What is The Future of Journalism? Data reporting? Drones? Computer-generated news, like the algorithms are already breaking news on today’s California earthquake?

Case for the latter: Compare the first few paragraphs from two news stories about a sports game, re-published in a recent study.

Even with an unexceptional outing for Philip Rivers, the Chargers handled the Chiefs, 37-20, at Arrowhead Stadium.
Rivers found the end zone for two touchdowns against the Chiefs on 18 of 23 passing for 209 yards and one pick. Matt Cassel went 24 of 42 with 251 yards passing, two touchdowns and three picks for the Chiefs.
Jackie Battle carried the ball 15 times for 39 yards with a touchdown in addition to four receptions for 42 yards and another touchdown. Antonio Gates caught three passes for 59 yards.

Versus:

Matt Cassel, Russell Wilson and Mark Sanchez have struggled, and their starting jobs are in jeopardy.
Their passes might sail high, but three NFL quarterbacks have landed far short of expectations.
Kansas City’s Matt Cassel, Seattle’s Russell Wilson, and the New York Jets’ Mark Sanchez aren’t the only starting quarterbacks who are struggling—there are several—but they’re the ones inching ever closer to the bench.

Can you tell which was written by an algorithm? It’s the first, while the second comes from a real human being at the Los Angeles Times. If you couldn’t make out the difference, don’t worry–other people couldn’t, either. (1)

Humans and computers differ in many things. If one is not able to show these things through his writing, then there is surely a problem. In an era where poetry and novels are reduced to “Dan Brown”-like examples, robots will soon gain supremacy in the field. We should start writing with our soul again. An in order to do that we first of all have to start believing again that we have one…

“Whatever satisfies the soul is truth.”
― Walt Whitman