Microsoft is reportedly partnering with Ben Smith’s media startup Semafor to leverage AI toward the ominous goal of “building a healthy information ecosystem.”
of financial times report Microsoft to fund creation of ‘Signal’, an AI-powered breaking news feed aimed at providing diverse global perspectives on major stories, as part of new partnership with Ben Smith’s Semaphore It is said that it is offering. Signals will use AI to serve as an advanced investigative tool and will publish approximately 12 posts every day, all written by journalists.
This partnership is part of Microsoft’s broader work with the journalist community, including partnerships with the Craig Newmark School of Journalism, the Online News Association, and the GroundTruth Project.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella shows his fist (Stephen Brasear /Getty)
In a blog post on this topic, Microsoft explain Its true goal:
Currently, Microsoft has started several collaborations with news organizations to deploy generative AI. In a year when billions of people around the world vote in democratic elections, journalism is critical to building a healthy information ecosystem, and we work with the industry to help newsrooms succeed this year and in the future. Our mission is to ensure that we can innovate our services towards the future.
Founded by notorious former Buzzfeed editors Ben and Justin Smith, Semafor has quickly emerged as a significant player in the digital news space. Funded by impact investors and with over 500,000 newsletter subscriptions, the platform is on the brink of monetization.
Breitbart News reporter Hannah Breaux Knudsen reported on the creation of Semaphore in 2022, writing:
New York Times media columnist Ben Smith is leaving the company to start a global news startup, but it remains unclear whether he plans to sell his controversial stake before working in new media. Yes, this issue lingered throughout his tenure at the Times.
The Times reported this week that Smith is leaving the media and working with Bloomberg Media CEO Justin Smith to create what it describes as a “new global news organization” that he will lead. He announced that he would serve as editor-in-chief. The vision includes a newsroom that breaks news and experiments with “new forms of storytelling,” according to the Times.
The move comes amid growing concerns among news publishers about the impact AI will have on content creation and distribution. Concerns that AI-generated content could divert traffic and revenue from established news organizations have sparked debate about the future of journalism in the digital age. In December, the New York Times filed a lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI, accusing them of misusing their content to train their AI models.
Commenting on the use of AI in journalism, Gina Chua, Executive Editor at Semafor, said: . . This is a real opportunity and a set of tools that far exceeds many others that have come before. ”
read more of financial times here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering free speech and online censorship issues.
