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China has the ability to stop the construction of new AI data centers. It is a nightmare for the US

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During the last two years The Chinese government has fought The US sanctions and its allies resorting to a strategy that has proven to be very effective. China controls the production and processing of several critical minerals For semiconductor industries, renewable energies or electric car, among other sectors, which has led to the administration led by Xi Jinping to regulate its export in a very strict way. In early December 2024 He chose to prohibit The export of some critical minerals to the US, among which were three essential metals for the chips industry: Gallium, Germanio and Antimony. Shortly after the Chinese government added two more critical metals to its list of export restrictions: Scandio and Disposio. However, there is a much less exotic chemical element than those I just mentioned the one that is barely talking. China also controls it and is using it to put the US against the strings. Bismuth is a fundamental metal for the global technology industry Although it is not monopolizing as many headlines in international media as rare earths, bismuth (BI) is an essential chemical element not only for the integrated circuit industry, but for the entire global technology sector. It is a whitish, crystalline and relatively fragile metal that acquires a pinkaceous tone when coming into contact with the air. It shares some physicochemical properties with lead and tin, but it has a distinctive characteristic that has helped it be erected as the essential metal that is: it is much less toxic than other heavy metals, such as lead. However, this is not at all its only quality. In addition, it is the most diamagnetic metal, so when introducing it into a magnetic field it is repelled very weakly. On the other hand, its electrical resistance is high and its thermal conductivity is very low. Interestingly, the only metal that has even smaller thermal conductivity is mercury. And its melting point is relatively low (about 271.3 ° C), while Its boiling point touches the 2,000 ° C. Finally, the bismuth has another very unusual property among the metals that are worth not overlooking: when it solidifies it expands. The bismuth is an essential metal thanks to its intervention in welds and the tuning of thermoelectric materials If we had to stay with only two characteristics of all that we just reviewed the chosen ones would be their low toxicity index and their ability to expand when solidified. In fact, these properties largely justify their use in industries that have a strategic role for many countries, such as chips, consumer electronics, renewable energy or electric car. Although it participates in a wide range of applications, the bismuth is an essential metal thanks to its intervention in the welds and the tuning of thermoelectric materials. For many decades the metal usually used in welds was lead, but it has an important problem: it is very toxic. Gradually this metal has been displaced by the alloys of bismuth and tin, which are much less toxic, and, in addition, They have a very low melting point. In fact, these alloys have a leading role in the manufacture of flexible substrates, printed circuit plates and all kinds of electronic components. On the other hand, thermoelectric materials allow generating electricity taking advantage of temperature and vice versa differences, so they are very important in the development of efficient cooling systems. China is currently the largest world producer in bismuth. In fact, control between 80 and 84% of the supply of this metal, so the global distribution chain is in your hands. Only in 2024 this Asian country produced 13,000 metric tons of this chemical element, while outside the borders of China, only 3,000 more tons were refined. This essentially absolute control has led to the Chinese government to drastically restrict Bismuth export with the purpose of responding to the sanctions of their rivals. In the US, some technology companies are already against the ropes because their bismuth reserves are running out. And it is not precisely unimportant companies. Google, Amazon and Nvidia are three of the US companies that Chinese bismuth urgently need In order to sustain the construction of your new data centers for applications of artificial intelligence (AI), so They have asked the US government that he reaches an agreement with his Chinese counterpart. Otherwise the development of AI in the country led by Donald Trump will be compromised. In this area, as we have just seen, China has the pan well grabbed by the handle. More information | China / Business Inside In Xataka | The two most important chip companies in China have a problem: the 5 Nm have been choked

There are those who ask why airplanes have no parachute. This manufacturer decided to stop asking him and putting one

