If You Don't Think Robots Can Replace Journalists, Check Out This Article Written By A Computer

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kris hammond narrative science

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Kris Hammond, chief scientist of Narrative Science

Earlier this week we reported on Narrative Science, an artificial intelligence company whose product, Quill, can turn tables of data into a natural language story that you can read as if it were a newspaper article.

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The benefit here is that the software near-instantaneously renders numerical data as much more digestible units of understanding - words - without requiring any human supervision.

Quill powers the technology at work in GameChanger, an app for amateur sports leagues to manually capture game events (a pop fly in baseball, a three-pointer in basketball, and so on), then instantly have it spit out a written retelling of the game's events.

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It's an artificially intelligent sportswriter that summarizes your game as honestly as you record it in the app. When we spoke to Kris Hammond, chief scientist of Narrative Science, he told us that the results are guaranteed to adhere to the truth as defined by the data that you provide it with.

Here's a sample report, in which Quill helps tell the story of a bested baseball team called the Manalapan Braves Red. Check out how naturally it reads, then know that it was all software that ordered and arranged these words, not a human:

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Cole Benner did all he could to give Hamilton A's-Forcini a boost, but it wasn't enough to get past the Manalapan Braves Red, as Hamilton A's-Forcini lost 10-5 in six innings at Pecci two on Saturday.

Benner had a good game at the plate for Hamilton A's-Forcini. Benner went 2-3, drove in one and scored one run. Benner singled in the third inning and doubled in the fifth inning.

The Manalapan Braves Red's Gargano was perfect at the dish, going 1-1. Gargano singled in the first inning.

The Manalapan Braves Red tacked on another four runs in the second. The inning got off to a hot start when Bullen singled, bringing home Cappola. That was followed up by that scored Pellecchia.

After pushing across two runs in the top of the third, Hamilton A's-Forcini faced just a 5-2 deficit. An RBI single by Benner and an error sparked Hamilton A's-Forcini's rally. The Hamilton A's-Forcini threat came to an end when Pellecchia finally got Dominic Chiarello to ground out.

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The Manalapan Braves Red increased their lead with three runs in the third. A scored Grieco to start the inning. That was followed up by that scored DeAlemeida.

Two runs in the top of the fourth helped Hamilton A's-Forcini close its deficit to 8-4. A two-run double by Joey Sacco gave Hamilton A's-Forcini life. Nick Psomaras grounded out to end the Hamilton A's-Forcini threat.

The Manalapan Braves Red built upon their lead with two runs in the fourth. Cappola started the inning with a single, plating Gargano. That was followed up by that scored Zucker.

One run in the top of the fifth helped Hamilton A's-Forcini close its deficit to 10-5. A groundout by Dominick Gambino triggered Hamilton A's-Forcini's comeback. Pellecchia ended the inning by getting Matt Kozma to strike out.