Myers 1

Steven Myers
Bro. Griffin
ENG 252
23 October 2016
Abolished by an Algorithm: The Consequences of Natural Language Generation
In 1950, Alan Turing, inventor of the modern computer, asked a question that changed the
world forever: Can machines think? (433). Forty-three years, and many more questions further
down Turings path, David McDonald published what would be known as the first of many
answers in relation to one of these secondary questions: How can machines speak? (McDonald
191). To this question, hundreds of programmers have suggested their own answers, and in so
doing, began to design and implement computer programs that can in many ways imitate the
human thinking process in writing and speech, known categorically as Natural Language
Generation, or NLG. After more than 20 years, these programs have become advanced enough to
replace some human jobs or fill niches in the writing industry that arent feasible for humans to
accomplish, a few of which are listed by Philip Parker, INSEAD marketing professor and author
of over 1 million books, in an interview with Bianca Bosker: writing in languages that have few
native speakers, in topics that would not be of interest to human writers, or that human writers
are not capable to produce content on quite as efficiently, such as manuals on Luggage and
Utility Racks, or annual economic reports. While writers still maintain a dominant portion of the
writing job market, being able to hand-craft narratives or persuasive documents in creative ways
that algorithms, or repeated sets of instructions, cant foreseeably imitate, the future for NLG
programming grows brighter with each passing year, with predictions suggesting that it will have
progressed as far as real-time rendering of television programs for individuals on a personal basis

Myers 2
(Bosker). Major questions that the emergence of such a technology poses to many in the writing
industry are about whether or not they will be made obsolete, and if their careers and livelihood
will be outsourced to these programs. After extensive research on the topic, the answer remains
vague in regard to the long-term, as the technology is still quite young, but it is safe to suggest
that, at least for the next generation of writers, there is no need to worry that NLG will replace
the writing industry for two primary reasons. The first is that the answer to McDonalds original
question about the true source for human thought in communication remains a mystery, for while
speech and language can be imitated by programs almost indistinguishably by computers,
creativity cannot, as the philosophy behind creativity strictly conflicts with the philosophy
behind programming. The other is that there are far too many applications for which algorithms
are effective. While programs are less efficient than humans in terms of creativity, they are far
more efficient at different jobs, like the transformation of non-linguistic data into linguistic
narrative, instant multi-language translation of professional documents for the use of
businesspeople and lawyers across language barriers, and the possibility of starter kits or first
draft generators for creative writers that have a story to tell, and good proofreading skills, but
dont have the pre-writing and drafting skills developed enough to tell it within limited time
tolerances. Additionally, the introduction of Natural Language Generation has opened up the
market to as many or more potential jobs for writers as it would replace, as content created by
NLG still needs to be proofread, edited, and managed by humans, especially in high-level
professional settings like executive business and law. Regardless of how this new development
changes the writing industry, the fact is that NLG technology is here to stay, so the only answer
that writers really need is one that will help them adapt to these changes.

Myers 3
While Alan Turing believed that machines can think (133), it is clear that a machine and a
human cannot think in the same way, since machines, for which the thinking process is both
built upon and restricted by instructions, cannot imitate human creativity, which is typically
associated with breaking the molds and thinking outside the conditions set for it. Roger Evans et.
al., in What is NLG? condense several methods by which computers are instructed to imitate
human thought in writing to their bare philosophies, two of which are considered paramount to
the development of NLG technology (2). McDonald is regarded by them to be the first to create a
method for NLG because in 1993 he was the first to define an answer that pinpointed what
speakers begin from as they translate their ideas into communicable language: the first point
where a speaker must appeal to her knowledge of language as she begins the process of carrying
out some action through the use of language (2). To simplify, the moment the speaker begins to
contemplate the assignments of words to individual ideas to formulate a unique super-idea is the
singular moment upon which programmers must focus to begin language generation algorithms.
While this philosophy does accurately imitate human thought, it creates more questions than it
answers, because this singular moment McDonald speaks of is different for each person that
thinks and in a different place each time a person thinks, including through multiple iterations of
the same idea. Even the way in which the author of this sentence formulated and constructed the
idea for it could have been approached from a near-infinite number of angles and in a nearinfinite number of combinations. Methods to implement such a process in the heavily structured
realm of digital programming remain an enigma, but McDonalds idea became the starting point
for many developers to create their own forms of NLG. Two of these developers, Ehud Reiter
and Robert Dale, defined their architecture for NLG in 2000, which broadly accords with the
actual architecture of many implemented systems (Evans 2). In other words, the system they