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It is one of those questions that seem taken from an impromptu talk between friends: “And why don’t they put A giant parachute In the airplanes in case something happens? The company that achieved it is called Cirrus Aircraft, and for decades it has designed light airplanes for general aviation. His proposal was as simple as revolutionary: incorporating a ballistic parachute directly into the fuselage, as part of the plane design. Not as an accessory, not as optional. Serial. The system is called Caps, acronym for Cirrus Airframe Parachute Systemand it is present so much In the SR series as in the vision jetan airplane with a turbophah engine for five passengers, plus the pilot. A parachute that is not an accessory, is part of the plane CAPS operation It is as direct as its objective: saving lives when everything else fails. In the upper part of the fuselage, just behind the cabin, a capsule sealed with a large parachute is hidden. If a serious emergency occurs, the pilot only has to pull a t -shaped leverlocated on the roof of the cabin. In a matter of seconds, a small rocket purses the parachute up and it unfolds, braking the fall of the plane until it touches earth. Of course, there are conditions. The system should not be activated below 600 feet of altitude (about 180 meters above the ground), and its effectiveness is much greater if it unfolds between 600 and 2,000 feet. Above that altitude, the pilot has more margin to evaluate and make decisions, but it is still a valid option if the situation demands it. The history of the CAPS was not built from one day to another. In the mid -1990s, the Cirrus engineering team, led by Paul Johnston began to work on an idea that, at that time, seemed crazy: adapt a system of Complete parachute to a light plane. They were inspired by a previous prototype developed by BRS (Ballistic Recovery Systems)a company specialized in ballistic parachutes, which had already tried similar solutions for aircraft such as Cessna 150. A cirrus sr20 displays a parachute in a test In 1998, Cirrus performed his first real testin the southern desert of California. The person in charge of activating the system was a military pilot. That test was key: it showed that the concept worked. From there, Cirrus integrated it as a central part of the design of his first major production model, SR20. Not as an addition, but as a structural element designed from the beginning. Since its certification, the CAPS system has activated more than a hundred times in emergency situations. According to cup datauntil June 2025 they had Registered 136 deployments. Among them there are stories of people who survived motor failures, control losses or extreme weather conditions. Graphical representation of CAPS deployment On its official website, Cirrus states that its system has returned more than 250 people home alive. And some of those stories are especially shocking. Like Greg Huntleypilot and owner of a Cirrus aircraft, which suffered a motor failure on October 22, 2014. Activated the CAPs and managed to land with the plane hanging from the parachute. It was unharmed. Graphic Representation of CAPS IN ACTION Huntley flew every week for work. He had his base in Charlotte, North Carolina, and although he was never passionate about aviation, he acknowledged that he saved him a long time. On October 22, 2014 he took off like any other day. A few minutes after flight, some 5,000 feet of altitudethe engine stopped dry. “Just before declaring the emergency I thought: I have five minutes of life,” I would remember later. One of the many airplanes that used the Caps He made a clear decision: if at 3,000 feet he still did not see the terrain, he would activate the parachute. And so it was. The sky remained completely black through the windshield, so he informed by radio that he was going to display the Caps. “I have taken many children already their parents on their first flights. I always explain that if something happens to me, pull the lever (…) that morning, putting hands on the shooter, I thought: now it is you who is going to check it.” The plane descended and in less than a minute touched land in a grass field. Caps lever The climax of this philosophy came with the Cirrus Vision Jet, a small monomotor reactor certified in 2016. It was the first Jet of the world equipped as standard with a ballistic parachute for the entire aircraft. But Cirrus went further: Safe Return was added to the CAPS system, a function that allows the plane to land only in case of emergency. Button ‘safe return’ The idea is simple. If the pilot suffers a sudden disability, any passenger can press a button. At that time, the Jet Vision takes care of everything: Calculate the routecommunicates the situation to the controllers and performs the descent autonomously to land on a safe track. Caps and Safe Return thus form a fairly complete security package. Cirrus’s parachute system is not designed for all types of aircraft. It does not intend to be. Its effectiveness has to do with the type of plane into which it integrates, with its weight, its structure and the situations for which it was thought. While it is not perfect, it has managed to open a door: demonstrate that there is room to think about security from another angle. Images | Cirrus | POT | CUP In Xataka | They are not fighters, they are planes of the Slovakia government: the day an Airbus A319 and a Fokker 100 stole the show

Spacex has asked Mexico to stop invading its property and returns the starship pieces that fell into the country

