Media Executive Ben Sherwood Addresses LMU Graduate Commencement Ceremony, Encourages Graduates to "Live the Questions"

LOS ANGELES, May 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ben Sherwood, CEO and publisher of The Daily Beast, addressed Loyola Marymount University master's and doctoral degree candidates at their commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 17, encouraging them to "live the questions" as they navigate an increasingly AI-driven world.

Drawing on experiences spanning journalism, personal loss, executive leadership, and reinvention, Sherwood delivered a deeply reflective address centered on human connection, purpose, and the importance of navigating life's unanswered questions with curiosity rather than fear.

See the images and Ben Sherwood's commencement video.

Addressing the rise of artificial intelligence, Sherwood emphasized the uniquely human experience of living through uncertainty rather than relying on easy answers.

"You are graduating into a world transformed by AI. Machines can now prepare essays, codes, images, music, beer, strategy, human conversation. But there is one thing they cannot do. They cannot live a human life. Machines generate answers. You get to live your way into one."

Sherwood also encouraged graduates to frame ambiguity as an essential part of being human.

"The moments that felt like detours were the roads. The people you held onto were the point. That the questions you lived your way into were the answers."

Sherwood also told graduates that "connection is survival."

Since 1911, he said, "Loyola Marymount has been asking its students whether they are living with purpose. Whether they are connected with something larger than themselves. The answer to life's questions, every time, in every human life I have ever witnessed, is other people."

Sherwood closed his remarks by encouraging graduates to "make a lot of friends, learn a lot of things, and live the questions."

Sherwood is one of the most impactful leaders in media and culture. He is a strategic partner to Barry Diller, helping shape the future of journalism, and served previously as co-chairman of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney ABC Television Group.

An accomplished entrepreneur, Sherwood is also the founder and former CEO of MOJO, a venture-backed platform to make youth sports more accessible for families worldwide. He began his career as a journalist and producer, serving as executive producer of "Good Morning America" and senior producer of "NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw."

The celebration on LMU's Westchester campus took place during a commencement weekend that began on Saturday morning with tennis champion and entrepreneur Venus Williams as the keynote speaker for the 2026 undergraduate commencement ceremony and culminated with Judge Anthony Devos Johnstone speaking to LMU Loyola Law School graduates Sunday afternoon. In all, nearly 3,000 undergraduate, graduate, and law students participated in the three commencement events.

SOURCE Loyola Marymount University