Latest news with #BenSpencer
Wales Online
6 days ago
- Business
- Wales Online
MPs vote to continue parliamentary ping-pong over AI ‘theft' crackdown
MPs vote to continue parliamentary ping-pong over AI 'theft' crackdown Conservative shadow science minister Dr Ben Spencer, who described himself as a "Bill Murray fan", called on the Government to "bring an end to this Groundhog Day" MP for Runnymede and Weybridge, Dr Ben Spencer (Image: SurreyLive/Will Bradley ) MPs have voted to continue a stand-off with the Lords over how to stop "theft", when AI models learn from creatives' content. Conservative shadow science minister Dr Ben Spencer, who described himself as a "Bill Murray fan", called on the Government to "bring an end to this Groundhog Day". Peers agreed on Monday to amend the Government's Data (Use and Access) Bill. Their proposal would force the Government to prepare fresh legislation which would open up AI model databases, so that copyright owners could see whether their works have been used as "data inputs". But MPs voted 317 to 185, majority 132, on Tuesday to reject the amendment and continue the battle at Westminster, known as parliamentary ping-pong. Rocket Man singer Sir Elton John is among the stars who have urged the Government to strengthen copyright protections, when he said last month that ministers are "absolute losers" and that he felt "incredibly betrayed". Article continues below Dr Spencer told the Commons: "Copyright law is a toothless instrument if the lack of transparency about the use of create content in AI models continues. "The lack of transparency renders rights enforcement elusive, and the Government is apparently happy for this to persist on an open-ended basis." At the despatch box, he added: "Creatives continue to lose out when their work is exploited without payment, the AI industry, especially smaller firms, can't get out of the starting blocks let alone play their part in turbocharging our tech economy, and the Government continues to risk the confidence of both key industries with the chilling effect on investment that this entails." On the stand-off, Dr Spencer told the Commons: "We're stuck in Groundhog Day in this Bill until the Government realises that the Lords' amendments are not a nuisance but an opportunity, and that they need to listen to the concerns and change course." Conservative former minister Sir Julian Smith later said: "There is no time commitment from the Government benches whatsoever on bringing back a Bill to this House to address the current theft of property that is raining down on the UK creative industries." Technology minister Sir Chris Bryant had earlier spoken against the amendment, which was put forward by Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason director Baroness Kidron. "One could argue that introducing a draft Bill which would then be considered in various different places, followed presumably by a Bill, would actually delay things rather than speed things up," Sir Chris told the Commons. He said that he "cannot think of any Bill in our history that has included such a clause", to compel the Government to bring forward new draft legislation within three months of the publication of a report into the use of copyrighted works in the development of AI systems. Sir Chris told MPs: "A central plank of parliamentary sovereignty is no parliament can bind its successor. Article continues below "That doesn't just mean from one parliament to another, but it means one session can't bind a future session." Commons culture, media and sport committee chairwoman Dame Caroline Dinenage, the Conservative MP for Gosport, accused Sir Chris of "dancing on the head of a pin" and added: "The fact is that all legislation somehow binds those that are coming down the track." The Bill will now return to the House of Lords.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bath's European Cup win a 'long time coming'
Bath captain Ben Spencer said their European Challenge Cup trophy win has been "building" for some time. Bath overpowered French Top14 side Lyon 34-12 on Friday to claim their first European trophy in 17 years at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. The Premiership leaders scored four tries and survived an ill-disciplined first half which saw two players sin-binned to comfortably beat their French opponents. "Tonight's performance was something that's been building for a very long time," Spencer said. "To see the hunger, to see the fight of this group was unbelievable. "The way we managed the double yellow card period to keep them out at the end of the first half, that's the fight and the spirit that we want to show each other." Bath overpower Lyon to win European Challenge Cup Relive live: European Rugby Challenge Cup final Bath - as it happened Bath's last major piece of silverware came at the same European competition in 2008, when England head coach Steve Borthwick captained the club. Bath remain in the running for a treble this season, following domestic success in February with the Premiership Rugby Cup and with them favourites to clinch Premiership title. Fly-half Finn Russell, whose signing in 2023 has been a major factor in Bath's transformation under head of rugby Johann van Graan, said the victory was a "big step in the right direction" of where the club want to get to. Russell kicked four conversions and three penalties on the night to win his first major European title after twice losing Champions Cup finals with former club Racing 92. "It's been a long time coming for Bath getting a title like