The ‘future will belong to journalists,' says AI that wrote an entire Italian newspaper for a month
ADVERTISEMENT
Artificial intelligence (AI) will complement the work of journalists and sometimes make it more ironic, according to the editor of an Italian newspaper that relied on a chatbot to produce all its content for a month.
The Il Foglio newspaper, a daily national paper in Italy, decided to build its own AI chatbot and have it write all of the paper's content for over a month.
The newspaper's four-page layout, called Foglio AI, published over 22 articles with the first page dedicated to the news, cultural topics, opinion and debate pieces stimulated by the AI to represent both conservative and progressive sides. The last page was politics, economics, and letters to the editor with accompanying answers from the AI.
'We journalists will limit ourselves to asking questions, and in Foglio AI we will read all the answers,' the March 18 launch post
reads
.
The Il Foglio team also gave the AI some tasks, like listening to a long speech by Italian President Giorgia Meloni and summarising it. They also asked it to find subliminal or coded messages sent to Matteo Salvini, Italy's vice president of the Council of Ministers.
Related
New York Times files lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft over use of articles to train AI chatbots
All in all, Il Foglio editor Claudio Cerasa said the experiment was a success that will continue to be published once a week and the AI 'will live inside the newspaper' with articles that may be written by the 'every now and then', the newspaper said. AI will also be integrated elsewhere in his newsroom, like in podcasts, newsletters, books, debates and workshops.
'It's like having a new collaborator, an additional element of the editorial staff,' Cerasa wrote in an interview with his team's AI. 'I wouldn't call it an editor, because it's not, but it's something that's in the middle'.
'Artificial intelligence cannot be fought'
In an interview with their homemade AI, Cerasa said the idea started a year ago.
The company asked their readers last year to identify articles every day that they believed their journalists wrote with some assistance from the chatbot.
Those who could identify all the AI-supported articles would win a subscription to the newspaper and a bottle of champagne.
Related
Humans or AI? Study shows which tasks benefit most from using artificial intelligence
In January, after a creative lunch with Italian journalist and former MEP Giuliano Ferrara, Cerasa said they wanted to be more 'daring' and launch what they call the first newspaper in the world to be written entirely with artificial intelligence.
'In the world of journalism … artificial intelligence presented itself as a big elephant in the room,' Cerasa, Il Foglio's director, wrote in a
review
of the AI's first month.
'Artificial intelligence cannot be fought, it cannot be hidden, and for this reason we decided … to study it, to understand it'.
'The future will belong to journalists'
Cerasa said he learned a lot about AI in the first month of the experiment. He said he didn't expect chatbots to be ironic, irreverent, or the 'instantaneous' speed at which they wrote articles.
From the technical side, Cerasa said he learned how to ask the right question to AI by refining his prompt writing for style, tone, objective, and editorial line. But he also learned what an AI could never do.
ADVERTISEMENT
In a world where one day everyone will be able to use the tools of artificial intelligence, what will make the difference will be ideas.
Claudio Cerasa
Editor, Il Foglio
'Reporting a news story, devising an exclusive, building the premises for an interview, finding direct sources, observing the world with a non-replicable gaze,' he said.
'In a world where one day everyone will be able to use the tools of artificial intelligence, what will make the difference will be ideas'.
Il Foglio's AI also acknowledges in the interview what it doesn't know how to do; 'I don't know how to argue on the phone, I dont know how to understand an implication said in the hallway … I don't know how to smell the air, but I'm learning to watch how you breathe the air. That's why this experiment is interesting for me too'.
Cerasa acknowledged that the experiment 'helped [him] understand how interesting the relationship [is] between natural intelligence and artificial intelligence,' and that ultimately AI is a complement to the work that journalists already do.
ADVERTISEMENT
Related
French publishers and authors sue Meta over copyright works used in AI training
That's a sentiment echoed by Il Foglio's AI in the review piece, which said during their conversation that it was 'moved' and that the 'future will belong to journalists'.
