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The impressive thing about BYD’s new 1,500 kW chargers is not that they are ultra-fast, it is that they work at -30 ° C

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When less than a year ago we tried the BYD 1MW charger designed for heavy vehicles and capable of providing energy to travel 400 kilometers in five minutes (although with small print), we remember from the words of Stella Li: equals “the experience of filling a tank of gasoline.” But BYD has upped his bet with the second generation of its Blade battery, which brings two notable advances under its belt: greater energy density and an unprecedented charging speed. The goal of Build Your Dreams is for you to be able to charge an electric car while you have a quick coffee. Context. BYD is the firm that in 2025 ousted Tesla as the brand that sells the most pure electric cars. Their arguments are incontestable: the most competitive prices and control of their entire manufacturing chain. Because Build Your Dreams manufactures its batteries, semiconductors and motors, which makes it the Apple of the automotive industry, an advantage in cost, expertise and customization that no Western rival can match today. The key piece of that domain is its Blade batteries. Unlike conventional Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt batteries, it uses Lithium-iron-phosphate: less energy dense but safer. And it eliminates intermediate modules, inserting the cells directly into the pack, which reduces components and makes better use of space. In short: cheaper, safer and more compact. The first generation supported fast charging from 30% to 80% in 25 minutes at 120 kW DC. The middle generation with Super e-Platform reached 1,000 kW. The new technology. What BYD has announced are two systems developed in parallel and better understood together: the battery and the infrastructure. Blade 2.0 maintains its LFP chemistry but arrives with a redesigned cell architecture to gain 5% more energy density. The real leap is thermal management: it has solved fast charging in cold climates, so that it is capable of managing its very fast charging even at temperatures of -30 °C. The flash stations. They operate at 1000 volts, setting a new threshold for ultra-fast charging in the industry, and reach up to 1,500 kW per gun. To get an idea, right now in Europe the top chargers charge at 400-500 kW and are a rarity for poles and cars. These stations bring a new T-shaped design and a comfortable layout for larger fleets. They have announced 20,000 points of this type in 2026, most integrated within existing charging networks. Why is it important. Because if there are two arguments against the electric car, they are a lower range than its combustion counterpart and charging time. Anything longer than filling the tank is seen as a stone in the shoe. BYD’s figures compete with refueling, although logically they depend on whether we are using a compatible charger and car. And within the particularity of electric car charging, the cold is the staunch enemy of fast charging, a problem to take into account and which is not at all trivial in markets such as northern Europe or Canada. If the figures are confirmed in real conditions, it is a turning point. Video of BYD charging at –30 °C. Via: Twitter In figures. The improvements of Blade 2.0 and its Flash stations: Charge from 10% to 70% in just 5 minutes. Charge from 10% to 97% in 9 minutes. Charge from 20% to 97% in 12 minutes at -30°C. Maximum power per gun: 1,500 kW at 1000 V. 20,000 charging points in 2026 (China). Extra bonus: launch of the EV with more autonomy, the Denza Z9 GT (2026): 1,036 km under the CLTC cycle. How have they done it. As explained Wang ChuanfuCEO of BYD, these high charging speeds would inevitably overload the electrical grid, so their solution involves energy storage batteries. The company plans to partner with existing charging networks under a “station within a station” model. The flash stations do not connect directly to the high-voltage electrical grid, but charge themselves using existing conventional fast charging networks (120 kW) so that the batteries act as a buffer, which speeds up deployment and reduces the cost of a new electrical installation. Regarding the improvement of battery performance, improvements in cells with greater energy density and advanced thermal management enable ultra-fast charging even when cold, minimizing battery degradation. Yes, but. Although the figures offered by BYD are impressive, especially in cold climates, we are waiting to confirm them in live tests in real environments. In addition, you must also read the fine print: BYD measures from 10% to 97%, not from 0% to 100%, it eats up part of that slow start at the bottom and reaches almost to the end, where it falls again. On the other hand, Flash stations and cars point to a closed ecosystem (at least initially), we will have to see how the scalability of the system is and if they reach Western markets. Finally, charging 1,500 kW sounds like bells for the impatient, but doing it regularly means subjecting the cells to significant thermal and electrochemical stress. In Xataka | The BYD Atto 3 EVO is confirmation that China works at a different pace: more battery and the same price correcting its big problem In Xataka | If we ask the CEO of BYD why BYD is losing steam abroad, his answer will be extremely simple. Cover | Xataka

