2023 Author: Bryan Walter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 22:24
More recently, we talked about how artificial intelligence is being used in journalism. It must be admitted that algorithms cope with some tasks no worse than humans - especially when it comes to writing news notes (in English). AI collects and analyzes data efficiently, but how well does it reproduce human style? Take the joint test of N + 1 and the organizers of the Up Great technology competitions to see if you can guess which news was written by a person and which by a robot.
1. Once every three months (or four times a year), the business reports the results of its work in quarterly reports. The reaction of investors depends on the content of these documents, which means the value of the company's shares on the stock exchange. People go to the media for extracts from multi-page documents. Such news needs to be written quickly and competently. So when Apple released its financials for the third quarter of 2019 on July 30, the Associated Press entrusted the writing of the news note …
- To the robot
- To man
Right
Apple selected the necessary numbers from the report and made a short news from them the wordsmith text generator, designed specifically for writing notes on information from quarterly reports. Previously, AP journalists managed to write only 300 such news in three months. But now, thanks to AI, the number of notes has grown 15 times - up to 4400 pieces per quarter.
Not properly
Apple selected the necessary numbers from the report and made a short news from them the wordsmith text generator, designed specifically for writing notes on information from quarterly reports. Previously, AP journalists managed to write only 300 such news in three months. But now, thanks to AI, the number of notes has grown 15 times - up to 4400 pieces per quarter.
2. On September 24, Puerto Rico, awaiting the arrival of tropical hurricane Karen, experienced an unexpected blow of fate - a magnitude 6 earthquake. Fortunately, the tremors did not result in any destruction or loss of life. Who got to write the news in the wake of the incident?
- To man
- To the robot
Right
You guessed it: ABC News, a fragment of which you see in the picture, was written by a living person. However, a similar note could easily have been drawn by the Quakebot algorithm developed by the Los Angeles Times. The program monitors the reports of the US Geological Survey, highlights relevant information and writes it into the news template. True, before publication, the text under the authorship of the algorithm is reviewed by the editor, just in case.
Not properly
Not this time. ABC News, a fragment of which you see in the picture, was written by a living person. However, a similar note could easily have been drawn by the Quakebot algorithm developed by the Los Angeles Times. The program monitors the reports of the US Geological Survey, highlights relevant information and writes it into the news template. True, before publication, the text under the authorship of the algorithm is reviewed by the editor, just in case.
3. Police chases in the United States are a constant source of content not only for YouTube, but also for local newspapers. This is a typical journalistic story about a thrilling California car chase. Try to guess who wrote it
- Man
- Robot
Right
How did you guess? Indeed, this news was generated by an algorithm developed by researchers from the academic project "Structured stories". Unlike Quakebot, it didn't just insert relevant information into a ready-made template, but based on over 60 NBC Los Angeles news stories, it reproduced the key narrative elements found in every car chase news story.
Not properly
No, no! This news was generated by an algorithm developed by researchers from the academic project "Structured stories". Unlike Quakebot, it didn't just insert relevant information into a ready-made template, but based on over 60 NBC Los Angeles news stories, it reproduced the key narrative elements found in every car chase news story.
4. Another deadly boring note from the world of business and finance. Who owns these few lines about Johnson & Johnson's stock quotes?
- To man
- To the robot
Right
Here is the result of the work of Lynx Insight - the Reuters algorithm. The publication believes that the future of AI in journalism rests with programs that help people find and process information. The writing of history thus remains the prerogative of the journalist. Now the algorithm can work with financial data, but in the future its functionality is planned to be extended to sporting events.
Not properly
Here is the result of the work of Lynx Insight - the Reuters algorithm. The publication believes that the future of AI in journalism rests with programs that help people find and process information. The writing of history thus remains the prerogative of the journalist. Now the algorithm can work with financial data, but in the future its functionality is planned to be extended to sporting events.
5. The Yorktown Patriots beat the Wilson Tigers 20-14 in American football at home. As a result of the competition - perhaps for those who missed the match - a note was published on the Washington Post website with a detailed retelling of the game. The author did not miss a single important detail. Whom to thank for meticulousness?
- Human
- Robot
Right
It was easy! The news was written by a robot. The Washington Post uses the Heliograph algorithm to cover high school league sports. Apparently, the program is capable of more: Heliograph generated reports on the American elections and wrote notes on the Olympic Games in Rio.
Not properly
Suspicious repetitions of words in the text hint: the news was written by a robot. The Washington Post uses the Heliograph algorithm to cover high school league sports. Apparently, the program is capable of more: Heliograph generated reports on the American elections and wrote notes on the Olympic Games in Rio.
6. Business Insider reports that Democratic voters are reluctant to vote for candidates who draw attention to the age of their political rivals. Who wrote two paragraphs below about this: a human or a robot?
- Man
- Robot
Right
Modern algorithms in journalism, as a rule, work with large and small amounts of data: they write financial notes or sum up the results of sports competitions. And although politics does not do without numbers in the same way, a person wrote this particular news on Business Insider. But in February 2019, The Guardian released the first of its kind material on the income of Australian political parties, generated by the ReporterMate algorithm.
Not properly
Modern algorithms in journalism, as a rule, work with large and small amounts of data: they write financial notes or sum up the results of sports competitions. And although politics does not do without numbers in the same way, a person wrote this particular news on Business Insider. But in February 2019, The Guardian released the first of its kind material on the income of Australian political parties, generated by the ReporterMate algorithm.
7. First of all, let us clarify that this news about the hijacking of a train with a radioactive substance is a fake. It remains to understand who wrote the text: "Russian troll" or the algorithm?
- Robot
- Man
Right
Text-generating programs that are used in newsrooms right now can only help with relatively simple tasks. However, in the foreseeable future, robots will probably be able to write truly complex journalistic texts. The news about the hijacked train is generated by the GPT-2 program using deep learning technology. The algorithm needed only the first two sentences - he wrote the rest of the story on his own. The developers, the OpenAI research laboratory founded by Elon Musk, said they were not going to release the program to the public for security reasons.
Not properly
Such fake news could well have been written by a person, but this particular text is a creative of the algorithm. Text-generating programs that are used in newsrooms right now can only help with relatively simple tasks. However, in the foreseeable future, robots will probably be able to write truly complex journalistic texts. The news about the hijacked train is generated by the GPT-2 program using deep learning technology. The algorithm needed only the first two sentences - he wrote the rest of the story on his own. The developers, the OpenAI research laboratory founded by Elon Musk, said they were not going to release the program to the public for security reasons.
Congratulations, your result: from
Theodore Twombly See, don't fall in love with the news writer! And at the same time think: what if most of the texts around are created by algorithms, and you don't even know about it?
Share results
Congratulations, your result: from
Rick Deckard Due to your own dual nature, sometimes you yourself do not know: a person in front of you or a robot. Look, don't get confused completely!
Share results
Congratulations, your result: from
John Connor No even the most advanced algorithm can fool you! How about leading the Resistance in the future war against robots?