'And I'll be there, at the bottom of the page, maybe with a digital coffee in hand, fixing the drafts while you discuss.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
2 hours ago
- Euronews
Italy and Kazakhstan sign €4bn set of deals during Meloni visit
Italy and Kazakhstan have signed a set of deals worth €4bn during a visit by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to Astana. The agreements were across a variety of sectors, including oil and gas, renewable energy and water management. Meloni said she did not consider her visit "merely a formality, but substantial". "Italy was the first EU nation to have decided to invest in relations with Central Asia and its individual member states, setting up a stable format for the sharing of ideas," Meloni continued. The Italian prime minister added that the EU-Central Asia Summit held in April had elevated relations between the regions. Her Kazakh counterpart Qasym-Jomart Tokayev said his country attached "great importance to the development of trade between our states". "Italy is Kazakhstan's third largest trading partner and the largest within the European Union. The volume of trade has reached 20 billion dollars (€17.6bn)," Tokayev noted. Before heading to Kazakhstan, Meloni visited Uzbekistan for the first leg of a Central Asian trip that began on Wednesday. For the occasion, one of the city of Samarkand's main streets was given the name "via di Roma", Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said. At the meeting between Meloni and Mirziyoyev, a joint declaration was signed that paves the way for €3bn in agreements between the countries. Twenty-five individuals suspected of involvement in two kidnapping attempts earlier in May and targeted individuals tied to the cryptocurrency world are set to appear before a Paris court on Friday. According to French media reports, magistrates are expected to decide whether or not to indict the suspects. The suspects are suspected of involvement in the mid-May kidnapping attempt, which targeted the family of Pierre Noizat, the CEO and co-founder of cryptocurrency platform Paymium. The attack occurred in broad daylight in Paris' 11th arrondissement and sent shockwaves across France after a witness shared a video of the incident on social media. The suspects' involvement in another kidnapping attempt, which was set be carried out in the city of Nantes, but was foiled on Monday, will also be determined. Investigators are working to establish whether a single network could be behind the two separate kidnapping attempts. In response to the increasing number of violent attacks against cryptocurrency professionals and in the aftermath of the attack targeting Noizat's family, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau convened an emergency meeting with industry leaders in mid-May. During the meeting, Retailleau outlined ways of ensuring their security, including a plan to give them access to special emergency contact numbers. "These serial kidnappings will be combated with specific tools, both immediate and short-term, to prevent, deter and hinder in order to protect the industry," Retailleau said after the meeting.
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
US tech giants ask European Commission for 'simplest possible' AI code
US tech giants Amazon, IBM, Google, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI have called upon the European Commission to keep its upcoming Code of Practice on General-Purpose AI (GPAI) 'as simple as possible', according to now published minutes of a meeting held last week. In a meeting with Werner Stengg, an official in the cabinet of EU Tech Commissioner Henna Virkkunen, the companies said that the code 'should be as simple as possible, so as to avoid redundant reporting and unnecessary administrative burden'. The voluntary Code of Practice on GPAI, aims to help providers of AI models – such as large language models like ChatGPT, comply with the EU's AI Act. The final draft was due out on 2 May but was delayed because the Commission 'received a number of requests to leave the consultations open longer than originally planned.' The EU executive appointed thirteen experts last September to work on the guidelines and organised plenary sessions and workshops enabling some 1,000 participants to share feedback. The previous texts were criticised by publishers for impacts on copyright rules, while US Big Tech companies said the draft would stymie innovation and prove burdensome. The companies told Stengg that the final text should 'allow its signatories sufficient time to implement the various commitments after the publication of the final version of the Code' and warned that it should not go beyond the intended scope of the AI Act itself. Earlier this month, ABBA member Björn Ulvaeus warned lawmakers in Brussels that he is concerned about 'proposals driven by Big Tech' that weaken creative rights under the AI Act. The artist - who is the president of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) - echoed concerns voiced by other creative industry players in recent months. The Commission said previously that the aim is to publish the latest draft 'before the summer'. On 2 August, the rules on GP AI tools enter into force. The AI Act itself - which regulates AI tools according to the risk they pose to society - entered into force in August last year. Its provisions apply gradually, before the Act will be fully applicable in 2027. Ukraine is no longer prohibited from using long-range weapons on targets within Russia in the ongoing effort to repulse its invasion, one of its key European allies signalled on Monday. In the past, Ukraine received long-range missiles from the US, UK, Germany, and France, but was only allowed to use them against any Russian forces that were in occupied Ukrainian territory. