The Italian daily IL Foglio has part of its editions of artificial intelligence. The editor -in -chief wants to initiate a debate, warn critics.
Journalists formulate an issue, the rest takes over the artificial intelligence: According to this principle, the Italian newspaper IL Foglio has been filling four pages every day since March 18, which encloses it to the traditional edition. It is about statistics on economic development, Donald Trump's political course or the attitude of the government of Giorgia Meloni for the Ukraine War,
The editor -in -chief of IL Foglio, Claudio Cerasa, does not claim that it would be something completely new that a AI writes journalistic texts. But “Il Foglio” is the first medium worldwide to not only publish such texts online, but also traditionally print on paper.
“We have to prove what we can do well”
Cerasa expressly contradicts a presumption: neither as editor -in -chief nor the business economist at the publisher is about saving journalists. The goal is completely different: the newspaper wants to find out “which borders AI can and which cannot overcome in journalism”.
The project should run until the second half of April, but an interim balance can be drawn, says Cerasa: In his view, texts created with AI read how professional newspaper articles and fit into the overall picture of the newspaper, which relies very little on images and graphics and strongly on texts. And Cerasa thinks that it is already evident: Texts written by humans have added value compared to AI generated articles, it must be visible that there are skills that only people have. “We have to prove what we can do so that we cannot be replaced by a machine.”
Provocative: In its edition of March 18, 2025, the newspaper “IL Foglio” announces its AI experiment.
Humor does not take place
The newspaper's experiment based in Rome attracts great attention in Italy's media scene. Alessio Jacona, AI specialist from the Italian news agency Ansa, admits to the AI generated texts that they are quite legible and faithful. But in an Ansa podcast episode, he criticizes that human elements were missing, such as classification and humor.
The AI's lack of humor does not surprise him, explains Jacona. Because she is able to generate texts that read as if there is a certain thoughtfulness behind it. In reality, however, a AI cannot deviate from the basic principle of the algorithms, sorting the words according to statistical rules: “And that is why it is not able to grasp humor.”
No investigative reports
Andrea Garibaldi from the Italian journalist network “Professional Reporter” has another point of criticism: AI is unable to give things to light things that want responsibilities that would like to remain hidden. “You don't succeed.”
Garibaldi, who has a teaching position at the University of Lumsa in Rome after a career with several large Italian newspapers, sees one thing above all in the experiment of “IL Foglio”: “A provocation”. From this provocation, journalism can possibly draw valuable teachings internationally. And Garibaldi, like the “IL Foglio” editor-in-chief Cerasa, hopes for a fertile debate about what journalism should do in the future.
“A big one Marketing operation “
The journalism lecturer also sees an economic aspect in the AI experiment. The comparatively small newspaper is not too well known even in Italy, and certainly not abroad. But now, however, Garibaldi states across the continents about the AI generated newspaper pages: “This is a great marketing operation.”
The editor -in -chief of IL Foglio, Claudio Cerasa, makes no secret of the fact that the additional attention for his newspaper is happy. The edition, which Cerasa estimates at 29,000, has increased by more than half, and “Il Foglio” also won many new subscribers. However, Cerasa considers it legitimate if media also expand their audience with such ideas.