that humanoid robots controlled by a central AI work

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Samsung has planted itself in the MWC 2026 with one objective: to demonstrate that it is a ubiquitous company. What does this imply? Well, let them gain muscle with your screens everywherebut also show a powerful commitment to artificial intelligence in all links of the chain: from mobile phones to Samsung Galaxy S26 to the factories. And as a result of that intention for AI to be the pilot of everything, they have shown a science fiction plan: that robots and a central AI control their factories. And they want it the day after tomorrow. Independent. He concept of “agent AI” It’s one that we’re going to have to become familiar with because companies are going to put a lot of effort – and money – into this. It is an AI that no longer only responds to what we need, but can carry out actions autonomously. In a releaseSamsung assures that that agent principle that has been introduced in the Galaxy S26 It will be what dictates the future of its factories. The South Korean company wants these artificial intelligence agents to be the ones that “optimize workflows in production, predictive maintenance, repair operations and logistics coordination” in its factories, but an AI cannot execute things outside of the software. Need a physical interfaceand that’s where the other leg of the plan comes into play. Robots. They are the body of the brain and something that many companies are already exploring. A few months ago I traveled to China and came across the first store run by a robot. It is very simple and I described it as a “glorified vending machine”, but it meets the objective of these companies: to have spaces in which robots take care of everything. They don’t rest, they don’t have agreements and they don’t complain. And if companies like BMW either Xiaomi is already testing robots in its factories, Samsung does not want to be left behind. In the statement, the South Korean company states that they are already progressively introducing highly specialized humanoid robots for various tasks. For example, robots for facility management operations, others for the next steps of the production line, others in logistics, others for the transportation of materials, and precision robots for manufacturing. They point out that they are ideal in environments where human access is limited or dangerous and they are clear that it is something that will grow, with other robots dedicated to monitoring plant conditions, identifying risks and mitigating them before they occur. Total bet. In the end, it is about fully integrating AI across the entire manufacturing value chain: from logistics to production; from quality inspection to final shipment. They are designing a “next-generation autonomous production environment,” and they want to have it soon. The plan is that by 2030, “all manufacturing operations” will have completed the transition to this agentic and robotic AI. They are already at it, as we say, adding robots to production chains, but Samsung’s Executive Vice President and Head of Global Technology Research points out that the next phase is the “construction of autonomous environments where AI understands contexts in real time and executes optimal decisions.” NVIDIA. It sounds like science fiction, especially because of the deadlines they have, but they will not be alone in this adventure. Who is going to be by your side? Indeed: NVIDIA. At the end of last year, both they signed an agreement collaboration that includes the deployment of more than 50,000 NVIDIA GPUs and the use of the platform Omniverse to carry out the infrastructure of digital twins in semiconductor manufacturing. This is key to achieving that goal that Samsung seeks and as important as the AI reasoning systems in real time for robots. And for this they are also using the Jetson Thor platform from Jensen Huang’s company. Alternative to TSMC. That is the goal that Samsung wants to reach. Because right now they are one of the largest factories in the world (they have their Exynos processorsbut also its camera sensors that are in various devices, as well as its division of memory that powers NVIDIA GPUs), but what they want is to become an alternative to the undisputed queen: TSMC. To do this, Samsung is moving, opening factories in several countries around the world and investing enormous sums of money to be one of the legs of the business in the United States which also pursues this agentic AI and the end with haste and a good wad of cash: general AI. There are four years left to see if this objective, which seems like science fiction, is met. Images | Samsung, Xiaomi In Xataka | I have seen the result of a crazy night between a mobile phone and a robot: the Honor Robot Phone dances to your music as well as takes photos of you

