Algorithms and bots applied to journalism. The case of Narrativa Inteligencia Artificial: structure, production and informative quality

Abstract

This research analyses the organization, work processes and quality of the information produced by Narrativa Inteligencia Artificial, the only company in Spain that writes journalistic texts using the software known as Gabriele for distribution to various media. The study was conducted over a six month period using in-depth, semi-structured interviews with four company professionals with complementary profiles, as well as participant observation during the process of creating an automated news item, and an online questionnaire filled out by 145 journalists (N=145) to assess the quality of the texts produced. The results show that the start-up company fulfils the demands of different sectors such as communication media, and has been increasing the productivity of its content, although it still does not generate complex texts, as this is one of many human qualities that robots continue to lack.