Robot Writers Flood the Web
If you are reading this, it is likely that you look to the Internet for bit of news that inform your opinion on trends, technology, news stories, and the like. And most would assume that those stories and articles are crafted by humans who have an interest and experience in the field, just as this one is. But alas, we would all be wrong to believe that assumption. Robot writers are a growing proportion of the field. Read the details in the Contently article, “Does Your Brand Newsroom Need a Robot Writer?”
The article begins:
“If you’ve spent any time reading on the web the past week, odds are you’ve read something written by a robot—and you didn’t even realize it. Robot writers are algorithms that collect and analyze data and then turn them into readable narratives. Many news sites like the Los Angeles Times and Forbes are already using them. Even Wikipedia has articles that weren’t written by humans.”
It is not surprising that automation has invaded the world of writing, but the jury is still out as to whether the quality is acceptable. But this also poses a question about cultural expectations regarding the quality of writing, particularly on Web outlets. See if you can spot the difference between articles crafted by human experts versus those written by a robot.
Emily Rae Aldridge, October 10, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
