General News

First they came for the sports reporters

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In a world where robots take over the fourth estate . . .

Sound like the opening of a bad sci-fi film trailer? It may be more realistic than you think. National Public Radio reported Sunday: “‘Robot Journalist’ Out-Writes Human Sports Reporter.”

Sports

“A while back, All Things Considered brought you the story of a breakthrough technology: the robot journalist,” the story begins. The robot journalist is called Stats Monkey, and the original story is here.

Okay, so it’s not really a robot. It’s actually a software program. You feed it data, it processes that data, and it spits out a news story putting those numbers you gave it into context — just like you’d see in your local newspaper.

In the beginning, it was used exclusively for sports stories and a lot of people were skeptical — namely, real-life sports journalists.

“I always imagine kind of the robot you imagined in the third grade with the boxy body and the antennae arms, standing in front of a keyboard,” says Emma Carmichael, a writer for the sports website Deadspin.

She and her colleagues at Deadspin took a few digs at the idea, and this spring, when they came across a particularly bad account of a baseball game on the college sports website GWSports.com they assumed it was machine generated.

But it wasn’t. It was written by a real reporter — a sports reporter who failed to recognize that throwing a no-hitter is a notable achievement, and buried this fact toward the end of the article. Stats Monkey did not make the same mistake.

“We actually got hold of the information director of the school, we got the raw material, the numbers around the story,” said Kris Hammond, Chief Technology Officer of Narrative Science. “And we fed it to our system, which wrote the story, where the headline and the lead were focused on the fact that it was a no-hitter. Because how could you write a baseball story and not notice that it was a no hitter? I mean what kind of writer or machine would you be?”

Now, admittedly, this story is really more about poor sports reporting by humans than it is about good reporting by robots. But it got me thinking about all the ways robots have invaded the news business, what might happen in the future, and what it says about us as a society.

Weather

It used to be that when you tuned into NOAA weather radio, WXJ71, you heard a human voice. He would tell you the weather stats of the day, the forecast, and any severe weather warnings. When you tune into the same station today, you hear a synthesized voice that sounds only slightly better than the computerized voice in the movie War Games. (You remember that one: “Greetings, Professor Falcon.”)

What you’re hearing is something called a Console Replacement System, or CRS, a “personal computer-based broadcasting console … that automatically translates and schedules written National Weather Service forecasts and warnings into synthesized-voice broadcasts over NOAA Weather Radio.” It uses “text-to-speech voice synthesis” using a product made by Digital Equipment Corporation (or DEC) called “DECtalk.”

The big selling point for the system was efficiency and greater safety. “Automation dramatically speeds up the broadcast of warnings during multiple severe weather events — and faster communication can potentially save lives.” [emphasis added] Weather service offices today “operate up to 13 NOAA Weather Radio transmitters,” covering a large geographic area, “and the NOAA Weather Radio system continues to grow while staffing levels stay the same.”

Staffing levels may be staying the same now, but the automated voice came on the scene in the 1990s — the same time the National Weather Service started closing local offices and consolidating their operations into approximately 120 regional offices nationwide. It was called the National Weather Service Modernization and Restructuring Program, and it aimed to reduce staffing levels by 21 percent.

You see, the National Weather Service is federally funded, so modernization and staff reductions — a somewhat euphemistic way of describing, in part, the replacement of humans with computerized voices — were part of the government’s efforts to control spending.

News

Public radio is going through some of the same problems. As Congress looks to reduce public funding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, I find myself wondering how long it will be before I turn on WCBU some morning and hear this:

[audio:https://peoriachronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/Audio/Automated-news.mp3]

That’s a computerized voice from a Scottish company called CereProc. They’re probably most famous for creating a computerized version of film critic Roger Ebert’s voice. But they’ve actually created several voices — with different regional accents and inflections — that sound much more natural than the weather radio voice. I chose “Sarah” (they give names to each of their synthesized voices) for the above example because it sounded like a typical public radio voice. And I liked the accent.