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The tension between Spacex and the Government of Mexico has climbed this week after explosion of a starship prototype of June 18. While the Mexican government investigates the remains that crossed the border as illegal pollution and studies possible demands, Elon Musk’s company says they are of its property and asks to stop hindering its recovery. Context. On the night of June 18, a stage of the Starship rocket suddenly exploded during a fuel load for a motor ignition test. The explosion destroyed the ship and spread fragments around Starbase. A few days later, the local media of Tamaulipas reported that part of the remains They had reached the beaches of La Burrita in Matamoroson the Mexican side of the border. There were gas tanks, steel sheets and aluminum parts. Civil Protection, the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Environment of Mexico went to the place to remove the remains and take water, sand and vegetation samples for analysis. Mexican anger. The situation has ended up climbing this week until the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, who described the remains of “pollution” and a possible violation of sovereignty and Mexican environmental legislation. According to Sheinbaum, his government will make “the necessary demands that have to be done” according to international laws. Spacex’s response. In one publication of xElon Musk’s company formally requested the Mexican government to return the remains of the rocket, arguing that they are of their property and that their attempts have been hindered. “Despite Spacex’s attempts to recover related remains (with the explosion), which are and remains tangible property of Spacex, these attempts have been hindered by unauthorized parts that invade (our) private property.” “They are not pollutants.” Spacex states that Starship materials do not represent “chemical, biological or toxicological risk.” And offers resources for cleaning. The company claims to be entitled to recover its property and asks Mexican authorities “local and federal assistance.” It is a shock of narratives. Mexico qualifies the incident as an environmental and security impact against Mexicans. Spacex frames it as a non -polluting private property recovery. Spacex embarked the ball into the neighbor’s house. The neighbor is angry and wants to sue. Image | D Wise, NSF

In Spain a book is published every six minutes. It is the symptom of a bubble that does not stop inflating

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When talking about the health of the editorial industry in Spain, publication figures are usually used to justify the good condition that the book business lives. However, rapid accounts lead to thinking perhaps just the opposite: excess launches may be hypertrophy the bookstores, which are suffocated by a series of very uninjury side effects. How much is published? The Latest public data from the Ministry of Culture They speak of 92,000 books a year with ISBN, that is, more than 250 books a day. Every minute, six books. And that telling only the launches with legal deposit, that is, we do not count the self -edge (last year, it was around the three newspapers … By author) For platforms as widespread as Amazon. That do not count as part of the editorial cake but add thousands of potential titles per month to the mountain of slopes of the troubled readers. Success is what is sought. Why so much novelty? There are a number of reasons that make up a very complex ecosystem to explain this production overdose. On the one hand, it is an editorial strategy for compensate for the fall in sales by book: except Bestsellers And specific successes, the books sell less, the runs are lower and the publishers multiply their offer to cushion it. From there comes a constant publication and search of that new success that supplies the previous one. The fact that Increase global income Although the runs fall, it is proof that The strategy works. Oihan Iturbide, former Editor, counted in the jump that “the editorial industry looks more like a fast food chain than a restaurant with a good homemade menu: the key is in volume, not in quality.” Many are. On the other hand, there is the proliferation of new publishers: In 2024Spain had approximately 3,160 active publishers. It does not imply a very notable change with respect to previous years (comparable to 2016, and notoriously less than 3,564 of 2009, year with Spain in a very different economic context). Of these, only about 2,000 publishers launch more than 10 titles per year, and only 13 exceed 700 annual titles. Is it a note of diversity and vitality of the sector? Yes. But also of the enormous contrast between the large Spanish editorial groups (Planet and Penguin Random House, more Santillana in the educational field) and the rest: According to the Federation of the Editors Guildthree out of four books come from these groups. The distribution fish. This overproduction atmosphere (Rubén Hernández, by Errata Naturae, Talk about those 92,000 books per year “One third is returned to the darkness of the stores and is probably guillotine”) is contaminated with the complex distribution system in Spain. This is also Hernández: “The publisher publishes with a price (…) of 10 euros and it is sent to the distributor. The bookseller buys it with a discount close to 35%, from which he obtains his benefit, and pays 6.5 euros to the distributor, which stays 2 euros and pays the remaining 4.5 euros, that he does not pay him, but offers him a loan. “ The snowball continues to grow: “In turn, the distributor claims to the editor of his 4.5 euros, which he does not pay him, so he contracts a debt. And to reimburse it, the editor has no choice but to invest the 4.5 euros he has won (but he must) in another book that, after arriving at the bookseller, activates his credit, while the distributor enters another 2 euros. Book, the editor and the bookseller receive debts or credits. A vitiated system very similar to a bubble that continues to grow without brake. Are all bad news? No: the evidence that it is published too much allows publishers to realize that The situation can become unsustainable. Possible solutions to Very vicious system of returns in bookstores. The excess of supply is not bad in itself, unless it leads to overproduction and atibor the system until it is bursting. It is obvious that six books per minute are too many, but … who is the first to start with the cuts? Header | Photo of Pierre Bamin in Unspash In Xataka | Adult books are therapeutic. But behind there is a framework of demands, plagiarism and complaints

