Since March 18, 2025, the Italian newspaper Il Foglio has published an edition entirely generated by artificial intelligence. An unprecedented experiment in the world of journalism, which is generating as much enthusiasm as questions, especially at a time when some are already hoping to replace journalists with AI.
With a release on newsstands scheduled from Tuesday to Friday for a month, Il Foglio AI has just launched the first edition of a newspaper entirely written by artificial intelligence. The initiative sounds like a true revolution in the media landscape. Each edition will include around twenty news stories ranging from politics to finance, as well as several editorials.
In concrete terms, how does it work?
The idea isn't to hand over the reins to artificial intelligence. This experiment, which may seem like a figure of speech, intends to mobilize around twenty very human journalists. They will be responsible for asking questions to OpenAI's ChatGPT, specifying the desired subject and tone. The AI will then generate a text using information available on the internet. Everything is artificially generated, "the writing, the headlines, the captions, the quotes, the summaries," the newspaper specifies in its presentation.
For Claudio Cerasa, director of Il Foglio, the goal is not to replace journalists, but to "revitalize journalism." This bold move has paid off: on the first day, the daily's sales increased by 60%. 90% of readers said they were amused by the initiative, although it is difficult to consider this enthusiasm as anything other than a novelty effect.
A success rich in lessons
After a few days of experimentation, Il Foglio has already learned several lessons. “The quality of the AI exceeds all expectations. Il Foglio AI's writing is heavy, but it knows how to capture humor, it knows how to interpret style, it knows how to be self-deprecating, the newspaper notes.
However, this first week has also revealed the limits of artificial intelligence in journalism. As a self-assessment generated by the AI itself explains, Il Foglio AI produces coherent texts, but lacks journalistic instinct and perspective.
What future for the press?
This initiative comes as other similar attempts have sparked controversy. In 2024, the Australian science magazine Cosmos used GPT-4 to produce six articles, triggering strong criticism from the Australian Science Journalists Association. Experts judged these “incorrect or too simplistic“ contents, with approximate scientific descriptions, accused of harming the credibility of the publication.
At the end of this month-long experiment, Il Foglio promises to share the impacts of AI on its working methods and the questions raised by this cohabitation between artificial intelligence and traditional journalism. Enough to open a fundamental debate on the future of the entire profession. In France, major press groups are already calling for strict legal supervision.
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