Myers 4
designed is built with the thinking capabilities of a computer in mind, not those of a human.
This is a more feasible idea than McDonalds, because digital computers are simply not made to
think in the same way that humans can. An example that illustrates how humans and computers,
by nature, think differently is found in the idea of a sphere. When a person imagines a sphere,
he or she may simply visualize a sphere: a perfectly round object in three-dimensional space. But
a person often doesnt think through what it takes to make a sphere. Oftentimes, one may recall
to memory examples of spheres he or she has encountered in life, like rocks, balls, or the moon.
A mathematically inclined person may even go as far as defining the equation of a sphere. On the
other hand, a computer is incapable of visualizing a true sphere altogether. Even when given an
equation, it must go through the process of first defining a center point, and then plotting for
itself millions upon millions of points that, for the given center point, satisfy the equation.
Billions of calculations later, a computer, due to its structure limitations, cannot see its creation
as a sphere, only as an object that satisfies its equation. However, the product of these
calculations is far from useless. Its close enough to the idea of a sphere to effectively substitute
for it in applications that require it. The same can be applied to a sentence: while a computer
never can visualize a sentence for what it is, it can calculate a satisfactory substitute. This
difference is why NLG must be formulated in a way that caters specifically to the strengths of a
computer: its ability to process, execute, and reiterate instructions and perform calculations with
incredible speed, and Reiter and Dale did just that in their architecture, which is why many
successful Natural Language Generation programs exist based on their definition, which uses a
fourtuple < k, c, u, d >, where k is a knowledge source, c is a communicative goal, u is a user
model, and d is a discourse history (as quoted in Evans 2) These guidelines fit handily within
the boundaries set by digital processing, but remain too underspecified and vague to fit the needs

Myers 5
of individual applications for NLG, and the models drawbacks are that each of its four parts
must be redefined and reprogrammed for each application it is purposed for (Evans 2).
Even with Reiter and Dales architecture guiding the development of new NLG
programs, there are tasks that remain almost strictly outside the capacity of computer processing
to execute, by the nature and format of each tasks chosen k, or knowledge source. This point
is illustrated humorously by webcomic author and former NASA roboticist Randall Munroe in
his comic, titled Tasks.

Fig. 1. A GIS (geographic information system) is an enormous matrix (container) of values that
stores data that is relevant to positions on the surface of the Earth (Rutledge). On the contrary, a
digital image is a matrix filled with data values representing locations within the container,
known as pixels, and the color of each pixel.

Myers 6
While a GIS would be nearly impossible for a human to navigate, let alone access
individual values from with any real confidence, a computer can process a set of instructions
billions of times per second that will, without fail, return a perfectly accurate result. However,
the visual data of an image is nearly impossible for a computer to understand at the visual level,
because computers, as explained in the previous sphere example, cannot see objects for what
they are. Applications in which NLG could replace humans include data entry, data reporting,
language translation, specification reporting, and the creation of select technical documents.
Tasks that would be very difficult for NLG to perform include critical thinking, artistic criticism,
commentary, creativity, and anything that would require the computer to understand humanity in
any way (beliefs, backgrounds, cultures, personalities, or psychology). Based on this, it is clear
that there will always be a place in the professional writing industry for human talents to thrive,
and writers should not be as worried about being replaced by computers, but about understanding
the capabilities of NLG and its family of programs to enhance their ability to perform in the
niches where organic minds are essential. One very possible application for NLG is in the
education of children. Anya S. Evmenova et al., in their article Emphasizing Planning for Essay
Writing With a Computer-Based Graphic Organizer, report their study of the effects of
computer programs to assist students with learning, emotional, and communicational disorders as
very positive, with a majority of participants improving in writing quantity, and every participant
improving in writing quality (Eymenova 1). While this article doesnt mention NLG at all, it is
not difficult to see how NLG can improve the ability of students with communication disorders
to translate their ideas into words and enable these children to more easily become valuable
contributing members to the world around them in their futures.