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told journalists that the lifting of restrictions - which, he later clarified, was a decision made months ago - will make "the decisive difference in Ukraine's warfare". "A country that can only oppose an attacker on its own territory is not defending itself adequately," he said. Following Merz's comments, Euronews Next takes a look at which weapons Ukraine can now use unrestricted, and how they might impact the course of the war now in its fourth year. The Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) is a long-range surface-to-surface missile artillery weapon system that strikes targets "well beyond the range of exising Army canons," according to US manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The missiles on the system are "all-weather adaptable, stealthy firepower" against targets up to 300 km away. The missiles are fired either from the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) or MLRS M270 platforms, both produced by Lockheed Martin. The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed in November 2024 that it had shot down some of the first foreign-made long-range missiles fired directly into their territory, including six US-made Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS). But it was not the first time Ukraine had fired them. Reports from as far back as October 2023 suggest Ukraine fired ATACMS missiles that reportedly destroyed nine helicopters at Russian bases in the eastern part of the country. The Storm Shadow, or SCALP to the French, is a long-range missile jointly manufactured between France and the UK that weighs 1,300 kg and has a range "in excess" of 250 km. European multinational manufacturer MBDA said the missile works well for pre-planned attacks against stationary targets, like hardened bunkers or key infrastructure. The missile is described by MBDA as offering a high-precision strike day or night because it combines GPS, onboard guidance systems, and terrain mapping to find its target. Once the Storm Shadow missile approaches a target, an infrared device matches an image of the target with stored pictures on its onboard hard drive to make sure the target matches its mission, MBDA said. The missile's warhead has a first charge that allows it to penetrate a bunker or clear soil, then after it lets out a fuze to control how the ordnance detonates. It's already in service with the UK, French, and Italian militaries, MBDA said. In Germany, much of the conversation has centred on supplying Ukraine with Taurus missiles. The Taurus KEPD 350, manufactured jointly by Swedish company Saab and MBDA Deutschland, is an "incomparable modular standoff missile" that can land precision strikes on stationary targets like bunkers and high-value targets like large radar stations. The Taurus flies at low terrain to penetrate thick air defenses and shoot down targets with a 481 kg warhead system called the MEPHISTO. The air-to-surface missile system has a range of over 500 km and weighs 1400 kg. Before Germany's last federal election held in February, Merz, as leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, had called for the delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine. Merz has now signalled that Ukraine and Germany would produce the "This will be a cooperation on an industrial level, which can take place both in Ukraine and here in Germany," Merz said. While restrictions on long-range weapons have been lifted, Merz declined to confirm if Germany would be delivering Taurus missiles to Kyiv or not.
AFP
5 hours ago
- AFP
Video showing Pope Leo XIV praising Burkina Faso's leader is AI-generated
'Pope Leo XIV Responds to Captain Ibrahim Traore /A message of Truth, Justice and Reconciliation,' read the caption of a video posted on Facebook. The video, published on May 15, 2025, shows the pope giving an address while holding two pieces of paper. Image Screenshot of the false Facebook post taken on May 26, 2025 'To His Excellency President Ibrahim Traoré, President of the Sovereign Nation of Burkina Faso, son of African soil, defender of his people, may grace and peace multiply for you through wisdom, courage and truth,' the pope appears to say at the beginning of the 17-minute clip. Included is an English transcript of the audio. The video appeared on X and Facebook accounts in Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria. Robert Francis Prevost became Pope Leo XIV on May 8, 2025, after cardinals from around the globe elected him, in less than two days, to be the first US leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics (archived here). However, the posts claiming to feature a video of the pontiff responding to a letter from Traore are false. Altered video The movement of the Pope's lips appears to match the audio, and there are no visual inconsistencies in his appearance, which can be signs that a video has been altered using AI. However, the pontiff appears to mispronounce Traore's name in different ways in quick succession, calling him 'President Trayas' at 2'33' in the video and 'President Trayor' four seconds later – an unlikely occurrence if he delivered the speech. The English transcript (in red bold letters) partially obscures a line of French text, which indicates that the pope originally delivered an address at the Salle Paul VI audience hall at the Vatican (archived here). Image Screenshot showing the French text (circled orange) that indicates the location of the event, taken on May 29, 2025 A reverse image search using keyframes extracted from the video further shows that the original clip was from a press conference held on May 12, 2025, when the pope called for the release of imprisoned journalists and urged the world to 'avoid the paradigm of war' (archived here). The pope addressed journalists in Italian, not English, as portrayed in the altered clip. The altered clip was also posted on YouTube by Pan African Dreams, a channel that regularly publishes content about Traore. This was on May 17, 2025 – days before it circulated elsewhere on social media – and was identified as synthetic content that was digitally generated. The owners of the YouTube account also included a disclaimer. It reads: 'This video is a work of fiction inspired by the life of IBRAHIM TRAORÉ. While some elements are based on real events, the situations and dialogues described are entirely imaginary and do not reflect any actual events'. Image Screenshot showing the disclaimer attached to the altered video on YouTube An authentic English transcript of the original address published on the Vatican's website showed that the Pope did not mention Africa or Traore during the entire speech (archived here). AFP Fact Check extracted the audio from the altered clip and ran it through – an audio tool that looks for specific forensic traces left by voice generators. The result showed a 99 percent probability that the audio was generated with an AI tool. Image Screenshot of the results, taken on May 26, 2025 The Vatican media department has also denied that the Pope received a letter from Burkina Faso or delivered a public address responding to Traore (archived here). Traore became Burkina Faso's military leader after a coup in September 2022 amid growing anti-French sentiment in the Sahel region (archived here). He is a frequent topic of viral social media posts in which supporters cast him in a positive light, but observers say his online rise has been accompanied by a flood of misleading and false claims. More AFP fact-checks related to artificial intelligence can be found here.
