UK newspapers start publishing first joint human and robot articles

Newspapers across the UK have started publishing the first articles jointly written by robots and humans.
 
The Reporters and Data Robots (RADAR) initiative by the Press Association and Urbs Media, which is funded by Google’s Digital News Initiative, has created software that inserts localised statistics into stories written by human reporters.
 
The articles are then offered to the editors of 35 regional newspapers for consideration. The pilot, which began at the end of November, has so far resulted in stories published in 20 publications.
 
The software sifts through national data sets to free up reporters for other jobs, said Toby Granville, editorial development director at Newsquest, a nationwide newspaper group with several titles publishing the part-automated stories.
 
“It could be a real game-changer for us,” he added.
 
As a result of the pilot, the Express and Star in the West Midlands has reported the majority of new mothers in Wolverhampton are unmarried, the Croydon Advertiser has reported seven potentially life-saving operations were cancelled at hospitals in the area in October and the Bournemouth Echo has revealed the town has problems with social mobility.
 
“It provides us with content we would not normally be able to produce,” said Mr Granville.
 
Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary of the National Union of Journalists, described the software as a “useful tool.”
 
“Ultimately it is the journalist who must check the context and analysis . . . I cannot see how it could be used to replace journalists. Humans are still required to make ethical decisions on what is published,” she said.
 
Pete Clifton, editor-in-chief at Press Association, said: “I’m pleased to see our customers actively engaging with the content.” Once the pilot is over, newspapers will have to pay for a subscription.
 
RADAR hopes to scale up its operation towards their target of 30,000 monthly stories for “a much broader user base”.
 
Mr Granville added: “The content is written just to the standard you would expect from a normal reporter working in our newsroom.”
 
The stories have been performing well online, he adds, receiving thousands of hits and prompting engagement on social media.
 
Gary Rogers, editor-in-chief at Urbs Media, said: “We are delighted to be up and running with a great user group who are already helping to steer our thinking on the topics and style of the stories we generate.”
 
Other titles publishing the stories include South Wales Argus, Warrington Guardian and Hereford Times.

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