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Robo-journalists are already writing the next generation of news stories

Robo-journalists are already writing the next generation of news stories

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Narrative Science's intelligent software turns raw data into news stories for sites like Forbes, reports Slate's Evgeny Morozov.

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Robot EIC
Robot EIC

"Within seconds the clever software produces highly readable stories," writes Slate's Evgeny Morozov in a profile of Narrative Science's software, which turns raw data into news stories. Narrative Science has 30 clients, one of which is Forbes, which use its software to pre-write stories about corporate earnings before the earnings calls even take place. Here's an example:

Narrative_sciences

Narrative Science's ominous logo is a quill — the surface of which is textured with the lines of a microprocessor. The quill turns projected profits-per-share numbers into phrases like "Wall Street is optimistic." Morozov admits that robo-journalists might actually be OK in the long run, potentially freeing talented writers to pursue "more interesting analytical projects." Thus, a robot will never "Steal My Pulitzer" as the title of the article implies. For the full story on Narrative Science head over to Slate.