Feb 7, 2019 - Economy & Business

Rise of the content bots

Photo: Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Robots are perfecting skills meant for factories and warehouses — but they’re targeting desk jobs, too. About 1/3 of the stories published on Bloomberg are written with some degree of AI help, reports NYT.

Between the lines: The articles that the Bloomberg bots write are standard wraps of company earnings reports — the stuff that business journalists might groan about.

In addition to markets news, another big area of bot reporting is sports. Per NYT, the AP uses AI for minor league baseball stories and the Washington Post for high school football recaps.

Here are examples of machine-generated articles from the AP:

TYSONS CORNER, Va. — MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR) on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter net income of $3.3 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier.
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Jonathan Davis hit for the cycle, as the New Hampshire Fisher Cats topped the Portland Sea Dogs 10-3 on Tuesday.

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Dan Primack

14 mins ago - Economy & Business

Scoop: Instacart raises another $100 million

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios Visuals

Grocery delivery company Instacart has raised $100 million in new funding, on top of the $225 million it announced last month, the company tells Axios. This brings its valuation to $13.8 billion.

Why it matters: This funding comes at what could be an inflection point for Instacart, as customers it acquired during coronavirus lockdowns decide whether they want to continue with the service or resume in-person grocery shopping.

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Axios

Updated 32 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 10 a.m. ET: 10,902,347 — Total deaths: 521,940 — Total recoveries — 5,777,662 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 10 a.m. ET: 2,739,879 — Total deaths: 128,740 — Total recoveries: 781,970 — Total tested: 33,462,181 — Map.
Public health: The states where face coverings are mandatory — Regeneron stops trial after drug fails to help patients — What we know about the coronavirus immune response — Fauci says it has been a "very disturbing week" for the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S.
Business: Top business leaders urge the White House to develop mandatory mask guidelines.
Politics: Herman Cain hospitalized for COVID-19 after attending Trump Tulsa rally — Biden downplays jobs number, rebukes Trump for ignoring health crisis.
Economy: The economy may recover just quickly enough to kill political interest in more stimulus.
States: Texas mandates face masks in public spaces — Florida reports more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases, and its most-infected county issues curfew.

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Jennifer A. Kingson

6 hours ago - Economy & Business

Markets swell as the economy shrinks

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

The economy is sputtering, but the markets are thriving — a highly unusual event that shows how the coronavirus has thrown all bets off.

Why it matters: The disconnect adds to the wealth gap. The richest 10% of households — who own 84% of stocks — are getting richer, while millions of out-of-work Americans cross their fingers that pandemic unemployment benefits will be extended.

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