Foglio AI: Italy Unveils the World’s First AI-Generated Newspaper

ROME, Italy (March 2025) — In an unprecedented move that merges old media with cutting-edge technology, Italian newspaper Il Foglio released a full editorial supplement titled Il Foglio AI, written entirely by artificial intelligence. The four-page edition marked the first known instance of a traditional print newspaper ceding editorial control to a machine-learning model.

From headlines and long-form articles to summaries and opinion pieces, every word in the supplement was AI-generated with minimal human intervention. Journalists at Il Foglio acted only as prompt engineers and light editors, giving cues to the AI and reviewing the final copy. The experiment, conducted from Tuesday to Friday throughout March, produced a total of 22 articles and three editorials per issue.

AI Journalism: Promise and Pitfalls

While the initiative drew global attention and praise for its innovation, media experts also raised concerns about quality, bias, and transparency. According to The Washington Post, early reviews noted that while the AI content mirrored the house style impressively, it lacked original reporting, investigative depth, and occasionally included factual errors.

Articles such as “Putin, the 10 Betrayals” and “Our Addiction to Relationships” revealed a mix of stylistic flair and algorithmic stiffness. Most surprisingly, the AI even answered reader letters — and did so with unexpected doses of sarcasm and irony, according to Reuters.

Ethics, Innovation, and the Road Ahead

The publication has reignited debate about how far artificial intelligence should go in the newsroom. Critics argue that even if AI can mimic journalistic tone, it cannot replicate core values such as ethical judgment, source verification, and investigative rigor. Cerasa himself noted that the project was intended to “revitalize” journalism, not replace it.

While some feared this could be the beginning of an AI takeover in newsrooms, others saw it as an opportunity to free up journalists for deeper work, letting machines handle repetitive or low-stakes content generation. The team behind Il Foglio AI is now reviewing feedback and exploring ways AI can assist, rather than dominate, editorial production.

Conclusion

Il Foglio AI stands as a landmark in media history — not for what it replaces, but for what it provokes. It asks essential questions about authorship, authenticity, and the value of the human voice in an era of algorithmic fluency. As AI continues to evolve, so too must our understanding of its role in one of democracy’s most vital institutions: the press.