Last but not least: The "Textinator"
The first English articles are already being written by machines on the web. Why should we still write our own news?
Computer programs draw information from databases and statistics and use it to formulate texts. Narrative Science is the name of a start-up from Chicago that specializes in this task. Raffael Schuppisser writes this in Sonntag. The texts themselves are written by algorithms. This is best realized in sports reports and financial analyses. After all, these are texts that contain many figures and can therefore be generated relatively easily according to a uniform pattern.
As Sonntag explains, the writing process of the computer program involves several steps: first, a wealth of data is required, which is then processed by an algorithm so that it can be fitted into predefined text modules. The program must be equipped with a set of rules for this purpose. Further development of the software would allow texts to be generated that meet the information expectations of a specific group of people.
Will most news be written by computers in 20 years' time? Or is the human capacity for critical thinking and creativity a quality that will continue to withstand competition from artificial intelligence in the future? Let's ask a machine.
