference at this level of analysis.” According to their samples, “they basically contain the same compounds and in the same proportions. Everything comes out very very the same”, in words collected by The confidential. Nor have they found substantial differences in the OCU. In fact, they point out that we are talking more about blind confidence in the effects of additives than on realistic checks: “The effects of additives on engines and gasoline consumption do not seem very verifiable. (…) Prove that an additive lengthens engine life is very difficult, because there is no way to determine how much that same engine would have lasted if that gasoline had not used.” And the secret? The secret is called the economy of scale. Simply, there are two types of business when we talk about service stations. The gas stations Low Cost They can save the customer money because they themselves They already save money on operational costs Of their businesses: they do not usually have employees, they do not invest in R&D to improve those fuels and do not invest in advertising, trusting in the mouth-oreja. On the contrary, gasoline stations Premium They base their business on those additives that generate confidence in the client. But also In formulas to catch you in the following purchase such as loyalty cards or stores that orbit around the suppliers. Also in their Agreements with other companies as insurance companies or large supermarkets. Scams and maintenance. In summary, the quality of the repossed product has much more to do with the maintenance of the service station (which is renewed regularly and does not spend too much time in deposits, for example) and, above all, with complying with the minimum quality standards. The latter should be an endorsement when we repost in Spanish gas stations, however, in recent months the SERVICE STATION SHOWS They have used worse quality fuel and took advantage of great sales at very low prices to subsequently scam the State in the presentation of the VAT tax. This has generated a worse image to the product Low Cost. Photo | BALLENOIL AND BP In Xataka | Diesel or gasoline: what are the differences and which one is better to buy according to your use

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