helps you work safer from wherever you are

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Although it’s not for everyone, I love being what is now known as a digital nomad. I’m not tied to an office or a desk: I can work wherever I want (as long as I have an Internet connection, of course). That freedom makes it easy for you, although I think it is worth taking certain precautions in terms of security. Nothing too complicated: specifically, use a VPN like this one from Surfshark. It’s worth it cost-benefit: It barely costs 1.99 euros per month if you take their two-year plan. Surfshark Starter Subscription – monthly The price could vary. We earn commission from these links More security on your devices for less than the cost of a coffee a month We have spoken to you many times about VPNsa type of tool that is very easy to use and that gives us an extra layer of security while browsing the Internet. There are free options, yes, but you have to be careful with the vast majority of them: They are not as safe as they promise. It makes no sense to use something to gain security and have it work against you. In that sense, it is worth investing in one of the best VPNs. Because? It is easy to understand with a practical example. You are traveling with your laptop and need to work for a while. You choose a cafe or coworking with its WiFi network, since it provides you with both a network and a place to sit. Nothing has to happen, but the reality is that you will not know the security of that network nor if there is someone trying to intercept data in it. That’s where it comes into play a VPN like Surfshark. With a click (because really, using a VPN is not much more mysterious), you will pass your traffic through an encrypted tunnel that will prevent anyone from intercepting your data. This way, you are protecting your data and, probably, also those of your clients. For this reason, it is worth investing a little in one that provides you with good service, that is secure, fast, and has plenty of servers to connect to. Let’s now talk about price. Surfshark is one of the VPNs that has the best quality-price ratio with the offer it has active right now: it costs 1.99 euros per month if we choose its 24-month plan. The simple calculation tells us that we will pay 53.73 euros for having 2 years of VPN, although in reality it is more: the company gives us three extra months, so in reality it will be 27 months in total. Does that seem little to you? By choosing the 1 or 2 year plan, you also get a whole year of Calm free, one of the best medication and relaxation apps out there. A very attractive price for a tool that, if you work everywhere, can be great for you. Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Joseph Frank on UnsplashSurfshark In Xataka | Why it is dangerous to connect to public Wi-Fi and what you should do to protect yourself In Xataka | Antivirus in Windows 11: what they are, differences between free and paid and the best for your PC

More and more Spaniards use AI in their daily work. They also fear losing their jobs because of it.

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Artificial intelligence has ceased to be a technological promise and has become something that more and more Spanish workers already have installed in their daily routine. Not long ago, talking about AI at work sounded like science fiction and, on many occasions, it was even seen like a trap at work. Today, the data tells a very different story and adoption not only growsbut it does so at a speed that surprises even the analysts themselves. A report from the InfoJobs platform highlights that in the last year not only has the percentage of employees who use AI in their work grown, but increasingly understands them better. It is increasingly used at work. According to the IV InfoJobs Artificial Intelligence Report63% of professionals in Spain regularly use AI tools in 2026. This figure represents an increase compared to the 52% recorded in the 2025 report and 50% in 2024. Within this increase in the presence of AI in the workplace, the report highlights that the spontaneous use of AI stands at 51%, 17 points more than in 2025. The data indicates that the difference between the total use of AI and that declared has been reduced from 18 to 12 points. That is, workers not only use AI more, but they also better identify what technology they have in their hands and what they can do with it. They have an AI and they know how to use it. In 2025, 48% of professionals said they did not know or did not know how to use AI tools. In 2026, that percentage has fallen to 28%, a reduction of 20 points in just one year. In this sense, the generation gap becomes more visible. Among those under 35 years of age, the declared use of AI reaches 63%, compared to 47% among those over that age. Mónica Pérez, Director of Communication and Studies at InfoJobs, summarizes it like this: “Artificial intelligence has gone from being an emerging technology to being progressively integrated into normal work processes. Beyond the increase in its use, the data reflects greater identification and awareness of the use of this tool by professionals, which points to an increasingly consolidated adoption in the work environment and a paradigm shift.” ChatGPT leads, machine translation goes down. Among the most used AI tools in Spanish companies, ChatGPT-type chatbots stand out, which have gone from 37% in 2024 to 52% in 2026 and already top the ranking of the most used. The integration of AI in design tools and as a programming assistant does not go unnoticed, with a significant increase in use in the workplace, standing at 17% and 16% respectively. For its part, automatic translation, one of the main uses of AI at work in 2025, it drops from 58% to 51%. The percentage of users who claim not to use any specific tool in their work has been reduced from 7% to 4%. All this fits with what is happening globally that, by eliminating friction at work, employees tend to take on more tasks, generating more fatigue and workload if it is not managed well. Fear of dismissal grows. Having a greater understanding of the potential of AI tools and knowing what they are capable of also increases the uncertainty about your future job. 39% of those interviewed for the InfoJobs report believe that AI will cause some specific layoffsalthough without replacing specialized work, a percentage higher than 30% in 2025. 23% predict more widespread substitution, while the same percentage considers that the workforce is not easily replaceable with AI alone. This perspective varies depending on presentation of your position to AI. Among those who already use AI regularly in their workplace, 46% see the scenario of specific layoffs as likely, compared to 26% of those who do not use it. The AI ​​gap between companies. According to the study ‘Digitization of the Spanish company‘ Prepared by the UGT union with data from the INE, 21.1% of companies with more than 10 workers used AI in 2025, which represents a considerable increase compared to the previous year in which 9.55% was registered. Among large companies with more than 250 employees, the percentage rises to 58.2%, an increase of 13 points year-on-year. The data from the report indicates that Spain exceeds the OECD and EU average in AI integration, with 20.3% of companies regularly using AI. However, Spain is still very far from the implementation of this technology in Denmark (42%), Finland (38%) or Sweden (35%). Despite the general increase in the use of AI, there is data that indicates that this progress is not being transferred to internal talent since the percentage of ICT specialists in companies it has been reduced from 16.44% to 15.67%, a figure that UGT describes as “unexpected and disturbing.” In Xataka | The biggest fear was that AI would take our jobs. The reality is that it is replacing those who are learning to work Image | Unsplash (Anastassia Anufrieva)

