Latest news with #BenLee
BBC News
15 hours ago
- BBC News
Italy hiker Matthew Hall was 'relaxed' before going missing
A British hiker "sounded relaxed" prior to going missing in Italy, a friend has Hall, from Hull, was staying at the B&B Ploncher hotel when he disappeared from Chiavenna, Lombardy, on 9 a last text sent to friend Jacob White on the day he went missing, Mr Hall had told him he thought he had taken "a wrong turn" on a trail and was "having a rest".Friends of the 33-year-old, including five of his colleagues from Quickline, a broadband provider in Willerby, East Yorkshire, have flown to Italy to join the search. Mr White said he received a text from Mr Hall at 13:37 BST on 9 said Mr Hall "sounded relaxed" in the text and was asking him about his own holiday in White added that his friend "sounded as if any danger he might have seen was over". Speaking from Italy, Mr Hall's close friend, Ben Lee, said: "We're here on the ground doing everything we can to help find him."We spoke to the B&B owner who was really helpful and helped us narrow down the hiking routes."There are now five main rescue teams and three helicopters searching for Matt."Friends said permission had also been granted for a drone to be used in the Lee added that "everyone is working so hard" and "around the clock" and the "efforts haven't gone unnoticed"."We just want our friend found, we miss him and we aren't giving up."His family are staying strong back home and we're in constant contact." Mr Hall has worked as an engineer for Quickline since January company said he was a "well-liked colleague" and confirmed that five staff members had travelled to Italy to assist in the search.A Quickline spokesperson said: "We remain in close contact with Matt's family and are doing all we can to support them during this incredibly difficult time."Our thoughts are with Matt and his loved ones, and we are all hoping for a safe and positive outcome."A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are supporting the family of a British man missing in Italy and are in contact with the local authorities." Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
News.com.au
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Singer Ben Lee has given Aussie music tastemakers an epic serve for failing to back new artists
Ben Lee should run for president of Australian music. The outspoken singer and songwriter has given the local industry another epic serve for its failure to 'hype' cutting-edge homegrown artists who are killing it overseas, unless they are 'toppermost of the poppermost'. Lee said international tastemakers and music fans are backing our alternative artists – including Amyl and the Sniffers, Ecca Vandal and Radio Free Alice – even as they struggle for mainstream attention at home. He cited the example of singer-songwriter and rapper Ecca Vandal, who he had been turned onto by Red Hot Chili Peppers legend Flea, and is currently recording at New York's legendary Electric Lady Studios with Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker. 'This artist has got some international momentum going on, right? I'm not hearing people in the Australian music industry talking about it, and it really highlights for me how this is such an ongoing issue, where Aussie artists that don't fit the pop mainstream kind of get discovered by overseas audiences and overseas parts of the industry, and Australia doesn't get behind it,' he said. Lee said Amyl and the Sniffers, who slayed at Coachella this year and have been tapped by AC/DC to open on their stadium tour in November, built its audience overseas first before 'Australia really paid attention'. The singer also mentioned Radio Free Alice, Party Dozen and Quivers as emerging artists stirring buzz internationally while barely rating a mention on local radio and music blogs or in industry circles. He said one of the big problems for homegrown artists was Triple J is was now a 'commercial music radio station' rather than champions of the next big thing. 'That's fine, they can be that, but we don't have a KCRW in LA or BBC Radio 6 in the UK that actually celebrate things that are cutting edge, (and) not just because they might have the next No. 1 hit,' he said. 'We only know what to do with things that are going for the toppermost of the poppermost.' Lee has been on a mission to call out what's wrong with the Australian music industry as it struggles to turn local audiences onto underground artists and scenes. He warned our culture would lose its edge if it didn't start backing new artists or forced them 'to go pop', the default position of the major record labels. The Awake Is The New Sleep star said he was a victim of this 'pop' mindset in his early career when he was considered an alternative artist before breaking into the mainstream charts. 'We stand at constant risk of losing our most radical and interesting artists unless they go pop, and I felt that in my own career,' he said. 'I'm not saying I was like so avant-garde, but I didn't have a hit until my fourth record. (And) the support that got me there all came internationally. 'Australia needs a pathway where we can get behind artists that actually offer alternatives and aren't designed to be funnelled into the top 10.' ARIA announced drastic changes to the charts this week which will boot off songs and albums that are more than two years old in an attempt to flush more new Aussie music into the top 50.