this and as a group of players we've worked so hard to get where we are just now," Russell told BBC Points West. "The work's not done yet, but we've worked so hard to get this trophy and it's amazing to have it." Hooker and Bath stalwart Tom Dunn, who made his debut in 2012, agreed this was not the end of Bath. "There's no end to this. We talk about continuous improvement," he said. "The hunger and fire has been there as long as I can remember. We've always wanted, we've always trained hard to create that." While Lyon scored first through Ethan Dumortier's try, Bath took the lead with Dunn and Max Ojomoh scores and navigated a tricky end to the first-half when they were briefly reduced to 13 players following Sam Underhill and Will Muir's yellow cards. Arno Botha pulled another back for Lyon but Bath ended the night comfortable winners as tries from Beno Obano and Spencer took them out of sight. Lyon coach Karim Ghezal said one of Bath's yellow cards was "rather dodgy" but that he would not complain about refereeing. "We didn't score when they were down to 13. They had two yellow cards," he said. "Bath is a very strong team and we knew they were very effective so we need to face the facts." Bath now face another huge two weeks as the Premiership season reaches its conclusion. They travel to Saracens on Saturday, 31 May for the final round of the competition, before a home semi-final at the Recreation Ground on Friday, 6 June for a place in the Twickenham final. Van Graan said the Challenge Cup trophy was a credit to every player a staff member involved at the club, and that they are enjoying their "journey" together. "We'll enjoy [Friday], we'll enjoy what this trophy represents - incredible hard work by a lot of people - and then we'll come back on Tuesday morning and we'll move on again," Van Graan said. "We're not chasing anything, we are enjoying our journey together." Additional reporting by Alistair Durden.
BBC News
24-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Bath's European Cup win a 'long time coming'
Bath captain Ben Spencer said their European Challenge Cup trophy win has been "building" for some overpowered French Top14 side Lyon 34-12 on Friday to claim their first European trophy in 17 years at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. The Premiership leaders scored four tries and survived an ill-disciplined first half which saw two players sin-binned to comfortably beat their French opponents."Tonight's performance was something that's been building for a very long time," Spencer said. "To see the hunger, to see the fight of this group was unbelievable. "The way we managed the double yellow card period to keep them out at the end of the first half, that's the fight and the spirit that we want to show each other." Bath's last major piece of silverware came at the same European competition in 2008, when England head coach Steve Borthwick captained the club. Bath remain in the running for a treble this season, following domestic success in February with the Premiership Rugby Cup and with them favourites to clinch Premiership Finn Russell, whose signing in 2023 has been a major factor in Bath's transformation under head of rugby Johann van Graan, said the victory was a "big step in the right direction" of where the club want to get to. Russell kicked four conversions and three penalties on the night to win his first major European title after twice losing Champions Cup finals with former club Racing 92."It's been a long time coming for Bath getting a title like this and as a group of players we've worked so hard to get where we are just now," Russell told BBC Points West. "The work's not done yet, but we've worked so hard to get this trophy and it's amazing to have it."Hooker and Bath stalwart Tom Dunn, who made his debut in 2012, agreed this was not the end of Bath. "There's no end to this. We talk about continuous improvement," he said."The hunger and fire has been there as long as I can remember. We've always wanted, we've always trained hard to create that." While Lyon scored first through Ethan Dumortier's try, Bath took the lead with Dunn and Max Ojomoh scores and navigated a tricky end to the first-half when they were briefly reduced to 13 players following Sam Underhill and Will Muir's yellow Botha pulled another back for Lyon but Bath ended the night comfortable winners as tries from Beno Obano and Spencer took them out of coach Karim Ghezal said one of Bath's yellow cards was "rather dodgy" but that he would not complain about refereeing."We didn't score when they were down to 13. They had two yellow cards," he said."Bath is a very strong team and we knew they were very effective so we need to face the facts."Bath now face another huge two weeks as the Premiership season reaches its conclusion. They travel to Saracens on Saturday, 31 May for the final round of the competition, before a home semi-final at the Recreation Ground on Friday, 6 June for a place in the Twickenham final. Van Graan said the Challenge Cup trophy was a credit to every player a staff member involved at the club, and that they are enjoying their "journey" together."We'll enjoy [Friday], we'll enjoy what this trophy represents - incredible hard work by a lot of people - and then we'll come back on Tuesday morning and we'll move on again," Van Graan said."We're not chasing anything, we are enjoying our journey together."Additional reporting by Alistair Durden.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Tom Dunn hails Ben Spencer's ‘contagious' effect after Bath's Challenge Cup win