We are injecting radioactive material into live rhino horns so that we stop consuming them

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Perhaps you did not know, but to protect us from human nature itself, that capable of generating the most absolute chaos, most of the main airports and ports, including those of South Africa, already have the infrastructure necessary to detect radioactive material. So that? To detect nuclear weapons. Thus, in theory, we avoid smuggling between countries. In a twist, science has just found in this infrastructure a solution for stop poaching. Radioactive horns. The news is as surprising as it is true: a group of South African scientists has been injecting radioactive material directly into the horns of living rhino. The idea: make them easier to detect in border stalls. Behind the project is the Radiation and Physics of Health (RHPU) of Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg. Why the horns. Of course, the enclave where it is happening is not trivial. South Africa houses a Most of the planet’s rhinoceros And, as such, it is a critical point for poaching driven by, and here comes the key, demand from Asia. Yes, there the horns They use in traditional medicine for its supposed therapeutic effect (not tested). As Professor James Larkin explained, who runs the project, “every 20 hours in South Africa a rhinoceros dies from his horn.” In fact, before this amazing script, trying to save the rhino with another unexpected movement: investing in bonds. Not only that. The researchers indicate that the smuggling of these horns has currently made them “the most valuable false product in the black market, with a value even greater than that of gold, platinum, diamonds and cocaine. These horns hunted furtively are trafficked throughout the world and are used for traditional medicines or as status symbols”, They assure. Radioactivity injection process. Under the name Rhisotope Projectresearchers are drilling low doses of radioisotopes in the horns of 20 sedated rhinos whose health will be monitored over the next six months. We talked about two small radioactive chips in the horn zone that are then “finished” by spraying 11,000 microputs in the area. In the long term. If it succeeds, the program could be extended in the long term to include elephants and pangolines, as well as other plants and animals, According to the university. The material, in principle, would last five years on the horn, which “was cheaper than removing it every 18 months.” “Each insertion was closely supervised by expert veterinarians and there was very care to avoid any damage to animals,” Explain Larkin. “During months of research and evidence, we have also ensured that inserted radioisotopes do not involve any risk to health or any other risk for animals or for those who take care of them.” Poison for humans. In essence, once the radioactivity dose is inserted, the consumption by means of the products made with the horns will make them “essentially poisonous for human consumption,” they count at work. Be that as it may, the main objective is none other than identifying the smuggling attempts, to be able to be, before they leave the country. How the alarm jumps. Apparently, this infrastructure found in many airports works more or less simple. Anyone who tries to pass the radioactive horns would sound the alarms and a police response would be activated. By the way, scientists remember that the process is not harmful to animals, since the dose of the radioactive material is so low that it does not affect the animal’s health or the environment in any way. Figures that have led to the situation. Last February, the country’s Ministry of Environment said that, despite the government’s efforts to combat illegal trade, 499 of these giant mammals died in 2023most in state parks. In figures, it represents an increase of 11 percent compared to those of 2022. To get an idea of This sad realitywe talk about figures of up to $ 60,000 per kilo, which explains why the rhinoceros horn remains one of the most lucrative illegal markets. Image | Witts University, Martin Pettitt In Xataka | An area of ​​Mexico has become an out of control: tourists do not stop to swim with wild orcs In Xataka | It never rains to everyone’s taste: we have just discovered that rainfall has wreaked havoc on the Galician octopus *An earlier version of this article was published in June 2024