But all break-through technology has unintended consequences. This same creation that helps medical patients recover their voices could also be used to replace real reporters in the future. While they probably won’t create an automated voice that sounds just like, say, Denise Molina or Shaun Newell, they might very well choose a synthesized voice with a friendly, midwestern accent to read the news on the air.

News stations haven’t started using automated voices yet, but let’s face it, given the current state of media consolidation and profit maximization, it’s just a matter of time. Automated voice message systems and “robo-calls” are already commonplace, slowly desensitizing us to fake voices every day. Plus, computerized text-to-speech programs are improving all the time.

When synthesized voices finally do take over the news, we probably won’t even notice.

Print, Radio, TV

Perhaps the most diabolical implication of all this is how these technologies can work together. You could put the facts of a story into Stats Monkey, which creates news copy, which could then be vocalized by a synthesized voice. The only thing left is creating a visualization that can automate television news as well.

The obvious solution: computer animation.

That’s right. Avatars replace anchors. Most other TV functions can or have been automated. Camera operators, technical directors, lighting technicians, audio engineers — they’re an endangered species in some newsrooms, extinct in others. Nevertheless, station owners are still looking for ways to cut costs. Even here in Peoria, local reporters and anchors are concerned about their jobs being outsourced to Indiana, although the head honchos claim they have no such intention. But maybe avatars explain how Granite Broadcasting could exercise “jurisdictional flexibility” and still have the news production remain local. No contracts, no sets, no — it would be a dream come true for any out-of-town media conglomerate.

The human touch

I don’t really expect avatars to replace Mac and Mike anytime soon. But I won’t be surprised if it happens, either. The abandonment of human interaction in our communication continues to grow.

When I was in grade school, my teacher would send home notes to parents with the students. Now parents get a robo-call from the school with a computerized voice telling us when the next PTO meeting will be. Just about every large business has adopted some form of recorded or automated voice to answer their company phones and keep human interaction to a minimum. Grocery stores and libraries have adopted do-it-yourself checkout systems, allowing patrons to avoid human contact. While the public balks at physical patdowns by human airport security personnel, they’re more than willing to have their clothes completely (if virtually) removed. Automated teller machines have eliminated the need to see your banker for routine deposits and withdrawals. And then there are blogs… and Farmville.

In light of all this, I don’t think it will take much for the public to accept fake voices and avatar anchors in news broadcasts. The groundwork has already been laid. The philosophic and economic rationales have been established. It’s a natural extension of what already exists in our media today.

The bigger question is, why do we value human interaction so little?

City of Peoria, General News

Holiday Inn changing to Four Points by Sheraton

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From WEEK-TV:

A new hotel franchise is on its way to downtown Peoria.

In an agreement between Holiday Inn City Centre and Starwood Hotel & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., the Holiday Inn hotel will officially be renamed Four Points by Sheraton Downtown Peoria.

A multimillion dollar enhancement for the hotel has already been put into action.

I heard about this after the council meeting last night from the reporters who were there covering the meeting. I have to admit that I was shocked — shocked! — to hear this news. I was told by recently reelected Councilman Turner that this kind of thing simply will not happen unless the City offers millions of dollars in incentives. Yet, this upgrade to the property is being done with private dollars.

Four Points by Sheraton is described as “an upscale four star hotel chain for business and leisure travelers” according to Wikipedia.

City of Peoria, Streets

Straight talk on roundabouts

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There was a lot of discussion about roundabouts at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, and most of the information came from a report written by the City’s Public Works department. I acquired a copy of the report, and found it well-written and persuasive:

Allen Road and Hickory Grove Road Intersection Improvement

Construction Costs
Farnsworth Group, as a consultant for the Dunlap School Board, was asked to develop a cost estimate for the Allen Road and Hickory Grove Road Intersection improvement to compare the costs of a roundabout with a traditional four-way stop intersection. They responded with a concept cost estimate for the intersection. The design costs for the roundabout were slightly higher because of the complexity of the intersection and the desire to have an outside firm, Ourston Roundabout Engineering Inc., perform an independent review. The construction cost for the traditional intersection was slightly higher because of the need for turn lanes at the intersection. The overall design and construction cost for the two concepts were approximately equal, at about 1.2 million dollars each.

