Next week, after the London Olympics have begun, you will read stories about athletes pushing human physiology to new limits. What you may not realise, however, is that many of these stories may not be written by humans.
Until now, robots that can write and reason have belonged to the realm of science fiction. The ability to master complex language, to process information and express it clearly with meaningful ideas, has been deemed a trait unique to mankind.
However, at the offices of Narrative Science, a Chicago-based company, computers are churning out flawless sports and financial reports for subscribers including the websites of Forbes magazine and the Big Ten Network, a broadcaster dedicated to university American football.
These robot journalists take no holidays, miss no deadlines and produce clean, well-researched copy for about HK$90 an article. On top of that, the algorithms that power these machines are designed to catch errors and learn from their mistakes.
Here is an excerpt of an American football report by Narrative Science published on the Big Ten Network website this year: 'Wisconsin jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in a 51-17 win over UNLV on Thursday at Camp Randall Stadium. The Badgers scored 20 points in the first quarter on a Russell Wilson touchdown pass and a James White touchdown run. Wisconsin's offence dominated the Rebels' defence ...'
Not something to impress the judges of the Pulitzer Prizes for journalism, but it is perfectly readable. Few can tell the difference between this and many other match reports.
Furthermore, Narrative Science finished the report within seconds of the final whistle - even before the players had left the field.