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Petrol stations to adapt for EV future

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Petrol providers & convenience stores are strategically positioning themselves to thrive in an increasingly electric vehicle (EV) dominated future. With EV adoption on the rise, these stores are exploring the integration of innovative charging solutions to cater to the evolving needs of their customers.

Recognising the shift towards electric vehicles, gas station convenience stores are embracing the installation of EV chargers. This smart move not only caters to traditional fuel consumers but also attracts EV owners seeking a convenient charging spot. By offering rapid and accessible charging options, these stores are transforming into essential hubs for both fuel-based and electric vehicles.

Electric Era’s initial PowerNode EV fast charging stations are scheduled to become operational “in the upcoming weeks” at a Plaid Pantry store and a Space Age Fuels location in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, as stated in a press release. By the conclusion of 2023, the company plans to inaugurate over 10 stations dispersed across seven states.

Adapting to this changing landscape, gas station convenience stores are leveraging the opportunity to create a seamless and convenient experience for their customers. The inclusion of EV chargers not only boosts revenue but also positions these stores as forward-thinking establishments, aligning with the global sustainability drive.

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Nvidia plans new office, supercomputer collaboration in Taiwan

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announces plans for a larger Taiwan office and collaboration on a local AI supercomputer.

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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announces plans for a larger Taiwan office and collaboration on a local AI supercomputer.

In Short:
Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang announced plans for a larger office, “Nvidia Constellation,” in Taipei to accommodate the company’s growing engineering staff. The expansion aims to strengthen partnerships with local firms, reflecting Nvidia’s commitment to the booming AI industry in Taiwan.

Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang announced plans for a larger office in Taiwan during his keynote address at Computex 2025 in Taipei.

The company has secured a lease for a new property called “Nvidia Constellation” in northern Taipei. Huang highlighted the need for expansion due to the growth of Nvidia’s engineering staff, which has exceeded the current office space.

Nvidia is also partnering with local firms, including Foxconn, to develop a new supercomputer.

Huang explained the significance of these collaborations, as some representatives from Taiwanese tech companies attended his speech.

Large products

During the address, he mentioned, “It’s time for us to reveal one of the largest products we’ve ever built,” although he did not provide specifics on the project.

Despite the announcements, Nvidia has not disclosed the cost of the new office or its staffing capacity. The company has also not revealed the current number of employees in Taiwan.

Huang noted that the Taipei mayor aims to assess public support for Nvidia’s new office, which is expected to be housed in a new building.

This expansion reflects Nvidia’s commitment to growing its presence and operations in Taiwan amid a booming AI industry. The new office is expected to bolster Nvidia’s partnerships and resources in the region as they continue to lead in AI chip technology.

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AI’s future demand requires innovation and energy solutions

Schneider Electric highlights AI-driven growth, data centre demands, and sustainability during media briefing with NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang.

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Schneider Electric highlights AI-driven growth, data centre demands, and sustainability ahead of Computex 2025 launch.

In Short:
Schneider Electric discussed AI’s rapid growth and its demand for electricity, particularly for data centres linked to net zero targets. The event highlighted advancements in data centre technology and the need for collaboration to create sustainable power solutions.

Schneider Electric is ambitious in its pursuit of AI, aiming to revolutionise the delivery of sustainable energy and drive the growth of the sector.

AI is the main topic at Computex 2025. Despite being in its relative infancy, Pankaj Sharma says AI usage reached 100 million users in just two months, compared to seven years for the World Wide Web.

But this has led to an increasing demand for electricity production, especially for data centres, which is linked to net zero targets. The shift is leading to the creation of new businesses across various sectors, including fintech and healthcare.

Schneider Electric media briefing in Taipei ahead of the Computex 2025 conference.

‘AI factories’

Nirupa Chander discussed the uniqueness of AI data centres, explaining ultra power density and the importance of designing data centres today for future needs. Schneider Electric’s partnership with NVIDIA aims to facilitate discussions about the integration of power from the grid to data centres.

The Galaxy VXL, showcased at the event, features high-density uninterruptible power supply technology, along with advancements in cooling and on-site power generation. Collaboration across industries is crucial to achieve sustainable power architecture.

Rethinking infrastructure

Dion Harris from NVIDIA reiterated the growth trajectory for AI technologies, driven by models and usage cases in various fields. He pointed out that data centres are evolving into AI factories, necessitating a rethinking of traditional infrastructure.

Trent McCarley from Motivair mentioned the critical importance of liquid cooling for data centres.

Jensen Huang also announced plans for a new NVIDIA base in Taipei and an artificial intelligence supercomputer, highlighting Taiwan’s role as a vital technology hub amid changing global pressures.

Ticker News travelled to Taipei as a guest of Schneider Electric.

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A trial is testing ways to enforce Australia’s under-16s social media ban

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A trial is testing ways to enforce Australia’s under-16s social media ban. But the tech is flawed

De Visu/Shutterstock

Alexia Maddox, La Trobe University; Luke Heemsbergen, Deakin University, and My Le, Deakin University

Australia’s move to ban under-16s from social media is receiving widespread praise. Other countries, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore and Japan, are also now reportedly considering similar moves.