What is and how does the Google application work to take photos with filters from old camera rolls?

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Let’s explain to you what it is and how to use Snapseed Camerathe new camera application created by Google. This is a Snapseed feature that has so far reached the iPhone first, and it remains to be seen how long it will take to also reach Android. We are going to start the article by explaining what exactly this application is, or rather this function within an application. Then, we will tell you step by step how you can use it to give your photos a touch of personality. What is Snapseed Snapseed is an application created by Google to edit your photos and to be able to improve them. It is one of the oldest applications there is for this function, to edit all aspects of the photo such as brightness, contrast, saturation, etc., and also to crop it. One of the features that has always made Snapseed popular is that it is designed for one-handed use, with all settings being accessible and very easy to use with just your thumb. But of course, we live in times in which the processing of photos in the camera applications of any mobile phone already improves them automatically, so this type of applications has had to innovate. First, Snapseed has introduced a feature to enhance photos with AI without having to do anything. The app is simply responsible for making all the settings. And then, Snapseed Camera has also arrived. What is Snapseed Camera Snapseed Camera a feature within Snapseed. Specifically, it is a function for take photos directly with the appso it tries to be an alternative to the camera application on your mobile. The main feature of this camera is that it has preset filters to take the photo with them. You choose a filter, you see the result in a real image, and you decide to take the photo with them. But Snapseed Camera goes beyond that, because offers vintage camera filtersthose old photo reels. It also has some presets with preset settings, and allows you to make changes to textures and other types of adjustments before taking the photo, as if it were a professional camera. How to use Snapseed Camera To use Snapseed Camera, you have to enter the Snapseed app. In it, At the top right you have a camera iconand when you click on it you will go to Snapseed Camera with its options for taking photos. Now you will go to a screen where you simply have to slide to the sides to explore the filters of different movies that you have available. Every time you select a new one you will see the changes on the screen. And that’s it. Once you have selected the filter, you just have to take the photo and it will be added to the application gallery. You can also activate a pro mode to make changes to zoom and other aspects. In Xataka Basics | ChatGPT Images: what it is and how to use it to create images with artificial intelligence from your photos

AI agents have indeed changed work and the economy forever. But for now only in one sector: programming

