Can an algorithm write a better news story than a human reporter?
April 27, 2012 | Source: Wired
(Credit: iStockphoto)
Computers will write more than 90 percent of news in 15 years, and will win a Pulitzer Prize within 5 years, says Kristian Hammond, CTO and cofounder of Narrative Science, a company that trains computers to write news stories.
The service is currently limited to content based on structured data, such as sports and financial summaries (used by Forbes in some cases) and sales reports. To go further and create articles will require sophisticated machine-learning and data-mining technologies, and understanding natural language.
In case you’re wondering: this news item was written by a human. — Ed.
Comments (10)
by Chandra Citta
So our job will be to feed the machine with accurate information….no more writing hmm…. Let’s see the positive in this….more time for in- depth investigation? The rise of the reporting era ? Real truth out ? Seriously !
by Editor
Seems like the writer’s job will become more demanding in terms of knowledge and writing skill, which then would both improve quality and reduce noise, while also reducing variety and opportunities. Welcome to the pre-Singularity.
by Ian
Oh great, that’s me out of a job, then.
by seeker
I’ve translated this artcle into spanish and back into englsh three times, effect is quite good (of course article is not very complicated) :
“Computers to write more than 90 percent of news in 15 years, and will win the Pulitzer Prize in 5 years, says Kristian Hammond, CTO and co-founder of science fiction, a company that allows computers to write news. The service is currently limited to the contents on the basis of structured data, such as sports and financial summaries (used by Forbes magazine, in some cases) and sales reports. To go further and create items that require sophisticated machine learning and data mining technologies, and natural language understanding.”
by c
“written by a human”
A human with keyboard, spell correction and all the facts in the world a click away, sourcing electronic news. ;)
by Jonathan Cole
Super! I can not wait to watch the first animated movie written and drawn by Watson or another computer. The first movie by another species!
by Marcos Marin
You could also shift to writing the machine writers =) that’s pretty much a guaranteed job since when they start to write themselves we get the singularity =)
by Editor
EXCESSIVE RECURSION ERROR (A BOT WROTE THIS)
by Cybernettr
My frist observation is that the one making this prediction is obviously biased. But if this prediction should be true, what will become of human writers? There might still be room for them in fiction but what of nonfiction? Writing is a competitive enough field as it is. What fields could open up for those whose main talent is writing?
by Editor
Farming, mainly. It’s a small step from digging up facts to digging up turnips. :)