In a month-long trial, the Italian conservative daily Il Foglio added a four-page daily supplement written entirely by artificial intelligence. According to editor Claudio Cerasa, the experiment significantly boosted newspaper sales.
Cerasa clarified that the AI content was used in areas where the newsroom lacked specific expertise, such as astronomy. He stated that AI would not replace the paper’s 22 journalists, and that there are no plans to reduce staff. Starting now, a weekly section written by AI will be published regularly.
Speaking to Reuters, Cerasa said some publishers view AI as a tool to reduce human staff and increase automation, calling that approach a mistake. He emphasized the importance of using AI to expand possibilities rather than to cut back.
He added that AI can challenge journalists to be more creative and narrative in their reporting. He noted that AI was capable of writing ironic articles from the start. However, he pointed out that the technology lacks critical thinking and can make factual errors when relying on outdated data. As an example, the system incorrectly claimed that Donald Trump won the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