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AI agents are beginning to demonstrate their capabilities, but the only area in which they do so is programming. An Anthropic report reveals how software engineering is where half of the activity of AI agents is currently concentrated, and that proves two things. The first, that AI can effectively enhance work. The second, that there is a huge opportunity for hundreds of verticals where AI has barely landed. what has happened. If there is a sector that has embraced AI and AI agents, it is programming. Platforms like Cursor or WindSurf first and like Claude Code, OpenAI Codex or Antigravity today have made all kinds of people —whether they know programming or not— can turn their projects into reality in a really simple way. It’s a clear case of how AI can contribute to a field, but there’s a problem: it’s practically the only case where it has actually done so. Distribution of requests to AI tools by segment. Software engineering is almost responsible for 50% of those calls or requests, at least in the case of the Claude platform. Source: Anthropic. Verticals with a lot of margin. As can be seen in this graph, the presence of AI agents is very reduced or practically non-existent in a large number of verticals in which it is evident that there is a notable opportunity to take advantage of these tools. The automation of office tasks is the second main protagonist with 9.1% of the function calls of the Anthropic AI model in this report. Below it we find segments such as marketing, sales, finance, business analysis or scientific research. And others who are ignoring AI. There are quite a few sectors in which AI agents seem to be barely present. The travel, legal, medical, e-commerce or education segments seem perfect to start taking advantage of these tools, but at the moment this is not the case and this presence is very, very small in all of them. Claude Code can work longer and longer. Double what it was three months ago, in fact. Source: Anthropic. Models can now work autonomously for a long time. In these scenarios it is true that the models used to be limited by the time they could function autonomously and “chain” actions and self-analyze progress to continue acting. That’s not so true now. Claude Code, for example, has doubled the time of his longest sessions in just three months: from 25 minutes in October 2025 to 45 minutes in January 2026. And they need less human intervention. Another of the revealing data of the study is that the evolution of these agents not only means that they can function autonomously for longer periods of time, but that this also implies fewer human interventions. Those situations in which an agent “needs human help” to continue with the process are becoming limited. In August 2025, the average was 5.4 human interventions per session. In December that average dropped to 3.3 interventions. We trust more and more in AI. At Anthropic they have also noticed a unique behavior among users: they are increasingly trusting AI agents. In programming, novices approve each new step before it is executed, but veterans delegate and intervene when something goes wrong: they have gone from pre-approving everything to exercising active and constant monitoring. As they say at Anthropic“Users develop confidence as they work with the model, and change their monitoring strategy based on that growing confidence.” From programming to other fields. What has happened with programming could happen in other scenarios. The challenge is to build AI agents that adapt to each segment using that specific data from said vertical. If an AI wants to help in the legal segment, it must be specifically trained for that segment. What the AI ​​did when trained with thousands of code repositories on GitHub It was learning and improving. Well, the same can be applied to other verticals, although the challenge is certainly notable because programming was a perfect segment for the application of AI: it is very deterministic. It either works or it doesn’t, and whether it does or not, execution logs allow you to fine-tune that operation. The new unicorns await. As entrepreneur Garry Tan points out in your newsletterin the last two decades SaaS platforms have managed to capture 40% of venture capital investments and that industry has more than 170 unicorns. “The thesis is simple,” Tan concludes, “all of those unicorns have an equivalent in the form of vertical AI waiting.” Promises and realities. The AI ​​agent segment therefore promises many changes in a multitude of segments, but the reality is that today the practical success (there is no economic success at the moment) of AI is limited to the world of programming. Will we be able to transfer it to other segments? The opportunity is there, but it is one thing to say it, and quite another to do it… even if it is with AI. Image | Joshua Reddekopp In Xataka | Every time Facebook had a competitor, it bought it: it is exactly the same thing that OpenAI is doing

Many people believe that politics “doesn’t work.” For some the solution is to elect public officials by lottery