They don’t stop arriving tourists to swim with wild orcs

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That clamor in many enclaves that has ended up calling as “tourist” He had reached the most remote places on the planet. They were no longer just the paradisiacal beaches, the “adventurer” went much further entering into areas such as Afghanistan, Iraq either Albania. In fact, Even Antarctica He had been the subject of the hordes eager for new experiences. What surely few ventured was that swimming with Orcas was going to become “must.” Dancing with cetaceans. I told it in A report the Guardian this week. Every morning in the window, a quiet coastal town of Baja California Sur, dozens of tourists in neoprene costumes go up Guided boats by local fishermen or by tourist operators from large nearby cities such as Cabo San Lucas or La Paz. Your goal: swim with wild orcs. An ecological crisis: What began as a unique and inspiring experience has become, according to many veteran experts and operators, into an uncontrolled activity that threatens both the safety of people and the well -being of animals. In absence of formal regulationup to 40 vessels can converge on the same group of orcs, especially between May and June, the months of greatest activity. The popularity of the phenomenon has exploded since 2019driven by networks, and has exposed A legal vacuum In Mexican legislation: although there are laws that protect threatened marine species, none explicitly prohibits swimming with dentated cetaceans such as … orcs. Invisible risks. Although there has never been a wild orca attack on humans, marine biologists warn that excessive and messy contact can cause defensive reactions. Plus and even more worrying: the cumulative effect of engines’s noise and the constant human presence on resident orc interferred by tourist activity. According to He explained to the Guardian Captain Juan Vásquez, with more than two decades at sea, these animals “will remember being harassed” and could stop visiting the area. Despite this, economic pressure is high: marine life tourism is a crucial source of income and few wish to limit it. Even vessels without insurance or license participate in these excursions, competing with better established operators that even guarantee meetings with orcs to ensure reservations. A pioneering plan. Given the lack of clear regulations, a group of responsible scientists and operators (including the Marine Biologist Georgina Saad and the documentary filmmaker Erick Higuera) have proposed the First Management Plan of Orcas in Mexico based not only on numerical fees but on the behavior of animals. The plan, which expects government approval this summer, would limit the interaction to Three boats per group of Orcas, with a maximum of nine daily vessels, and would require official permits. In addition, it states that guides and captains learn to identify Stress signals In cetaceans to know when to retire. Each Orca can be recognized by its unique dorsal fin, which would facilitate a record of sightings and interactions. Plus: Part of permits income would finance local patrols and training, establishing a sustainable model that prioritizes both conservation and education. Local tensions. However, the implementation of the plan is not exempt from controversy. Many captains and local families feel that they have not taken into account. Accuse that permits will end favoring large companies of Cabo and La Paz, displacing those who have lived from marine tourism for generations. In addition, they criticize that the plan is focused exclusively on The windowwhen both orcs and tourists already move throughout the peninsula. For SaadHowever, concentrating the regulation on the window is key to establishing a legal and operational precedent. “We can send the message that this is the only place where you can swim with orcs, and that is how it should be done. Everything else would be illegal.” A fine line. In summary, and despite the divisions, in the report they concluded that a large majority agrees that the solution is not to prohibit, but educate. Evans Baudinpioneer in this type of experiences and critic with the current “circus”, insists that the essential thing is to do things well: protect the orcs and continue offering respectful and safe encounters. For its part, the window is at a crossroads: either it becomes responsible tourism model or symbol of how a viral fashion can even damage the most imposing giants of the ocean. The success of the plan will depend not only on the rules imposed, but on the collective will to take care of what everyone says they want: creatures. Image | CICESE, Rennett Stowe In Xataka | Gladis orcas have been “attacking” ships in the waters of Spain since 2020. There is a new hypothesis: they get bored In Xataka | After expanding throughout the planet, touristification has reached Antarctica. And it is already taking its toll

Online trade was supposed to retire supermarkets. The reality is that in Spain they do not stop opening

