This is a list of news stories from 2017, displayed by recency, and human-selected for relevance. The list is not intended to include all references in the period. Headlines are direct links to the full story.
First robot-written stories from Press Association make it into print in ‘world-first’ for journalism industry
PressGazette | December 2017 | ‘The first robot-generated stories produced by Press Association have appeared in print in what is claimed to be a world-first for journalism.’
How soon will computers replace The Economist’s writers?
THE ECONOMIST | December 2017 | ‘We’ve got a few years left, at least’
Robo-journalism: computer-generated stories may be inevitable, but it’s not all bad news
THE CONVERSATION | December 2017 | ‘If the ongoing demise of newspaper readerships was not enough to persuade prospective journalists to pick an alternative career, there’s more bad news in the offing from America: computer-generated stories.’
S Korea developing AI system to keep journalism alive
MALAYSIA KINI | November 2017 |‘In gaining public trust in journalism and tackling the declining revenue in the media industry, South Korea is developing an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system using algorithms to help the industry in the country to get back on its feet.’
AI Could Help Reporters Dig Into Grassroots Issues Once More
IT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW | November 2017 | ‘Twitter’s media science chief says machine learning will help journalists understand a world fragmented by digital technologies and political polarization.’
Facebook’s head of AI wants us to stop using the Terminator to talk about AI
THE VERGE | October 2017 |‘Yann LeCun is one of AI’s most accomplished minds, so when he says that even recent advances in the field aren’t taking us closer to super-intelligent machines, you need to pay attention.’
Job cuts at SPH reflect the changing face of journalism
ASEAN TODAY | October 2017 | ‘To stay relevant and profitable, SPH needs to keep up with consumer trends and create stimulating content for the new generation. To do this, it needs to embrace AI solutions.’
The Washington Post’s robot reporter has published 850 articles in the past year
DIGIDAY | September 2017 |‘In its first year, the Post has produced around 850 articles using Heliograf. That included 500 articles around the election that generated more than 500,000 clicks — not a ton in the scheme of things, but most of these were stories the Post wasn’t going to dedicate staff to anyway.’
AI vs journalists: Bots will be writing all routine stories very soon in the media industry
INDIA TODAY | August 2017 | ‘The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is developing in leaps and bounds in various industries across the world. And while chatbots, machine learning techniques and automated reporting systems are already in popular use and are going through mounds of data to write basic news reports, we need to sit back and wonder exactly how much will journalists lose out to robots.’
3 facts you need to know about Artificial Intelligence in journalism
REUTERS | August 2017 |‘Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere, gradually hitting newsrooms and society as a whole. However, automated journalism still requires the right combination of skills, expertise and technology. At Reuters, we are exploring how to best incorporate AI while understanding its current limitations.’
Was this created by a human or computer? See if you can tell the difference.
THE WASHINGTON POST | June 2017 | ‘Machines aren’t just shaping news stories but also composing music, sketching art and writing poetry in ways that can be indistinguishable from human craftsmanship and artistry. We’ve gathered some examples of what artificial intelligence can do these days and created a quiz to see whether you can tell the difference between human and computer-generated creations.’
Radio — The Next Frontier For Artificial Intelligence | RADIO INK | April 2017 | ‘AI engines can now ingest any live or previously recorded broadcast content, and by leveraging natural language processing, they can provide a full transcription of what was said in the broadcast.’
A day in the life of a journalist in 2027: Reporting meets AI
COLUMBIA JOURNALISM REVIEW | April 2017 | ‘AI will allow reporters to analyze data; identify patterns and trends from multiple sources; see things that the naked eye can’t see; turn data and spoken words into text; text into audio and video; understand sentiment; analyze scenes for objects, faces, text, or colors—and more.’
Feature: This Chinese robot could revolutionize journalism
XINHUA NET | April 2017 | ‘The Xinhua News Agency recently added a new member to its team, and he or she isn’t human.’
How Companies Are Already Using AI
HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW | April 2017 | ‘Computers today are far better at managing other computers and, in general, inanimate objects or digital information than they are at managing human interactions.’
WHAT NEWS-WRITING BOTS MEAN FOR THE FUTURE OF JOURNALISM
WIRED | February 2017 | ‘As newsrooms struggle with dwindling resources, it’s not hard to imagine a future in which AI plays a larger and larger role in creating journalism.’
RISE OF THE MACHINE: Journalists under threat as AI robot writes article in ONE SECOND
EXPRESS | January 2017 | ‘Another industry is at risk of being replaced by robot workers after an artificially intelligent robot wrote an entire article in just one second.’