Artificial Intelligence and Journalism

March 2026 marked the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. Pope Leo has always shown great sensitivity toward the work of journalists; in fact, it was to media professionals that he dedicated his first audience. On the occasion of the anniversary, he wrote a brief letter to the newspaper congratulating them on their work and reminding them that the human dimension must always be protected and nurtured.

At a time when AI seems poised to revolutionize the world, it’s good to remember what a journalist is. A journalist is a professional tasked with investigating, gathering, analyzing, synthesizing, and disseminating information of public interest, ensuring accuracy and rigor. They work across various media platforms—print, radio, television, and digital media—to provide context for current events and enable the public to make informed decisions.

With the advent of AI, the responsibility of newspapers is even greater, if that is possible. Newspapers—the Pope notes—in addition to reporting current events—that is, informing us of what is happening in a given country and around the world—are also a vehicle for culture, serving as a living force within society to whose creation they contribute. The technological revolution we are experiencing is a challenge to keep pace with our times and is, moreover, a test that concerns each and every one of us, the pontiff notes in his letter to the Italian newspaper.

In the age of AI, there is an irreplaceable responsibility that affects us as newspapers: to never compromise our own authority, to ensure the transparency of our sources, to respect the dignity of our readers, and to cultivate the human dimension of storytelling.

The human mind and a clear conscience are up to this challenge, far more so than AI, which can assist in journalistic work but has neither freedom nor conscience—instead, it spits out information that has been fed to it beforehand. AI is a tool without ethics, a machine that, if it doesn’t know something, makes it up; a journalist is someone who knows that in their daily work, they cannot make things up. AI is, in my view, a very helpful tool, but it must not think for me.