sportsnetny: @craigtimes: Computer writes sports brief. Reporter writes about computer replacing reporters.  Computer-Generated Articles Are Gaining Traction “WISCONSIN appears to be in the driver’s seat en route to a win, as it leads 51-10 after the third quarter. Wisconsin added to its lead when Russell Wilson found Jacob Pedersen for an eight-yard touchdown to make the score 44-3 … . ” Those words began a news brief written within 60 seconds of the end of the third quarter of the Wisconsin-U.N.L.V. football game earlier this month. They may not seem like much — but they were written by a computer. The clever code is the handiwork of Narrative Science, a start-up in Evanston, Ill., that offers proof of the progress of artificial intelligence — the ability of computers to mimic human reasoning. More —> NYTimes Just go ahead and make sportswriters feel more useless, why don’t you? The first target here is the AP news wire, because they’re costly and generic. But if these machine-written stories continue to progress, it won’t only be dot-coms desperate for quick updates and small-market papers looking to take advantage. Shops will hire one editor to monitor stories, select the pieces they want, and edit them for style and space. And I’ll be a fucking blogger, because I know how to feel. Damn you, science. Damn you. ***** On a more cynical note, this is also an indictment on sportswriting and how easily these bland recaps are yawned out. No one cares about the recap anymore. We have 24-hour highlight shows, YouTube, and apps for that shit — with 140-character Twitter updates to churn out stat lines and snark. And then fans don’t have to care anymore, because the next morning is for thinking about the next game. The recap has needed more imagination for a long time, because readers don’t want to know what happened as much as why it happened. Hopefully this machine lights a fire for a smart editor who feels the wall on their back.

sportsnetny:

@craigtimes: Computer writes sports brief. Reporter writes about computer replacing reporters. 

Computer-Generated Articles Are Gaining Traction

“WISCONSIN appears to be in the driver’s seat en route to a win, as it leads 51-10 after the third quarter. Wisconsin added to its lead when Russell Wilson found Jacob Pedersen for an eight-yard touchdown to make the score 44-3 … . ”

Those words began a news brief written within 60 seconds of the end of the third quarter of the Wisconsin-U.N.L.V. football game earlier this month. They may not seem like much — but they were written by a computer.

The clever code is the handiwork of Narrative Science, a start-up in Evanston, Ill., that offers proof of the progress of artificial intelligence — the ability of computers to mimic human reasoning.

More —> NYTimes

Just go ahead and make sportswriters feel more useless, why don’t you?

The first target here is the AP news wire, because they’re costly and generic. But if these machine-written stories continue to progress, it won’t only be dot-coms desperate for quick updates and small-market papers looking to take advantage.

Shops will hire one editor to monitor stories, select the pieces they want, and edit them for style and space. And I’ll be a fucking blogger, because I know how to feel.

Damn you, science. Damn you.

*****

On a more cynical note, this is also an indictment on sportswriting and how easily these bland recaps are yawned out.

No one cares about the recap anymore. We have 24-hour highlight shows, YouTube, and apps for that shit — with 140-character Twitter updates to churn out stat lines and snark. And then fans don’t have to care anymore, because the next morning is for thinking about the next game.

The recap has needed more imagination for a long time, because readers don’t want to know what happened as much as why it happened. Hopefully this machine lights a fire for a smart editor who feels the wall on their back.