Future Costs
The traffic study performed by Farnsworth Group shows that in the construction year, 2012, the intersection does not meet warrants for the installation of a traffic signal. However, the traffic study shows that within 10 years this intersection will warrant traffic signals, which will be necessary to ensure safe and efficient traffic flow for the school. The design and construction of a traffic signal would cost between $250,000 and $300,000 and may include additional right-of-way. A single lane roundabout will be adequate to handle the increase of traffic at this intersection long past the point that traffic signals are warranted, even past the 20 year design done by the consultants, so no future construction costs are foreseen with this design.

Maintenance and Operating Cost
The maintenance and operating cost of a roundabout and a traditional four-way stop intersection would be approximately the same. Both would require lighting and periodic paint striping. The landscaping maintenance for a roundabout may be slightly higher, but staff would suggest that the central island of the roundabout be established with low maintenance landscaping when constructed. Once traffic signals are installed at this intersection the City can expect and average operating and maintenance obligation of approximately $2500 per year for this intersection. No future increase in maintenance and operating cost would be required for the roundabout design.

Other Roundabout Considerations

Vehicle Safety
Roundabouts have been shown to be safer than traditional intersections. A roundabout has decreased conflict points for traffic, only 8, as compared to 32 in a traditional intersection. With a large central island all traffic must enter to the right, which virtually eliminates severe head-on and right angle crashes. According to a blog post from Regan Zambri Long, all traffic in the roundabout travels slowly in one direction, which reduces speeds, which further reduces crash severity of truck accidents. Studies have shown that roundabouts decrease total crashes by nearly 40%, injury crashes by nearly 80% and fatal crashes by nearly 90% over a traditional style intersection. There are also plenty of semi-truck accident attorneys that can help make a case for you if you find yourself in an accident involving one.

Pedestrian Safety
The design of a roundabout includes splitter islands, which separate entering and exiting traffic. These slow traffic entering the roundabout. The splitter islands also serve to provide pedestrians and bicyclists a refuge when crossing the roadway. Pedestrian only have to watch for traffic in one direction at a time. Often, when a traditional intersection has dedicated turn lanes, a single lane roundabout design will have shorter pedestrian crossing distances and reduced vehicle/pedestrian conflict points.

Traffic Capacity
A single lane roundabout will accommodate traffic that exceeds warrants for traffic signals. This will eliminate the need for intersection upgrades for the foreseeable future.

Traffic Delay
Studies have shown that roundabouts reduce intersection delay by nearly 70% compared to four-way stop or signalized intersections. Using the traffic study figures for the Allen Road and Hickory Grove Road Intersection, staff has estimated a 10 second per vehicle delay reduction. For the construction year this results in an estimated annual savings of over 320 days of lost time by the drivers using the intersection. Putting a modest value of $10 per hour for this time, a cost of over $76,000 per year in lost time is seen for drivers. This amount will increase as traffic volumes increase.

Fuel Consumption
Reducing traffic delay has the added benefit of reducing fuel consumption at the intersection. A small decrease in delay can lead to a surprisingly large reduction in fuel. At a rate of fuel consumption of 1.2 gallon per hour of idling, nearly 10,000 gallons of fuel could be saved at Allen Road and Hickory Grove Road with the installation of a roundabout, instead of a four-way stop. With gas nearing $4 a gallon, this leads to a savings of nearly $40,000 for drivers. This figure increases with traffic volume, with of over 13,000 gallons of fuel savings per year estimated over a four-way stop at this intersection in 2022.

