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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, July 7, 2016 | 22 U Sure robots can write stories, but can they sing? pon hearing The Associated Press will soon be using automated software to write games stories for some 10,000 minor league baseball games each year -- effectively adding sportswriters to the mushrooming list of species endangered by encroaching technology -- the mind both boggles and trips back in time.... First off, let the mind boggle. Consider computer software-generated arti cial intelligence (AI) that can now analyze game data, cull the most pertinent points from that data and then churn out a report in impeccable AP style, probably in about a tenth of the time it That's Life Andy Juniper Guest Contributor would take a human to ferret out the facts and draft the dispatch. And probably at a fraction of the cost. Yikes. Of course, old-timers and purists and jour- Introducing a member of our family, here to help your family. We're proud to welcome Robert Csele to our team of caring professionals. At your time of need or when planning ahead, rely on Robert for the personalized solutions you need. To start planning, call Robert Csele for a FREE Information Kit! 905-842-2252 by Arbor Memorial Arbor Memorial Inc. Look for us on Facebook Visit www.oakviewfuneral.ca for a virtual tour of our funeral home. Oakview Funeral Home 56 Lakeshore Road, W., Oakville Family Owned. Proudly Canadian. nalism junkies bemoan the loss of the human touch while at once wondering where the next generation of major-league sportswriters will come from if the traditional training ground is being written-up by robots. Not surprisingly, considering my background in sports writing, I'm siding with the old-timers, the purists and the journo-junkies. Still, as my mind trips back in time to the rst baseball game I ever covered, I contemplate how I could well have used some AI that day since it became evident I wasn't particularly exhibiting any human intelligence. In my defence, I was a kid, all of 18. To boot, I was both a rookie and a rube. I'd been offered a job as a sportswriter in Thunder Bay on a Thursday. I frantically packed up my life in three days, said goodbye to everyone and everything I loved, and moved a million miles from home, arriving at my new place of employment late Monday afternoon. Slightly inexperienced (as in, zero experience). Terri ed. Already homesick. My boss gruf y welcomed me and said I had to work that very night covering a crucial Little League game. You've covered baseball before, right? Of course, I said. When in fact, I hadn't. Not a single game, nary an inning, anywhere, ever. He then handed me a scorebook. Because to properly cover baseball you need to score the game, so at game's end you have a record of exactly what happened, how it happened, and when it happened. You know how to score a game, right? Of course, I said. When in fact, I didn't. No clue. Then he handed me a Pentax camera and told me to snap some shots at the game. You've taken pictures before, right? Of course, I said. When in fact, I hadn't. Finally, he tossed me the keys to a company car, shouted convoluted directions, then left me to go out on my own and proceed to get lost. I arrived at the game two innings late. I watched the action intently. I knew baseball inside and out, but because I didn't know how to score a game, and was nervous as hell, I'd forget most of what happened by the time I returned to the of ce to write my story. Oh, and I took dozens of what would likely have been award-winning pictures, if only I'd known to take the lens cap off the camera. All of which might make a stellar case for robots writing baseball reports over lowly, dimwitted humans. Ah, except there was a brawl in the nal inning of the game and when the dust settled, I got killer quotes from coaches and players. Quotes that made my story sing. Like no sterile robotic writing could ever sing. -- Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, found on Facebook www. facebook.com, or followed on Twitter at www. twitter .com/thesportjesters. Design Install OakVille Showroom Location 466 speers Rd,unit 6-7 oakville, oN l6K 3W9 Build Fully custom kitchens, vanities, wall unit, mantle, walk in closet, laundry room, Bar, etc; · Granite, Quartz countertops · Full renovation service · Real estate service; T: 905-338-8999 / 905-338-8199 info@beyondkitchens.ca F: 905-338-8099 *Trades, realtors, builder programme available,please ask store for details;