ABC News
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Ione Skye on surrendering her past and forgiving herself
Gen X It girl, Ione Skye was named for the Scottish island where she was conceived, before her enigmatic folk singer father, Donovan abandoned the family before she was born. A string of stepfathers couldn't remedy her fundamental abandonment and Ione grew up surrounded by creative types who flowed freely through her mother's house in Los Angeles. Following her beloved older brother into the world of acting and modelling, Ione had an early start in Hollywood and it led her to a full, messy life in which she starred alongside the likes of River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves and John Cusack. When she was only a teenager, she began a relationship with Anthony Keidis, the lead singer of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, who was addicted to heroin. This dysfunctional relationship led to Ione's marriage to the first great love of her life, Adam Horovitz of The Beastie Boys, and a period of time she describes as her 90s daydream. This happy period devolved as Ione joyfully and remorsefully explored her bisexuality and the infidelity eventually ended the marriage. Today Ione is happily married to Australian musician, Ben Lee and has two daughters. Further information Say Everything is published by HarperCollins. Find out more about Ione Skye and Ben Lee's creative project, Weirder Together, online. Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website.
Qatar Tribune
05-06-2025
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
Reddit sues Anthropic over AI training data
Agencies Social media platform Reddit sued the artificial intelligence giant Anthropic on Wednesday, claiming that it is illegally 'scraping' the comments of millions of Reddit users to train its chatbot Claude. Reddit claims that Anthropic has used automated bots to access Reddit's content despite being asked not to do so, and 'intentionally trained on the personal data of Reddit users without ever requesting their consent.' Anthropic said in a statement that it disagreed with Reddit's claims 'and will defend ourselves vigorously.' Reddit filed the lawsuit Wednesday in California Superior Court in San Francisco, where both companies are based. 'AI companies should not be allowed to scrape information and content from people without clear limitations on how they can use that data,' said Ben Lee, Reddit's chief legal officer, in a statement Wednesday. Reddit has previously entered licensing agreements with Google, OpenAI and other companies that are paying to be able to train their AI systems on the public commentary of Reddit's more than 100 million daily users. Those agreements 'enable us to enforce meaningful protections for our users, including the right to delete your content, user privacy protections, and preventing users from being spammed using this content,' Lee said. The licensing deals also helped the 20-year-old online platform raise money ahead of its Wall Street debut as a publicly traded company last year. Anthropic was formed by former OpenAI executives in 2021, and its flagship Claude chatbot remains a key competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT.
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Business Standard
05-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Reddit sues Anthropic for using user content to train AI without consent
Social media platform Reddit has filed a lawsuit against artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic, alleging that it illegally scraped user-generated content to train its chatbot, Claude. The suit was filed on Wednesday in the California Superior Court in San Francisco. Reddit claims Anthropic used automated tools to extract posts and comments from its platform despite explicit instructions not to do so. It says the content was then used to train Claude without proper user consent or licences. Ben Lee, Reddit's chief legal officer, criticised the alleged data practices, stating, 'AI companies should not be allowed to scrape information and content from people without clear limitations on how they can use that data.' He said Reddit is committed to protecting its user community, which generates one of the internet's largest bodies of discussion content. Legal partnerships cited as contrast Reddit, which went public last year, pointed to its existing licensing agreements with companies like OpenAI and Google as examples of lawful collaboration. These partnerships, the company said, include mechanisms to remove content, filter spam, and protect users. 'These partnerships allow us to enforce meaningful safeguards for our users,' said Lee, underscoring the contrast with what Reddit describes as Anthropic's unlicensed use of its data. Anthropic rejects charges, prepares defence Anthropic, founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees and backed by Amazon, denied the allegations. 'We disagree with Reddit's claims and will defend ourselves vigorously,' the company said in a brief statement. Focus on breach of contract, not copyright While many AI-related lawsuits centre on copyright violations, Reddit's case focuses on breach of contract and unfair business practices. It argues that Anthropic violated Reddit's terms of service by accessing data without authorisation. The filing cites a 2021 research paper co-authored by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, which named Reddit as a valuable training resource. Subreddits on gardening, history, and personal advice were specifically mentioned for teaching AI how humans communicate. Anthropic has previously maintained its use of public data is legal. In a 2023 letter to the US Copyright Office, the company stated that its training involves statistical analysis rather than content replication.
