The Italian daily newspaper Il Foglio claims to be the first in the world to publish an edition entirely written by artificial intelligence. This bold initiative aims to explore AI’s impact on journalism.
A Month-Long AI Experiment
Il Foglio AI, a special project, intends to examine how AI influences journalism, work, and daily life. Editor Claudio Cerasa launched the AI-generated edition to test AI-driven writing’s capabilities and limits. The four-page section appeared in the newspaper’s Tuesday edition, available both in print and online.
“This is the first daily newspaper on newsstands created entirely by artificial intelligence,” Cerasa said. “The AI handled everything—writing, headlines, quotes, summaries, and even irony.” Journalists only provided prompts to the AI systems and reviewed the content.
AI-Powered Articles and Editorial Choices
The AI-generated edition covered various topics, showing the technology’s flexibility. The front page featured a political analysis of Donald Trump, pointing out the “paradox of Italian Trumpians” who oppose cancel culture but accept authoritarian behavior from their political figures. Another article titled Putin, the 10 Betrayals criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for his broken agreements and unkept promises.
Some pieces were optimistic. One focused on Italy’s economic growth, highlighting an Istat report on income redistribution and recent salary increases for 750,000 workers. Another explored how young Europeans are moving away from traditional relationships toward “situationships.”
The AI-generated articles were well-structured and clear but lacked direct quotes from human sources. Even the reader letters on the final page were AI-generated. One letter asked if AI would eventually replace humans. The AI responded, “AI is a great innovation, but it still can’t order a coffee without getting the sugar wrong.”
A New Frontier for Journalism
Cerasa sees the Il Foglio AI project as a serious test of AI’s potential in journalism. While the AI-generated content looked like standard newspaper articles, the real goal was to explore AI’s implications for journalism and how it might transform the industry.
“It is just another Foglio made with intelligence—don’t call it artificial,” Cerasa commented.
Future Implications
As AI continues to advance, its role in journalism will likely expand. Il Foglio’s experiment sparks important questions about the future of news reporting, the credibility of AI-generated content, and the balance between human oversight and AI automation.