Myers 7
Many writers objections to the development of NLG technology are based on the fear
that they will eventually be entirely replaced by programs and will be put out of their jobs or
careers of choice. These objections arent entirely unfounded, as those who work in fields for
which NLG is highly applicable, like reporters, document translators, and many forms of
technical writer, may soon find themselves becoming secondary to NLG programs in the
performance of their tasks. However, writers are qualified to do many more tasks than the small
niche of fields in which computers dominate, and secondary positons in which writers edit or
proofread documents produced by NLG will open up as quickly as primary positions close to
humans. Additionally, as shown above, there are a myriad of tasks which algorithms may never
be able to understand. If digital technology progresses so far that such tasks are within the reach
of computers, every job in every industry will be possible for a computer, and writers fears of
being replaced becomes irrelevant, because every working person will have been laid off through
outsourcing.
Another objection that some hold towards the implementation of Natural Language
Generation is that writers, especially young, inexperienced writers new to the writing industry
may use NLG too liberally in their work, and therefore, undermining their talents with a
technological crutch, and preventing them from gaining experience and understanding in the prewriting and drafting processes of documents. These effects, as a whole, would be detrimental to
the writing industry, as writers will have crippled themselves from competence in creative fields
and possibly force themselves from the market. This objection has true merit, as currently, prewriting and drafting are essential skills for the fledgling writer. However, no one can predict the
future, especially in a world whose culture, values, and technology evolve as quickly as
Influenza. In the same way that previous advances in technology have changed humanity for the

Myers 8
better or worse, such as the invention of the typewriter, the printing press, or written language in
its basic form, NLG will affect the way that humans write, and more importantly, how they think,
forever. Despite these effects, it is certain that humanity will move on, adapting to the conditions
of the changing world as it always has adapted.
Natural Language Generation is an exciting new technology that shouldnt cause current
or near-future writers to fear for their employment, as digital programs have natural limitations
when compared with organic minds. On the contrary, it opens up doors to possibilities that
writers may have never thought to be possible, such as opportunities for professional writers to
focus entirely on the research, proofreading, and critical portions of the writing process. It further
underscores the necessity of human talent in fields requiring critical thinking and persuasion,
such as law, grant and proposal writing, and speech writing. It can serve as a valuable tool to
todays educators in helping young children with disabilities to overcome their weaknesses and
enhance their strengths, and helps businesses and economies in general to thrive by providing
detailed reports of the effects of recent or past executive decisions on their markets. It breaks
language barriers, promoting international cooperation and social and technological growth in
underdeveloped countries, and improving diplomatic communication between world leaders.
Objections to its development are far outweighed by its positive effects, and possible negative
effects of its coming to prominence in the writing industry are, in the long run, either irrelevant
or can be adapted to. Whether or not Natural Language Generation will continue to develop is
not a question. It will undoubtedly improve, and the fruits of its development will change the
world forever. The real question: will you be ready for it?

Myers 9
Works Cited
Bateman, John A. Enabling Technology for Multilingual Natural Language Generation: the
KPML Development Environment. Natural Language Engineering, vol. 3, no. 1, 1997,
pp. 1555. doi:10.1017/s1351324997001514.
Bosker, Bianca. Philip Parker's Trick For Authoring Over 1 Million Books: Don't Write. Philip
Parkers Trick For Authoring Over 1 Million Books: Dont Write,
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 11 Feb. 2013,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/11/philip-parker-books_n_2648820.html.
Evmenova, A. S. et al. Emphasizing Planning for Essay Writing With a Computer-Based
Graphic Organizer. Exceptional Children, vol. 82, no. 2, June 2015, pp. 170191.
EbscoHost, doi:10.1177/0014402915591697.
Evans, Roger et al. What Is NLG? What Is NLG?, University of Brighton, 2002,
http://mcs.open.ac.uk/pp2464/inlg02clime.pdf.
McDonald, David D. Issues in the Choice of a Source for Natural Language Generation.
Computational Linguistics, 1st ed., vol. 19, pp. 191197, Association for Computational
Linguistics, http://www.aclweb.org/anthology/j93-1009.
Munroe, Randall. "Tasks." Xkcd. Xkcd.com, 24 Sept. 2014. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.
Rutledge, Kim et al. GIS (Geographic Information System). GIS (Geographic Information
System), Edited by Kara West and Jeanie Evers, National Geographic Society, 26 Mar.
2011, http://nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/geographic-information-system-gis/.
Turing, A.M. (1950). Computing machinery and intelligence. Mind, 59, 433-460.