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Despite all its uncertainties and The unknowns sown by the tariff war, 2025 promises to be a good year for the supermarket sector. At least if we trust Growth forecasts and shared figures A few days ago by Asedasthe Spanish Association of Distributors, Self -Services and Supermarkets. According to their estimates, during the first four months of the year 244 stores have opened in Spain, 25% more than during the same period last year. Not just that. The sector expects to say goodbye to 2025 with 850 new establishments. If confirmed, the map of establishments distributed throughout Spain could exceed the 26,000 barrier. A figure: 778. He arrives at the majority of cities and large municipalities in the country to verify the trend, but besieged, the employer of the sector, has put figures: In Spain there are more and more supermarkets. According to their latest annual report, in 2024 they opened 778 new stores that raised the total map of points of sale of the country (self -services, super and hypermarkets) to 25,585. Once the closures are discounted, that leaves a “Net growth” of 352 businesses with respect to those operated in 2023. And how will this year go? Although 2024 closed with a map of the sale map, the inaugurations rhythm was somewhat lower than that of recent years. In 2024, 778 openings were registered, but in 2023 they were 787 and the previous year 889. Asedas, which Agglutina To companies such as Savoramas, Aldi, Covirán, Día, Lidl or Mercadona, hope that this “slight descent” is “passenger”. The reason: So far this year the association has already registered 244 openings, 25% more than during the same months of 2024. Their forecasts pass because the year ends with 850 new premises. Changes in the sector. Beyond its opening data or the size of the National Park, The report Asedas is interesting because it leaves some ideas about the trends that govern in the sector. The most interesting probably is that the supermarket format “strengthens itself as the most successful”, compared to others such as self -service or hypermarket. The association also requires that more than half of the stores (about 50.6%) “They are framed in proximity and coexistence formulas.” Interesting is also the speed with which the market changes. Asedas estimates that since 2021 almost a quarter (23%) of the network has been renewed or renovated. For the collective the key to that “dynamism” connects mainly with associative trade, such as franchises and cooperatives, which in 2024 were behind approximately 60% of the openings. “They have a great impact on the rural world, since a third of these inaugurations occurred in municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants,” They emphasize. “Regional leaders”. Another of the keys to the growth of the sector is, In Asedas opinionin the “regional leaders.” In fact, in its report, the focus on 25 companies (audited in total 320 companies) that increased their average commercial area from 2021, which far exceeds the general tendency of the sector, which also grew, but only 4.3%, were audited. It is not the first to point in that direction. In 2024 Kantar He already pointed out in Another sectorial study How the super regional were planting the white brands and large chains. “In a context of market stability, the organized distribution sector has registered a 0.6% growth in volume during 2024, mainly driven by short assortment chains and regional supermarkets,” Kantar collected in February, in February Another report in which he calculates that regional ones have reached a quota of 18% after having grown 0.7 points. The reason: its supply of frescoes, personalized service and expansion to new geographical areas. Pending rural. Asedas slides another interesting idea: despite the urban exodus, their data shows that in Rural the retail Food continues to register more openings than closures. Between 2020 and 2024 he estimates that they have opened their doors 1,117 new stores In municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants, which means that almost a quarter (23.6%) of the openings were concentrated in rural environments. The employer also highlights the role of small businesses and family chains with networks of 10 or even less stores, although the truth is that smaller businesses do not always endure the thrust of the chains. Kantar slides That the growth of the “organized distribution sector”, including regional supermarkets, has been achieved in part by the “volume transfer” from the “traditional trade”, which has punctured almost 4%. Their February data They corroborate that operators with the highest market share in value are Mercadona, Carrefour, Lidl, Eroski, Dia, Consum, Alcampo, Aldi and IFA. Among the nine bind a quota that touches 70% of the market. In total Asedas estimates that the sector set has 25,585 active establishments (14,486 supermarkets, 10,589 self -service and 510 hypermarkets) that give direct employment to about 414,100 people. The annual investment in new construction of the Round collective between 1,000 and 1.3 billion of euros. Are all opportunities? No. Despite the opening data or the increase in the benefit (together the main companies added 2,141 million of euros in 2023, with an ascending profitability curve), the sector also faces challenges. The main one: although the business expect to growwill do it in a very competitive scenario. “In a market that barely grows in volume, the challenge is to gain share of other competitors. It requires having a clear and differential value proposal, which attracts and fidelize better to consumers and exploit roads of inorganic growth,” Comment to The avant -garde Enrique Porta, consumer partner and retail of the KPMG audit. Another key is to adapt to new market trends, such as less and less weight relative of the hyper, or adjust the size of the network to the demand. After all, although the sector expects to register hundreds of new openings throughout the year, which could even raise the points of sale above 26,000, Nor is it alien to closures, layoffs and readjustments. Images | Alcampo and Eroski In Xataka | In … Read more

China has an “island” that does not stop growing. His name is Chengdu and his secret is what he does not have: big salaries

