Sunday, August 17, 2014

Robot Reporters becomes new colleagues – Swedish Dagbladet

The machine has never been so feared that now. Long was the notion that it can only perform repetitive tasks and people with so-called “creative jobs” sensed no competition – the robots, it was assumed, threatened only the working class.

It was therefore not surprising that the small earthquakes notice in the Los Angeles Times last spring, authored by reporter Quakebot robot, created reactions worldwide. News articles were the journalists who would write. Suddenly it became creative profession is not obvious that spared from the robot competition that have hit the manufacturing and service sectors.

Since then, more newsrooms have become aware of the robot reporter. Recently, the Associated Press began a partnership with Automated Insights. The company’s software will produce over 4,000 financial news items a month, ten times more than the news agency’s reporters writing in the present.

Robot notice in the Los Angeles Times made the programmer Ken Schwencke (pictured) as heavily backed as if he were a publicly-president. “Ken has that you do not have time right now,” it said every time I stubbornly tried to get in touch with him.

But Ken Schwencke was in spite of the resurrection is not first. For those who read international sports and financial news are robotic reporter an old acquaintance. 2010 started the company Narrative Science and charmed the media houses as quickly Forbes. In no time compiled the company’s robot information and pumped it out in article form.

It was about finance and sports scores but the co-founder Kristian Hammond’s visions held nothing but total robot domination. In the near time, a robot is rewarded with a Pulitzer prize. In 15 years would be more than 90 percent of all news having a robot that byline. Nothing would stop the grandiose plans.

As the discussion sounded then Narrative Science was about to forever change murvelns existence. Then something happened. Kristian Hammond and his colleagues realized that the road to quick success and endless profitability did not go through the strained media world.

Narrative Science embarked on a new path. When I contact the company for an interview it would not set it up and let us know that the clients are outside the journalism, such as in finance, insurance and government. Even a robot would obviously make money. Why write sports alerts when you can sum retirement assets? Last summer, invested CIA’s own venture capital firm In-Q-tel an undisclosed amount in the company. It says something about the hype surrounding the technology.

On the Forbes site spits Narrative Science software still out meager but informative and grammatically correct financial news. Hardly any journalistic or stylistic masterpiece, but they have a place for their readership.

Although the Narrative Sciences robot rather serve wealthy insurance companies than vulnerable newspapers, learn more with time to engage in some form of robot journalism.

Automated Insights has demonstrably made it their mission. The news agency TT could “make an AP” and take the help of a robot to send out certain types of telegrams.

One would have hoped that an already troubled journalists would be spared from the robot competition. But it need not lead to a dystopian zero-sum game where the robot makes the physical reporter redundant.

At best leads development to the professionalization of journalism. A new order in which the natural reporter can indulge in more skilled things: depth articles and analysis instead of quick rewrites. In a time of scarce resources, it is awaited.

Kristian Hammond was perhaps right when he confidently painted up the overwhelming portion of the content of the future will be produced by robots, but that does not mean they will account for the large scoops or dominate news sajternas front pages.

More likely is to the number of items increases. One day we will, perhaps, be able to seek out news on our own corner. Reporting will not be a resource issue because the robot does not charge by the hour or article.

It is likely that the robot acting colleague rather than competitor. Helping to search through databases and serve as a kind of research tools, at most, write a few quick texts about weather and election results. The analyzes, opinions and reportage teach it however to leave his human colleague.

Robot reporter has are certain strengths that surpasses human. A robot does not need to wait for inspiration, fetch coffee or take phone calls. In a short time it may go through considerable sized materials and compile it faster than a reporter of flesh and blood. In terms of efficiency and speed, the robot is unbeatable. The human reporter is, for its part, stylistically superior, exclusive interview about art – and probably easier to get their phone calls answered.

But with time, the robot will also become smarter. There is talk of a new general artificial intelligence, capable of working independently and unpredictably, is about to be developed.

Great Journalist Award teach , however, continue to go to a real live person. At least as long as there is any robot on the jury.


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