Tom Dunn has hailed captain Ben Spencer's 'contagious' effect on the club after Bath edged closer towards an historic trophy treble. Dunn and company added the EPCR Challenge Cup to a cabinet that already contained the Premiership Rugby Cup by beating Lyon 37-12 in Cardiff on Friday. Having guaranteed themselves a home Premiership play-off in April – possibly against west country rivals Bristol at the Recreation Ground on June 6 – Bath are two wins away from league title glory. Challenge Cup Champions! 🔵⚫️⚪️ 🤝 @theTRUESPEED — Bath Rugby (@BathRugby) May 23, 2025 It all represents an astonishing transformation from just under three years ago when head of rugby Johann van Graan arrived at the club from Munster. Bath propped up the Premiership in 2022, losing 18 league games and finishing 60 points behind regular-season table-toppers Leicester. Dunn, who joined the club 10 years earlier, has been through thick and thin and made more Premiership appearances for Bath than any other player. And he readily recognises the contribution of England international scrum-half Spencer to Bath's success, which he underlined with a player-of-the-match display against Lyon. 'Ben is brilliant,' Bath hooker Dunn said. 'It is the example he sets. 'He emptied the tank. He chases every kick, he is our main man in defence, he is the one who sets the tempo. 'Boys like me push the piano – he plays it. His decision-making, his skill, his accuracy is contagious to the team and the entire group. He is an example on the pitch.' Reflecting on Bath's Challenge Cup success, Dunn added: 'The hunger has been there for as long as I can remember. 👏 The 2024/25 #ChallengeCupRugby winners @BathRugby 👏 The English side lift the trophy at the Principality Stadium 🏆 — EPCR Challenge Cup (@ChallengeCup_) May 23, 2025 'This isn't the end – there is no end to it. The hunger is huge, and it is driven mostly by the players who aren't playing. 'They are the ones that push us in the week, they are the ones that drive the standards in training. They paint the pictures that we want to paint on the weekend.' Bath, 15 points clear at the Premiership summit, face Saracens in their final regular-season game next weekend. Attention will then turn to the knockout phase, with Bath closing in on a second successive Allianz Stadium appearance following their 25-21 defeat against Northampton in last year's final. Spencer said: 'The (Challenge Cup final) performance was something that has been building for a very long time, and to see the hunger, see the fight of this group was unbelievable. 'These moments don't come around very often, and you have to enjoy them and embrace them. We've worked hard for this trophy. 'This group is unbelievably hungry to get better, and I have no doubt on Tuesday we will back to zero, which is something we speak about all the time.'
The Independent
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Tom Dunn hails Ben Spencer's ‘contagious' effect after Bath's Challenge Cup win
Tom Dunn has hailed captain Ben Spencer's 'contagious' effect on the club after Bath edged closer towards an historic trophy treble. Dunn and company added the EPCR Challenge Cup to a cabinet that already contained the Premiership Rugby Cup by beating Lyon 37-12 in Cardiff on Friday. Having guaranteed themselves a home Premiership play-off in April – possibly against west country rivals Bristol at the Recreation Ground on June 6 – Bath are two wins away from league title glory. It all represents an astonishing transformation from just under three years ago when head of rugby Johann van Graan arrived at the club from Munster. Bath propped up the Premiership in 2022, losing 18 league games and finishing 60 points behind regular-season table-toppers Leicester. Dunn, who joined the club 10 years earlier, has been through thick and thin and made more Premiership appearances for Bath than any other player. And he readily recognises the contribution of England international scrum-half Spencer to Bath's success, which he underlined with a player-of-the-match display against Lyon. 'Ben is brilliant,' Bath hooker Dunn said. 'It is the example he sets. 'He emptied the tank. He chases every kick, he is our main man in defence, he is the one who sets the tempo. 'Boys like me push the piano – he plays it. His decision-making, his skill, his accuracy is contagious to the team and the entire group. He is an example on the pitch.' Reflecting on Bath's Challenge Cup success, Dunn added: 'The hunger has been there for as long as I can remember. 'This isn't the end – there is no end to it. The hunger is huge, and it is driven mostly by the players who aren't playing. 'They are the ones that push us in the week, they are the ones that drive the standards in training. They paint the pictures that we want to paint on the weekend.' Bath, 15 points clear at the Premiership summit, face Saracens in their final regular-season game next weekend. Attention will then turn to the knockout phase, with Bath closing in on a second successive Allianz Stadium appearance following their 25-21 defeat against Northampton in last year's final. Spencer said: 'The (Challenge Cup final) performance was something that has been building for a very long time, and to see the hunger, see the fight of this group was unbelievable. 'These moments don't come around very often, and you have to enjoy them and embrace them. We've worked hard for this trophy. 'This group is unbelievably hungry to get better, and I have no doubt on Tuesday we will back to zero, which is something we speak about all the time.'
