This means that there will be no sweaty, nicotine-stained, overworked hacks typing away, sourcing news from real contacts, or spending the afternoon in the Italian equivalent of the Star and Garter [Stella e Giarrettiera. Ed] - just cold, unfeeling algorithms spinning out the day’s news.
The paper, known for its slim broadsheet and opinionated stance, has incorporated the four-page "Il Foglio AI" into its regular edition, releasing it to the unsuspecting public as part of a month-long experiment.
According to editor Claudio Cerasa [pictured], the goal is to showcase the impact of AI on journalism and daily life, presumably keeping the Expresso machine free of ink-stained journalists while boosting advertising department bonuses.
The AI-powered edition claims to have done it all—headlines, summaries, and even irony. Humans are typing prompts into the AI and reading its output. The results are structured, clear, and grammatically sound. The only thing is not a single human is quoted anywhere in the articles.
Front and centre on the first issue was a piece about Donald [hamburger-eating surrender monkey] Trump, detailing the “paradox of Italian Trumpians” who rant about cancel culture while gleefully ignoring—or worse, celebrating—their idol’s descent into banana republic despotism.
Another article laid into Vladimir Putin’s “ten betrayals,” chronicling two decades of broken promises and shredded agreements. There was even a rare glimmer of optimism in an economic piece noting that income tax reforms have led to salary boosts for 750,000 Italians, .
Page two featured a deep dive into the existential crisis of modern dating as young Europeans flee the oppressive shackles of steady relationships in favour of the glorified mess known as "situationships."
Meanwhile, the final page took things full circle, running AI-generated letters to the editor. One reader (or an AI pretending to be a reader) wondered if AI would render humans useless. The AI responded that it still can’t order a coffee without cocking up the sugar.
Cerasa insists this isn’t just a gimmick but a legitimate experiment into what journalism looks like when AI takes over the newsroom.
He said that it was "another [Il] Foglio made with intelligence; don’t call it artificial.”