Emissions Reduction
A reduction in traffic delay can also be beneficial in reducing harmful vehicle emissions. This is especially important because the Peoria area is nearing the threshold of the EPA’s air attainment levels. Additionally, the EPA is considering lowering this threshold. Studies have shown an emissions reduction of 20-30% for a roundabout over a traditional intersection. Staff research gave us an estimate of 19 lbs of CO2 produced per gallon of gas consumed. By saving 10,000 gallons of fuel annually, a roundabout at Allen Road and Hickory Grove Road will reduce the CO2 emissions by 95 tons per year at this intersection. Other types of emissions are also reduced, but are not as easily calculated.

Public Opinion:
Studies have shown that in places that do not have roundabouts that initial public opinion is often negative. This is generally because they are new concepts to local drivers. The public sometimes confuses them for other types of intersections, such as rotaries, neighborhood traffic circles or town centers, (like in Washington Illinois), or they feel that local drivers will not understand them. Studies have also shown that after a roundabout is constructed that the opinions turn positive. One study staff researched showed poll results from before and after the installation of a roundabout. The before results where 68% negative or very negative and the after results were 73% positive or very positive. This shows an almost complete reversal of opinion once the roundabout was constructed.

4/11/11 nas

City Council, City of Peoria

Peoria City Council 4-12-2011 (Live Blog)

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Hello, and welcome to Council Chambers at Peoria City Hall. It’s 6:32 p.m., and the mayor is making several proclamations at the outset of the meeting before we get into the meat of the agenda. It looks like all the council members are present (except George Jacob), plus the two new council members — Beth Akeson and Chuck Weaver — are in the gallery.

As usual, I will be blogging live throughout the meeting, so refresh your browser every so often to see the latest updates. Here’s tonight’s agenda:

Continue reading Peoria City Council 4-12-2011 (Live Blog) →

Museum Block

It’s official: No IMAX for museum

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Here’s the press release:

After several months of research and exploration, the Peoria Riverfront Museum Board voted Thursday to partner with international immersive theater specialist Global Immersion to provide the technical solution for the museum’s Giant Screen Digital Theater (GSDT).

The Board’s GSDT committee met with key industry players, including system integrators, technology/hardware providers and film producers, and benchmarked with other mission-driven museums across the country regarding emerging technology, programming options and general tips on attendance. After deciding on a system integrator, the board selected award-winning Global Immersion as the company that best meets the museum’s criteria. The company, comprised of a team of veteran industry professionals, is dedicated to the design, development and integration of unique immersive theater experiences and was recently named 2011 International Business of the Year in England.

“Our decision was guided by defined criteria and we’re confident that Global Immersion is the right partner,” says Ryan Beasley, PRM Board Vice-Chair. “It’s all about creating an environment that will deliver an incredible immersive theater experience. We’ll have the most innovative technology available, access to a broad film library and the flexibility to control the content we deliver.”

The team at Global Immersion has been building innovative and technically advanced environments in venues around the world for more than 14 years. Headquartered in the UK with additional offices in the United States, Global Immersion provides display system engineering, media management, show production, lighting, seating, audio and more—combining these individual components to create state-of-the-art, high-performance attractions. Global Immersion’s portfolio of international clients includes Adler Planetarium in Chicago, Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in San Diego, Walt Disney Imagineering, Tainan Science & Education Museum in Taiwan, National Space Center in the United Kingdom, and the Moscow Planetarium in Russia, among many other educational institutions, entertainment venues and visitor experiences around the world.

The technical solution includes a 70’ x 52’ screen, digital 3D theater with 4K digital projection that will provide superior picture quality and a true “immersive” experience—a giant screen and stadium seating that creates the illusion of being inside the action. “The result will be a bigger, bolder, and better theater experience than any other across central Illinois,” says Beasley.

Because the museum is not tied to one content provider, its giant screen theater has access to a wide variety of existing and future films from producers and distributors like National Geographic, K2 Communications, nWave, MacGillivray Freeman and more. The arrangement also allows the museum to use the theater in creative ways that expand offerings— like airing live simulcasts of sports, arts, music and science events; hosting functions that incorporate live data or award videos; and planning video gaming or YouTube festivals.