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It would be said that there are two very different “Chinese” in terms of aspirations. On the one hand, we have that imposing image of the nation whose cities accumulate the greatest multimillionaires numberthe country that attracts talent With salariesand that is even putting in check to the Almighty Silicon Valley wallet. And then there is the other China, whose labor crisis He is impacting on Many young peopleand the stagnation of domestic consumption is making a dent in the economy. For that “second” China, there is a space that is becoming a refuge. His name is Chengdu, and not to grow. Welfare refuge. I told it in an extensive report The New York Times. In the midst of a Chinese economy marked by the stagnation of domestic consumption, labor uncertainty and a growing political repression, Chengducity of the southwest of the country with more than 2,300 years of history, it is emerging as a symbol of a new youth aspiration: living better, Even if he wins less. The payroll is not so important. Far from productive frenzy and the increase in housing that characterize megacities such as Shanghai, Shenzhen or Guangzhou, Chengdu has seen its population grow 30% in just five years, reaching the 21.5 million inhabitantsand its real estate market has become the most dynamic in the country, with a price increase 16.8% Since 2021. The secret? A relaxed lifestyle, its flourishing artistic scene, its emblematic pandas And, above anything else, its low cost of life, a recipe that makes it a magnet for young people tired of the urban “grind” and eager to reconnect with a more bearable existence, without completely renouncing opportunities. Disenchantment with the classic model. The Times explained That the decision to move to Chengdu is not only geographical: it is existential. The report counts cases of young people Like Emma Ma, That Beijing changed for an affordable apartment, a study of video clips and domestic help for $ 400 per month, or Treasure Wu, which left Shanghai after a “gray and oppressive experience”, cases that exemplify that generational turn. Under this prism, the idea that long working hours and high salaries justify a life sacrificed in congested cities begins to lose strength in front of a narrative where everyday well -being It matters more. Chengdu, formerly considered a lazy or uninformed city, now embodies an answer to the other China that, despite its Technological modernizationfails to offer guaranteed social ascent that lived previous generations, at least NO TO A PART. Reinvent yourself from the cultural. There is more, of course. He remembered the medium that despite offering fewer opportunities for professional promotion or competitive salaries, Chengdu has managed to capitalize on Your quality of life and its cultural legacy. As? From its huge LGTBQ+ community and its hip-hop scene to its bustling circuit of tea houses and Hot Pot restaurants, the enclave is perceived as a Oasis of expression and stability In times of uncertainty. To this is added its growing relevance in sectors such as Digital entertainmentaudiovisual production and e-sports, with successes Like Ne Zha 2 or video game studies that have promoted the local economy. Historically linked to national defense for its Strategic locationChengdu could now benefit from the turn that Xi Jinping wants to print to the Chinese economic model: a commitment to key industries Like semiconductors wave national production Advanced, far from foreign dependence. Thermometer of a national transition. If you want also, more than an urban anecdote, Chengdu’s boom serves as the thermometer of the internal tensions that policy to the second economy of the planet. On the one hand, it reflects a country that seeking balance between technological modernity and quality of life. On the other, it exposes the dissonance between An economic model Centered on export, which no longer yields as before, and the individual aspirations of millions that want much more than survive: They want to live well. As They pointed to the Times Several real estate analysts of the nation, Chengdu has something as simple to understand as difficult to achieve at the present time: it offers housing prices according to salaries, a luxury unthinkable in other large cities (Not only from China, of course), but that perfectly explains why so many seem willing to assume less lucrative jobs in exchange for time, space and community. End to the cult of sacrifice. Perhaps it is the last of the legs that should be analyzed. The Covid pandemia finished consolidating that transition. While Shanghai suffered endless confinementsChengdu It offered stability. What was previously judged as routine provincial It began to be seen as virtue. In Spain we also lived when we talked about Exodus and “Back to town”. But there it has remained. Today, what Chengdu represents goes beyond his pandas or his historical heritage: symbolizes a form of Quiet resistance and pragmatic against systemic exhaustion of a nation that is redefining its own values. In the words of analyst Huang Xue to the Times: “In times of uncertainty, people want to enjoy life when they can.” Thus, in that silent desire, the city aims to become, not only in China’s happiest city, but also in its most clairvoyant mirror. Image | Kristoffer Trolle In Xataka | The list of cities with more billionaires: China gives the definitive sorpasso and Asia Copa El Top 30 In Xataka | China is democrating its factories to produce cheaper. But not in India or Vietnam: in China

The new great models of generative the AI ​​do not stop delaying. It is a dangerous indication that we have touched the roof

