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"Indeed, Kristian Hammond, cofounder and CTO of Narrative Science, thinks some 90% of the news could be written by computers by 2030." I think there's more to
by swalsh 13y ago
"Indeed, Kristian Hammond, cofounder and CTO of Narrative Science, thinks some 90% of the news could be written by computers by 2030."
I think there's more to a reporters job than writing, in fact i'd say the writing part is maybe the smallest aspect when it comes to the most interesting stories.
Investigation, interviews, and general "experiencing the world" is required, and computers aren't ready to do that yet. I'd be surprised if they are by 2030 too.
Of course, it could be a sign of how far down the quality of news has fallen. That 90% of it is now formulaic. I guess I had hopes that these new sites that are popping up would becomes a trend in quality. Artisanal news as the hipsters might say.
- StavrosK 13y agoHe didn't say "90% of the job of reporters could be done by computers", he said computers will do the writing.
- hpriebe 13y agoTrue. And I wonder how computers/bots might assist journalists in the other aspects of journalism - investigation, interviews, and trend spotting, etc? I'm not sure I hope for the day that computers replace the human analysis, emotion, or opinion in news, but I do believe they could help journalists better spot leads and dig into stories. This would free journalists up to do less leg work and more thinking about the content in front of them. That said, the process of investigation, etc. does contribute to the experience a journalist brings to the table, so the question then is, does cutting out the legwork undermine a journalists ability to deeply understand and analyze a given story?