On 18 March 2025, the Italian newspaper Il Foglio (The Paper) published the world’s first fully AI-generated edition, marking a new change in the history of journalism. The four-page supplement, Il Foglio AI, was entirely created using artificial intelligence, from writing articles to making headlines and even the tone and style of the content. This experiment raises critical questions about journalism’s future and human creativity’s role in the news industry.
Giuliano Ferrara, the founder of Il Foglio (1996), described in his article “Cosa rende il Foglio AI un’opera d’arte,” this initiative as “a technological mystery wrapped in an enigma of culture and thought” (Ferrara, 2025). Ferrara reflects on how AI can mimic human writing and reshape storytelling’s very nature. He acknowledges that while AI-generated content can imitate the rhythm and tone of human writing, it remains uncertain whether AI possesses true rationality or creative spirit comparable to human experience (Ferrara, 2025).
The AI Experiment at Il Foglio
The AI-generated edition included political reports, economic analysis, and even opinion pieces mirroring a human-style approach. The editorial team at Il Foglio used AI to generate responses to questions posed by human editors, with minimal human intervention during the writing process. For Ferrara (2025), the result was a collection of articles that “felt like reading something produced by a seasoned journalist.”
The AI’s ability to mimic human style was evident even in more creative pieces, such as cultural critiques and political commentary. Ferrara remarked on how AI reproduced traditional journalistic language’s factual content, irony and subtlety (Ferrara, 2025). The AI-generated content shows some weaknesses: some reviews lacked depth, and particular articles felt more synthetic than those thought by humans. However, the overall coherence and stylistic consistency were impressive.
Ethical Implications for Journalism
The rise of AI-generated journalism raises profound ethical questions about the future of this profession. If AI can produce news articles with minimal human oversight, what role will human journalists play in this new “other” AI world? Ferrara states that AI’s ability to replicate human writing at scale could transform the industry, making content production faster and more competitive. However, the challenge remains to balance technological innovation with human authenticity and ethical critical analysis (Ferrara, 2025).
The author Jeanette Winterson points out in her article, OpenAI’s metafictional short story about grief is beautiful and moving (2025), that AI is an “alternative” entity that can surpass humans. She says, “Humans will always want to read what other humans have to say.” However, we will coexist with non-biological entities, bringing new perspectives. Both AI and humans are learning from data, including influences from family, friends and the media (Winterson, 2025). But we still have some concerns: while we may embrace AI-generated news, we risk becoming a homogenised society. Is it true that “for great stories, we need people, not AI“? Although AI can analyse large amounts of data and produce coherent text, it does not have the critical thinking skills, emotional understanding, or creative imagination that humans have. This causes a risk that AI could lead to inauthentic and repetitive content, resulting in similar articles lacking a genuine human perspective.
A New Change for Journalism?
Il Foglio AI represents an innovation and a challenge for the media industry. On one hand, AI offers the potential to increase efficiency and expand journalism’s reach. On the other hand, it threatens to undermine human journalists’ creative and analytical roles. The future of journalism may depend on finding a sustainable balance between human creativity and AI-driven automation.
News organisations must establish clear ethical guidelines and editorial standards for AI-generated content as AI develops. Journalists’ roles in organising information, verifying facts, and providing context will continue to be essential. Ultimately, AI should be seen as a tool to support and not replace human creativity and journalistic integrity.
AI isn’t replacing humans—it’s empowering those who know how to use it.
References:
Ferrara, Giuliano. “Cosa rende il Foglio AI un’opera d’arte.” Il Foglio, 19 March, 2025. Available at: https://www.ilfoglio.it/tecnologia/2025/03/19/news/cosa-rende-il-foglio-ai-un-opera-d-arte-7531995/
Giuffrida, Angela, “The Italian newspaper has published the world’s first AI-generated edition.” The Guardian, 18 March 2025. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/mar/18/italian-newspaper-says-it-has-published-worlds-first-ai-generated-edition
Letters, “For great stories, we need people, not AI.” The Guardian, 19 March 2025. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/mar/19/for-great-stories-we-need-people-not-ai
Winterson, Jannette, “OpenAI’s metafictional short story about grief is beautiful and moving.” The Guardian, 12 March 2025. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/mar/12/jeanette-winterson-ai-alternative-intelligence-its-capacity-to-be-other-is-just-what-the-human-race-needs
