Italian Newspaper Launches AI-Written Section After Successful Trial
- tech360.tv
- Apr 21, 2025
- 2 min read
An Italian newspaper has launched a weekly section written entirely by artificial intelligence after a month-long trial boosted sales and drew praise for the technology’s ironic tone.
Il Foglio, a small conservative daily with 22 staff members, published a four-page AI-generated insert each day for one month, which was sold alongside the regular edition.
Editor Claudio Cerasa said the experiment was a global first and described it as a major success. The paper will now continue publishing an AI-written section once a week.
Cerasa said AI would also be used occasionally to cover topics outside the newsroom’s expertise, such as a recent article on astronomy.
Despite the growing role of AI, Cerasa stressed that the technology would not replace journalists or lead to job cuts.
“Some publishers see AI as a way to have fewer journalists and more machines. That is very wrong and self-harming,” Cerasa said.
He said AI should be used to expand coverage, not reduce it, and predicted it would create new roles for people skilled in prompting and managing the technology.
Cerasa said AI would push journalists to be more creative and original, as they would need to offer insights beyond what machines could generate.
He interacted daily with the AI system and was impressed by its ability to write ironic articles and analyse lengthy books in minutes.
However, Cerasa noted that AI lacked critical thinking and could not challenge editorial direction, unlike human reporters.
He also pointed out that the technology sometimes made factual errors and failed to update its knowledge, citing its refusal to acknowledge Donald Trump’s 2024 re-election.
Il Foglio ran a daily AI-written insert for one month
The trial increased newspaper sales and will continue weekly
Editor Claudio Cerasa praised AI’s irony and review skills
Source: REUTERS