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We expected to have GPT-5 available at the beginning of the year, but OpenAi gave us GPT-4.5. The generative AI model, which theoretically represented a remarkable leap with respect to its predecessors, ended up disappointing and the company announced that it will eliminate it from its API in July. It was too expensive and simply did not compensate. That was already a bad sign of AI advance, but there is more. And GPT-5, what? It was expected that GPT-5 will arrive in the middle of the year. Sam Altman has been creating Hypebut in December we knew that the arrival of that model was being problematic. The jump in benefits I wasn’t being expected And the cost of developing it is huge. What did they do in Openai? Delay it and launch in its place GPT-4.5 That, as we have seen, it was one of the great disappointments in the history of Openai. Bad signal one signal. Behemoth is delayed. As indicated In The Wall Street JournalGoal will delay the launch and deployment of its most ambitious model to date, call 4 Behemoth. This “monster” with 288,000 million active parameters (two billion in total) is the third member of the newly presented family calls 4. However, according to WSJ “Company engineers are having difficulties in significantly improving” their capabilities. It should have arrived in April, but now it is estimated that it will arrive in autumn, or even later. Frustration. Sources close to the company indicate that managers are frustrated with the performance of the team that is developing calls 4 Behemoth. “Significant management changes” are already contemplated that would raise internal movements (and who knows if layoffs) as a result of these bad results. And not that the available flame models 4 are having a good receptionlet it be said. Bad signal number two. Unbalanced. In WSJ also highlight how the first flame version was created by its fundamental research team, formed by academics and researchers. Since then 11 of the 14 researchers have left the company. Anthropic does not advance either. We also expected a “round” leap in Claude, the Chabot of the generative of Anthropic, but in February the company presented Claude 3.7. It is true that this model Yes offered striking benefitsbut at the moment its Opus version, the most ambitious, still does not appear, and nothing is known about Claude 4.0. Bad signal number three. Jumps not, at most jumps. What we are seeing in recent months are not significant leaps in the capacity of the models, but striking improvements only in some sections or effective characteristics. It happened with Gemini 2.5 Pro, especially powerful in programming and that has allowed Google to win integersbut also with Openai and the famous images that imitate Studio Ghibli Oa Grok 3, who has become more famous for his lack of censorship that for its accuracy or quality (which is not bad). Deceleration. All this triggers the debate on a potential “deceleration” of AI: the climb no longer seems to work so well, and that of using more GPUS and more data to train models is not offering the expected return. Jaime Sevilla, CEO of Cophai, I did believe That the rhythm of improvement was being expected, but these delays of course make the future progress of generative the AI ​​again. The agents and the AI ​​that “reason” are hope. The models with “reasoning” capacity Yes, they have allowed us to propose striking improvements in some areas, and companies have launched to present this type of variants and deep research modes For specialized uses. The other great hope of 2025 are the agents of AI capable of completing task sequences autonomously to solve a problem, even connecting to other services or data sources. At the moment we already have outstanding examples in the schedule of programmingbut practical applications for end users are limited. Image | Goal In Xataka | There are too many AI models. That raises a true death sentence for Anthropic and Claude

More than 6,000 employees will stop working at different levels and regions

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The shadow of the layoffs plans on the Redmond offices. Microsoft has announced that it will cut 3 % of its global workforce, a decision thatas explained by a spokesman to CNBCwill affect teams of all levels, divisions and regions. With a template of approximately 228,000 employees worldwide, the cut will affect more than 6,800 people. The company has stressed that it is not about layoffs for performance. The biggest adjustment since 2023. Although Microsoft has carried out several cuts in recent months, such as 1,900 layoffs at Activision Blizzard and Xbox last Septemberand others 1,500 in divisions like Azure and Hololensthis new adjustment is emerging as the broadest since the mass dismissal of 2023, When the company eliminated 10,000 positions. On that occasion, the cuts were linked to a general restructuring and the braking in the growth of certain areas not linked to artificial intelligence. The company itself recognizes that, since the integration of Blizzard Activision, it has had to readjust equipment and priorities to avoid overlaps. Reduce management layers to gain agility. “We continue to implement the necessary organizational changes to better position the company for success in a dynamic market,” said the spokesman. One of the specific objectives is to reduce management levels and simplify the organizational structure. It is not an isolated approach: Amazon has also recently eliminated layers considered unnecessary in its hierarchy. A contrast to good financial results. The announcement comes just a few weeks after Microsoft presented better results than expected. The company announced a net profit of 25.8 billion dollars in the last fiscal quarter, with solid growth in its cloud computing division. Azure was one of the trimester engines, driven in part by the demand for AI -linked services. The results exceeded expectations and helped reinforce market confidence. Images | Sam Torres In Xataka | People are completely obsessed with the ‘GTA VI’ trailer. And you are looking for clues and theories in every detail

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