Benvenuto a bordo: Italian newspaper adds ChatGPT as permanent editorial team member

Italian newspaper Il Foglio has integrated ChatGPT as a permanent editorial contributor, running a month-long experiment with daily AI-written inserts before committing to regular AI-generated content. Editor Claudio Cerasa treats the chatbot as a colleague rather than a replacement tool, positioning the publication at the forefront of transparent AI adoption in journalism while other outlets struggle with undisclosed AI usage and fabrication scandals.

The big picture: Il Foglio’s approach demonstrates how news organizations can harness AI transparently rather than hiding its use, contrasting sharply with recent disasters like American papers publishing AI-generated content filled with fake sources and fabricated information.

How the experiment worked: Starting in late March, Il Foglio printed four pages of AI-written articles daily for one month, with Cerasa prompting ChatGPT Pro on topics ranging from Italian politics to J.D. Vance.

• Two human editors reviewed all AI outputs for errors, sometimes deliberately leaving minor mistakes as evidence of AI’s limitations.
• The insert, titled “Il Foglio AI,” garnered international media attention and will now become a permanent weekly feature.
• AI-generated content always carries clear labeling to maintain transparency with readers.

What ChatGPT does well: Cerasa identified three key strengths where the AI excels as a journalistic tool.

• Research and synthesis: “The technology can recall and synthesize far more information than a human can,” allowing for complex connections across vast amounts of data.
• Document summarization: The AI efficiently processes lengthy materials that would take humans significantly more time.
• Creative writing tasks: ChatGPT has produced fictional debates between conservative and progressive cardinals, book reviews with AI-generated author responses, and even self-interviews.

Where AI falls short: Despite its capabilities, ChatGPT cannot perform core journalistic functions that require human intelligence and relationships.

• “AI cannot find the news; it cannot develop sources or interview the prime minister,” Cerasa explained.
• The technology lacks the ability to generate original story ideas or draw meaningful connections about world events.
• Human creativity and reporting skills remain irreplaceable for quality journalism.

What they’re saying: Cerasa emphasized treating AI as an augmentation tool rather than a cost-cutting replacement.

• “Anyone who tries to use artificial intelligence to replace human intelligence ends up failing,” he said. “AI is meant to integrate, not replace.”
• “Anyone who thinks AI is a way to save money is getting it wrong,” Cerasa warned, noting that proper AI implementation requires human oversight.
• On the technology’s inevitability: “It’s impossible to hide AI. And you have to understand that it’s like the wind; you have to manage it.”

Industry implications: Il Foglio’s transparent approach highlights growing concerns about AI’s impact on journalism’s talent pipeline and the risks of undisclosed AI usage.

• The publication acknowledges that basic news articles “written about the things that happened the day before, with the agency news—that kind of article, and also that kind of journalism, might be the past.”
• Cerasa expressed concern about AI threatening skill development for young journalists, calling it “terrifying” when students use AI for homework without disclosure.
• The contrast with recent AI journalism failures underscores the importance of transparency and human oversight in AI-assisted reporting.