The ban was legislated in November 2024 and is due to take effect in December 2025. The law says social media platforms can’t use official IDs such as passports to check Australian users’ ages, and shouldn’t track Australians. But it doesn’t specify the alternative.

To test alternative methods, the federal government commissioned a trial of currently available technologies designed to “assure” people’s age online. Run by the Age Check Certification Scheme, a UK-based company specialising in testing and certifying identity verification systems, the trial is in its final stages. Results are expected at the end of June.

So what are the technologies being trialled? Are they likely to work? And how might they – and the social media ban itself – alter the relationship all of us have with our dominant forms of digital communication?

Dead ends for age verification

Age verification confirms a person’s exact age using verified sources such as government-issued IDs. Age assurance is a broader term. It can include estimation techniques such as analysing faces or metadata to determine if users meet age requirements.

In 2023 the federal government rejected mandating verification technologies for age-gating pornography sites. It found them “immature” with significant limitations. For example, database checks were costly and credit card verification could be easily worked around by minors.

Nonprofit organisation Digital Rights Watch also pointed out that such systems were easily bypassed using virtual private networks – or VPNs. These are simple tools that hide a user’s location to make it seem like they are from a different country.

Age assurance technologies bring different problems.

For example, the latest US National Academies of Sciences report shows that facial recognition systems frequently misidentify children because their facial features are still developing.

Improving these systems would require massive collections of children’s facial images. But international human rights law protects children’s privacy, making such data collection both legally and ethically problematic.

Flawed testing of innovative tech?

The age assurance technology trial currently includes 53 vendors hoping to win a contract for new innovative solutions.

A range of technology is being trialled. It includes facial recognition offering “selfie-based age checks” and hand movement recognition technologies that claim to calculate age ranges. It also includes bespoke block chains to store sensitive data on.

There are internal tensions about the trial’s design choices. These tensions centre on a lack of focus on ways to circumvent the technology, privacy implications, and verification of vendors’ efficacy claims.

While testing innovation is good, the majority of companies and startups such as IDVerse, AgeCheck, and Yoti in the trial, will likely not hold clout over the major tech platforms in focus (Meta, Google and Snap).

This divide reveals a fundamental problem: the companies building the checking tools aren’t the ones who must use them in the platforms targeted by the law. When tech giants don’t actively participate in developing solutions, they’re more likely to resist implementing them later.

Google recently proposed storing ID documents in Google Wallet for age verification.
nitpicker/Shutterstock

Unresponsive tech companies

Some major tech companies have shown little interest in engaging with the trial. For example, minutes from the trial’s March advisory board meeting reveal Apple “has been unresponsive, despite multiple outreach attempts”.

Apple has recently outlined a tool to transmit a declared age range to developers on request. Apple suggests iOS will default the age assurance on Apple devices to under 13 for kids’ accounts. This makes it the responsibility of parents to modify age, the responsibility of developers to recognise age, and the responsibility of governments to legislate when and what to do with an assured age per market.

Google’s recent Google Wallet proposal for age assurance also misses the mark on privacy concerns and usefulness.

The proposal would require people over 16 to upload government-issued IDs and link them to a Google account. It would also require people trust Google not track where they go across the internet, via a privacy-preserving technology that remains a promise.

Crucially, Meta’s social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram also do not let you login with Google credentials. After all, they are competitors. This raises questions about the usefulness of Google’s proposal to assure age across social media platforms as part of the government’s under-16s ban.

Meanwhile, Google is also suggesting AI chatbots should be directly targeted and available to children under 13, creating something akin to a “social network of one”, which are out of scope of the ban.

Rather than engage with Australian age verification systems, companies such as Apple and Google are promoting their own solutions which seem to prioritise keeping or adding users to their services, or passing responsibility elsewhere.

For the targeted platforms that enable online social interactions, delay in engagement fits a broader pattern. For example, in January 2025, Mark Zuckerberg indicated Meta would push back more aggressively against international regulations that threaten its business model.

A shift in internet regulation

Australia’s approach to banning under-16s from using social media marks a significant shift in internet regulation. Rather than age-gating specific content such as porn or gambling, Australia is now targeting basic communication infrastructure – which is what social media have become.

It centres the problem on children being children, rather than on social media business models.

The result is limiting childrens’ digital rights with experimental technologies while doing little to address the source of perceived harm for all of us. It prioritises protection without considering children’s rights to access information and express themselves. This risks leaving the most vulnerable children being cut off from digital spaces essential to their success.

Australia’s approach puts paternal politics ahead of technical and social reality. As we get closer to the ban taking effect, we’ll see how this approach to regulate social communication platforms offers young people respite from the platforms their parents fear – yet continue to use everyday for their own basic communication needs.

Alexia Maddox, Senior Lecturer in Pedagogy and Education Futures, La Trobe University; Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer in Communication, Deakin University, and My Le, Graduate Researcher, School of Communication and Creative Arts, Deakin University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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