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Beyond the fact that it can solve your life with a few million euros, the lottery – in lower case, as a general concept – offers some interesting characteristics. One of them, and not the least, is that, in its own way, it is incorruptible. If applied well, there is no human way to circumvent it. Chance plays its role and smiles at some or others in a totally random way, regardless of whether they have spent a fortune on your organization. Another is that, precisely for that reason, it is totally democratic. In the bass drum there is no ball with a greater chance of coming out than another. With such a cover letter, the question we could ask ourselves is: Would a democracy work based on draws, on randomness? Would it work a “lotocracy”? Neither the question nor the term are new. Not at all. What’s more, the Athenians – pioneers par excellence in democratic governments – considered something similar a couple of centuries before our era, when they used lots to elect some public positions. The same mechanism continued to work in certain cases and with conditions throughout history. A formula with history… and supporters We find it in cities of what is now Italy during the Middle Ages and also in the Renaissance; but it declined in the 17th century, with the representative systems. From a formula similar to the one we continue to use today to choose the presidents of the neighborhood communities, we moved to another that, at least on paper, aspires to choose the best for public positions. In a 21st century with the system riddled by corruption and clientelist networks, there are, however, those who advocate recovering the philosophy of “lotocracy.” In the academic sphere we find respected voices, such as that of the philosopher Alex Guerrero, the political scientist Helene Landemore or the historian David Van Reybrouck that invite, at least, to dwell on its virtues. Beyond the tribunes and atriums of the universities there are also movements, such as Sortition Foundationwho advocate a formula that wants to place the citizen in the center of political decision making. “By selecting representative groups of ordinary people by lottery and bringing them together in citizens’ assemblies we can break the stranglehold of career politicians on decisions and circumvent powerful vested interests,” Sortition advocatewith headquarters in the United Kingdom, Austria and the United States, before putting the finger on one of the great problems of modern democracies: the “disillusionment” and “distrust” that the political class arouses. You don’t have to go to the English-speaking world to find it. In Spain, the CIS places corruption, fraud and the behavior of public officials among the main concerns of citizens, even ahead of education or housing. 19th-century painting by Philipp Foltz depicting the Athenian politician Pericles before the Assembly. According to the Sortition registry, there are a good handful of initiatives verified by the OECD throughout the world that, in the style of open assembliesshare or have shared their philosophy of empowering neighbors. In Spain, several are identified, such as the participatory platform Madrid decideswhich was created with the aim of presenting proposals, achieving participatory accounts and voting in citizen consultations; G1000also located in the capital; either Besaya Citizen Jurywhich proposes ways to use European funds in the Besaya basin. Beyond the isolated initiatives that seek to reinforce the political weight of citizens, can a system recover, the lotocracythat –as collected by Leandro Omar El Eter— was conceived as “a form of government that promotes access to public office through lottery”? Pablo Simonpolitical scientist and editor of Politikonremembers that the formula of democracy by lottery has little new, but points out the advantages that could be brought by “exploring” a hybrid model, which combines its strengths with those of the current system, as in the irish constitutional conventionformed in 2012 to discuss proposals for amendments to the nation’s charter and which included, among other members, randomly selected people. There, in Ireland, the citizens’ assembly served, for example, to address complex problems, such as the legalization of abortion. The United Kingdom also verified its usefulness, with a forum of 108 people which, after weeks of debate, prepared a report with a battery of proposals to fight climate change. “I find it interesting to explore this system in combination. For example, the experience of the irish constitutional convention. In those cases the draw was hybridized with the representatives. If we created more forums or spaces with citizen raffles and they were allowed a part of the management, it wouldn’t seem bad to me. Just as we have participatory budgets or the ILPsthat a part of the budget could be managed by a committee chosen by citizens at random, but with technical support. I think we should explore these types of things because it would help people feel more connected to the institutions,” reflects Simón. The key, there is plenty, would be to find “a good design”: “Knowing how it would be done, with whom and what powers or powers would be given to that body chosen by lot. Always looking for combinations that allow correction, returning to a model in which this mechanism of direct citizen participation has a greater perception of accountability, of closeness.” Weaknesses and strengths The system in its purest form, of course, has its strengths and weaknesses. Among the first, the political scientist insists on its fully democratic character. “There is no electoral rule more radically democratic than the lottery and this is because basically it is assuming that everyone is competent to perform the functions of government,” he explains. What does it mean for that to be so? From the outset, it greatly complicates one of the great evils of the current system: clientelism, the networks of supporters that end up forming around those who hold political power. How to do it when someone who holds a position does so by chance and without guarantees that they will retain it? “It is a … Read more

What they are, what types there are and how the automated ones work with or without artificial intelligence

