Automated AOL News: Heralding the Future of Online News Writing?

AOL's CEO Tim Armstrong is promising to "spark a revolution" in online news reporting: He's got plans to automate it. Instead of relying on AOL's experienced staff of editors and writers to put together the written content for AOL's news Web sites, the company will be employing an algorithmic system that trawls the Internet and examines the stories its Net visitors will most prefer. It'll then advise the humans in the loop which stories are likely to do well, and when to run them--particularly pieces like seasonal or sporting-interest ones. AOL will also be using Seed.com to share out article assignments among the large freelance staff. Payments for freelancers will also be calculated automatically, along with advertising fees. And, and this is the most intriguing part, it'll screen the submitted pieces for grammar and even check them for copyright infringements.