“Selecting Global Immersion as our partner in this endeavor is the result of a comprehensive evaluation strategy,” says Beasley. “Our goal was to find the right GSDT partner who shared and is aligned with PRM’s mission.”

Construction on the Peoria Riverfront Museum began in March, and work will begin on its theater later this summer. In the meantime, the PRM board will work with Global Immersion to review the theater architecture, system design, performance specifications, budget and schedule. Preliminary film programming planning will begin later this year.

The Peoria Riverfront Museum is a collaborative effort of Lakeview Museum of Arts & Sciences, Peoria Historical Society, Illinois High School Association (IHSA), African American Hall of Fame Museum, Peoria Regional Museum Society, The Nature Conservancy, Heartland Foundation and Caterpillar Inc. Features include a giant screen digital theater; state-of-the-art planetarium; Illinois River exhibit; Peoria history gallery; children’s Discovery Worlds; galleries for fine arts, folk art and international features; and the IHSA Peak Performance Center.

City Council, City of Peoria

Urich to start with City five days early

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Patrick Urich’s first day as Peoria’s City Manager will be Wednesday, April 13, instead of Monday the 18th as originally agreed, if the Council approves the change next Tuesday. The approval is just a formality, and the City has already scheduled Urich’s official swearing-in ceremony for 9:00 a.m. April 13 in Council chambers. No reason was given for moving up the date.

Business, City Council, City of Peoria

Sex club ban on Council agenda

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On Tuesday, the City Council will consider a ban on live-sex-act businesses in the City of Peoria. If the ordinance is passed, it will make Club 307 — a sex club located at 801 SW Adams 307 Oak St. — illegal and subject to being shut down. From the council communication:

Concerns have been raised on the Council Floor by citizens complaining about the existence of a so-called swinger’s club in the City of Peoria. The attached Ordinance, based on an ordinance from Phoenix, Arizona which has been upheld by the Court there, makes it illegal to operate a business which charges admission to view and/or participate in live sex acts…. [A]ctivity unprotected by the First Amendment, which Council can find to be harmful to the health and wellbeing of Peoria, including but not limited to contributing to the spread of diseases, takes place in these establishments.

Club 307 is right next to Brown Bag Video, an adult bookstore. The council recently rejected a request from the owner to convert the bookstore into a 4 a.m. bar. The council declined to grant the 4 a.m. liquor license, although they approved a 4 a.m. liquor license four blocks north of this location to accommodate Big Al’s strip club. Many citizens expressed concern about Club 307 when the council was considering the adult bookstore’s liquor license request, and that’s what prompted this proposed action by the council.

In 2005, 62 percent of voters in a non-binding referendum said the city should “impose a ban on full nudity in new and existing adult cabaret clubs and strip clubs,” but no action was ever taken by the Council, even though the proposed ban was based on existing Indiana law that the courts upheld. City Attorney Randy Ray at that time expressed concern over any action that would impact an existing business, saying the first thing he would do if the Council acted on it was hire an outside lawyer to handle objections to the ban on constitutional grounds. The Journal Star opined, “When governments impose new rules that threaten businesses, they enter a legally dangerous area called an ‘illegal taking.'” Yet the council communication for shutting down Club 307 states there is “no direct financial impact,” and there is no indication that an outside lawyer would need to be hired. So, perhaps now the time is right to revisit the public nudity ban that was supported by the majority of Peoria citizens.

Census 2010, City Council, City of Peoria, Redistricting

Mayor to appoint redistricting committee

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The boundaries of the five City Council districts will have to change due to population shifts within the City. It’s a process called redistricting, and Mayor Ardis wants to employ a more “inclusive” method than the one used in 2001. The request from the mayor is on next Tuesday’s council agenda:

I am requesting the Council to concur with my recommendation to appoint a Redistricting Committee comprised of the District Council Members, chaired by Council Member Bill Spears. The Committee will be charged with a public process of drafting changes to the Council Districts and making a recommendation to the City Council regarding those changes.