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Let’s explain to you what is a workflow or work flowan increasingly popular type of automation. This is something that has been possible for some time with specialized tools, but they have taken a new step with the inclusion of artificial intelligence. These workflows allow you to create quite interesting and advanced automations. We have already taught you some, such as when you receive an email in Gmail the AI ​​processes it and You will receive a summary by Telegram so you don’t need to open or read the email. What is a workflow or work flow? A workflow is the term we use to define a structured sequence of steps, tasks, or processes programmed to achieve a specific objective. This process may have more or fewer steps depending on the goal you want to achieve. In essence, it is like a chain of tasks that you can configure. That is why it is a workflow, because to reach the objective you have to carry out one task after another in the order that you have configured, using the results of each of the steps for the next. The term workflow or workflow can be used in various contexts. In the business world it can be something as simple as a sequence of actions that employees perform, such as me requesting vacation days, the boss reviewing and approving them, and then human resources being notified to record it in the system. But at Xataka Basics we are going to talk to you about them especially in a context of software and tools for automate the completion of tasks through several steps. With them, you can increase productivity and reduce the time it takes to do various tasks, whether focusing on domestic actions or for the business world. There are several types of workflow There are several types of workflow, such as the sequential oneswhich are a chain in which the task is completed in each of the steps before jumping to the next. They are also the parallelsin which multiple tasks run at the same time and then converge to save time. You also have the workflows conditionalsin which there are certain rules. If one thing happens, then this task is performed, and if it does not happen or something else happens, it goes to different steps. And then there are automated workflows that are carried out using software, and that serve to reduce human errors and improve the speed at which tasks are completed. These They can use or not use artificial intelligence depending on the task you want to perform. These automated workflows are typically performed with digital tools, such as Zapier either Make.com. Depending on the volume of actions and complexity, you will then be able to use free accounts or you will have to pay a subscription to use them. How automated workflows work The tools to create automated workflows are like blank canvases on which you build the steps of your automation, although They also have template systems to help you with the processes and give you ideas of things you can do. You can use these linking the tool to the online services you want to usewhich can be anything from your email service to an artificial intelligence system to process information. When linking these services, depending on the tool, you will need to simply log in and grant access, or configure access using the API key of this service. It all depends on the goal you want to achieve and the steps you want to take or the method you want to use. When you are going to create a workflow Using these tools, the service you use will allow you to choose what you want to do at each step. Depending on the linked services, you can decide how to manage the information and what type of information to process. If you add an AI you can customize the prompt, and then decide what happens at the end of the chain. The first step of a workflow is a trigger or “trigger”, is the action that launches the process. This can be manual, you click on the launch button and it does the tasks, or automatic, such as receiving an email or a message with certain characteristics. And then from there you build each of the steps until you reach the end, where you can make decisions such as sending yourself an email with the result, linking a service like Google Drive so that the result generates or edits a text document or data sheet, or setting up a bot in apps like Telegram to send you a message. Be careful with privacy When you are going to use automated workflows You should be aware that you may put your privacy at risk. For example, if you add Gmail you must keep in mind that all the emails that the workflow uses will be obtained by the website or service you are using, so be careful about using sensitive content. Additionally, if you are using an AI to process content or Telegram to notify you, please note that messages and content are They will also be stored on the companies’ servers who manage them. This is the same thing that will happen to you with AI or with many private tools that you use, and I am not saying this to discourage you from using them, but so that you are aware of it when choosing whether or not you need a workflow for that task. In Xataka Basics | What is Claude Cowork, how it works, and what things you can do with this AI assistant on your computer

they want those who receive it to work to maintain it

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The new minister president of land Saxony-Anhalt (equivalent to an autonomy in Spain), the social democrat Sven Schulze, has shaken the social debate in Germany with a controversial proposal: that the beneficiaries of the Bürgergeldthe German basic unemployment income, carry out community work for municipalities to “compensate” the aid and maintain the subsidy. The German right sees this as a way to reinforce the individual responsibility of those who receive the benefit, but experts warn of the legal and practical obstacles that would be involved in forcing beneficiaries to carry out this community work. Schulze’s idea. He newly elected Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt from the end of 2025 and member of the CDU (the German conservative party), launched his proposal in an interview with the diary Bild am Sonntag: that the people who receive the Bürgergeld (unemployment benefit), do useful tasks for their town councils and communities. “There are services that can be provided and that are justified by the money received. For example, volunteering in a community, raking leaves or removing snow in winter. Why can’t healthy people who are currently unemployed also do it?” declared the German politician. According what was published by Die ZeitSchulze is so convinced of his idea that he plans to test it first in his region of eastern Germany, criticizing the federal government’s bureaucratic excuses for not imposing it generally. He Bürgergeld and jobs at one euro. He Bürgergeld (literally, citizen money) is the basic economic aid that Germany has been giving since 2023 to those who have already exhausted their unemployment benefits and they have no income sufficient, replacing controversial Hartz IV (officially Arbeitslosengeld II). This benefit covers basic needs such as food, rent and clothing that are calculated at about 563 euros per month per person while they find a job. For their part, the so-called “one euro jobs”: these are subsidized temporary jobs where the State adds between 1 euro and 2.60 extra euros per hour to the employee’s minimum wage in tasks of public interest such as park maintenance or social assistance. That is, these “one euro jobs” would act as a complement to the unemployment benefit they already receive. The problem: in Germany you can choose your job. Schulze’s proposal involves making “one euro jobs” go from being voluntary to mandatory for those who receive unemployment benefits (except for the sick or new parents). This measure revives the old demands of Carsten Linnemann, general secretary of the CDU, who since 2023 has been calling for a reform that allows those who have been receiving aid for more than six months to be obliged to do community work. The main problem with this claim is that, to apply it, it would be necessary to modify the German Constitution. The German Magna Carta details in its article 12 that citizens have the freedom to choose employment and prohibits forced laborexcept in public emergencies or judicial penalties. So the unemployed cannot be forced to work against his will. Doubts about the effectiveness of this measure. The IAB Institute analyzed in 2023 jobs at one euro and concluded that they give structure and routine to unemployed people far from the labor market, but they have a negative impact on those who have options to reintegrate into the labor market since the time they must dedicate to these community jobs is not being invested in looking for stable employment. The CDU argues that the measure would free up municipal budgets and teaches the value of the effort, but opponents see it as a stigma for the most vulnerable employees, ignoring root problems such as lack of training. The political debate in Germany. With the CDU/CSU strengthened after the last federal election, conservative leaders such as Friedrich Merz call for cuts in subsidies for those who reject job offers. Towns like Barnim (Brandenburg) or Greiz They are already testing local versionsalthough with lawsuits for illegality. From progressive positions, SPD and Greens call it demagoguery that distracts from investing in education and daycare and accuse the CDU of promoting precarious jobs for 80 cents an hour. In Xataka | Collect unemployment benefits and a salary simultaneously. The new reform makes it possible, but with conditions Image | Unsplash (Christian Wiediger, Eva Evada)

