Abstract
This paper explores a practical application of a weak, or narrow, artificial intelligence (AI) in the news media. Journalism is a creative human practice. This, according to widespread opinion, makes it harder for robots to replicate. However, writing algorithms are already widely used in the news media to produce articles and thereby replace human journalists. In 2016, Wordsmith, one of the two most powerful news-writing algorithms, wrote and published 1.5 billion news stories. This number is comparable to or may even exceed work written and published by human journalists. Robo-journalists’ skills and competencies are constantly growing. Research has shown that readers sometimes cannot differentiate between news written by robots or by humans; more importantly, readers often make little of such distinctions. Considering this, these forms of AI can be seen as having already passed a kind of Turing test as applied to journalism. The paper provides a review of the current state of robo-journalism; analyses popular arguments about “robots’ incapability” to prevail over humans in creative practices; and offers a foresight of the possible further development of robo-journalism and its collision with organic forms of journalism.
Highlights
Artificial intelligence (AI) is usually defined in two ways that, in a sense, are contradictory
Research has shown that readers sometimes cannot differentiate between news written by robots or by humans; more importantly, readers often make little of such distinctions. These forms of artificial intelligence (AI) can be seen as having already passed a kind of Turing test as applied to journalism
The paper provides a review of the current state of robo-journalism; analyses popular arguments about “robots’ incapability” to prevail over humans in creative practices; and offers a foresight of the possible further development of robo-journalism and its collision with organic forms of journalism
Summary
Artificial intelligence (AI) is usually defined in two ways that, in a sense, are contradictory. AI simulates humans (either their acting or their thinking) until reaching a level of complete likeness This is the approach for which the Turing test is applicable. The application of AI in military actions does not require human likeness; military AI is non-human in its appearance and performance It replaces people through their distant and enhanced representation or multiplication (as in the case of drone swarms; a drone swarm is quite an interesting new implementation of McLuhan’s idea about media as extensions of men). As the subject is presented only through its manifestation on the market place, the most important evidence on the current state-of-the-art about robo-journalism can be pulled out from different expert observations and from reflections made by people in the media industry. The paper aims to show why and how this will happen
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