Note that Redistricting Committees, comprised of District Council Members, were used in 1981 and 1991. I think the public process will be more inclusive than our internal process used in 2001.

The district council members are Clyde Gulley (Dist. 1), Barbara Van Auken (Dist. 2), Tim Riggenbach (Dist. 3), Bill Spears (Dist. 4), and Dan Irving (Dist. 5).

The 2010 Census shows the City’s population grew to 115,007 overall, but that growth was not evenly distributed throughout the City. Thus, the boundaries have to be redrawn such that each district includes approximately 23,001 residents (one-fifth of the total population). Here’s a chart that was provided in the council communication showing how many residents are currently in each council district, and how many need to be added or removed to reach the target number:

Council
District		 2010 District
Population		 Target Change
1 20379 23001 2622
2 20615 23001 2386
3 21305 23001 1696
4 21381 23001 1620
5 30624 23001 -7623

The new boundaries also have to meet federal standards for minority representation, and meet the requirements of the State of Illinois’ municipal code, which says that each district shall be “nearly equal in population,” “of as compact and contiguous territory as practicable,” and be created so that “no precinct shall be divided between 2 or more [districts].”

State law also requires that the redistricting process be completed “not less than 30 days before the first day set by the general election law for the filing of candidate petitions for the next succeeding election for city officers.” That means it would have be complete by October of 2012, but it usually gets done sooner so the Election Commission has time to redraw the precinct boundaries.

2011 Election, City Council, City of Peoria, Peoria Public Schools

Election Results 4/5/2011

39 Comments

Here are Tuesday’s election results for City Council and District 150:

Peoria City Council

# Candidate Votes Pct
1 Chuck Weaver 14,784.5839 24.95%
2 ♦ Ryan M. Spain 10,071.9164 17.00%
3 ♦ Gary Sandberg 8,390.0000 14.16%
4 ♦ W. Eric Turner 6,911.3335 11.67%
5 Beth Akeson 6,040.0832 10.20%
6 Charles V. Grayeb 5,559.3335 9.38%
7 Jim Stowell 2,402.7500 4.06%
8 André Williams 2,261.2499 3.82%
9 Christopher (C.J.) Summers 1,812.4167 3.06%
10 George Azouri 1,011.3333 1.71%

District 150, Ward 2

Candidate Votes Pct
♦ Debbie L. Wolfmeyer 1,150 55.66%
Mike Mitchell 916 44.34%

District 150, Ward 3
(All candidates were write-in candidates)

Candidate Votes Pct
Rick Cloyd 2,120 67.11%
Janice K. Deissler 759 24.03%
Jody Pitcher 181 5.73%
Phillip E. Cline 99 3.13%

♦ = Incumbent

2011 Election, City Council, City of Peoria

Please vote for me on Tuesday, April 5, and then come to the party!

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Tomorrow is the election. There are ten candidates for City Council, and the top five vote-getters will be our at-large council members for the next four years. I’m asking for your vote so that I’ll be one of those five.

Here’s my radio ad which has played the past several business days on WMBD (1470 AM), WSWT/Lite Rock 107 (106.9 FM), and WPIA/KISS-FM (98.5 FM); it explains what my priorities will be if I’m elected:

[audio:https://peoriachronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/Audio/Summers-for-Council-2011_192K.mp3]

I would like to thank everyone who has supported me, those who have already cast their vote for me during the early voting period, those who have endorsed me and given me advice, those who have put my sign in their yard, those who have encouraged their friends and family to vote for me, and all those who will be voting for me tomorrow.

You’re all invited to join me at the G.A.R. Hall, 416 Hamilton Blvd., on Tuesday night starting at 7 p.m. for an election night party. (In the spirit of consolidating services, Beth Akeson and I will be having our election night party together.) I hope you can all attend!