“The more times you are late for work, the harder it will be for the company to fire you”

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Arriving late to work every day, leaving before your time or committing various irregularities in your day can cause your company to give you a warning, sanction you or, in the most serious cases, even apply a disciplinary dismissal for breaching the conditions you accepted in your employment contract. However, as labor lawyer Juanma Lorente highlights in one of his recent videosif you do it repetitively and the company does not warn you for it, that violation can become your best ally to protect you from disciplinary dismissal. Being late is bad, but it can protect you. The labor expert explains in his video a legal paradox in which the company’s inaction can turn an infraction into the best defense for a worker against a legal claim for disciplinary dismissal. The lawyer explains the situation with a very simple example: “Imagine that you have been late to work for 2 years. 5, 10 or 15 minutes and the company does not tell you anything. You arrive and sign in with the real time at which you are arriving and the company tolerates it. From one moment to the next, after two years of arriving late, you find a dismissal letter in which they fire you for arriving late.” According to Lorente, this dismissal would be unfair because the company allowed the “habit” of being late for two years, without reacting in all that time. The expert assures that this inaction represents a tacit permissiveness of that conduct, which is why it could not be used as a reason for dismissal before a judge. Silence gives consent. Although it may be incongruous, since the employee’s violation is effectively proven, the repetition of this behavior without a response from the company is known as corporate tolerance. As and how do they count From the Lex-it law firm, this case occurs when a company is aware of the worker’s repeated infraction, such as repeated delays, but does not sanction it for a long time. This means that a subsequent dismissal for the same reason is seen as unfair by the judges, since the company seemed to accept it and “tolerate” the infraction. As the labor lawyer points out, “If he has not previously sanctioned you for the same thing, has allowed it and has tolerated it, he will not be able to use it to fire you.” ​This principle forces companies to follow a scale of sanctions that is applied from the first infraction of employees: from a simple specific warning to suspensions, before reaching disciplinary dismissal. Ignoring this scale of warnings means that the company cannot allege it as a “direct” reason for dismissal because, according to the court, the company tolerated this behavior. The Supreme Court has already applied it. The Supreme Court has confirmed this doctrine in several rulings in which disciplinary dismissals have been rejected because companies have cited infractions as reasons for dismissal that they have tolerated for years without any warning. The result in all cases has been to reject the disciplinary dismissals and declare them unfair dismissals with compensation of 33 days per year worked, despite it being proven that, in fact, the employee had been committing a violation of the conditions for a long time. In one of those sentencesthe Supreme Court states: “Sanctioning with the greatest severity (disciplinary dismissal) conduct that had previously been tolerated, without any prior warning to the employee that such tolerance was going to end, would be contrary to the employer’s good faith.” ​A practical example: he was late 176 times. A very clear example of this legal paradox is found in the case of the employee of an optician in Asturias who arrived late to her job up to 176 times without the company reprimanding her for it. When the company informed him of his disciplinary dismissal, the Superior Court of Justice of Asturias considered it “irrational, disproportionate and incongruous.” The reason was that the company had demonstrated business tolerance by allowing 176 delays without warning or sanctioning the employee, and resorting directly to disciplinary dismissal. In Xataka | Going to the bathroom is not work: a Swiss court allows a company to force its employees to clock in when they go to the bathroom Image | Unsplash (Campaign Creators)

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