Giuseppina Debbi - Beyond the Hype: Hybrid Practices and Silent Resistance in the Adoption of AI in Italian Journalism [Hype Studies Conference 2025 presentation]

HYPE STUDIES CONFERENCE (Don’t Believe the Hype) 10-12 September, Barcelona Beyond the Hype: Hybrid Practices and Silent Resistance ! in the Adoption of AI in Italian Journalism! Giuseppina Debbi! University of Modena and Reggio Emilia HYPE STUDIES CONFERENCE(Don’t Believe the Hype) Who am I! Journalist for almost 40 years! Deputy Director of TG La7 (one of Italy’s most trusted TV newscasts)! PhD student researching AI in journalism! “I speak to you as both a researcher and a practitioner, living the transformation of journalism from the inside.”! 10-12 September, Barcelona HYPE STUDIES CONFERENCE(Don’t Believe the Hype) GenAI globally: integration in newsroom workflows, automation of tasks, summarization, searching, personalization, trascription. ! Focus on efficiency and productivity under journalistic control, to free time for original stories.! Journalists write the articles; GenAI is used for summarization, format adaptation, transcription, and content personalization (e.g. with chatbots).! All outputs are human-supervised, under strict ethical guidelines and editorial policies! Global Context 10-12 September, Barcelona HYPE STUDIES CONFERENCE (Don’t Believe the Hype) Newsrooms rarely discuss AI! Unions vs media owners → conflict! No official guidelines or policies! 🗣 “In Italy the debate is silent, but the conflict is loud, political, not technological.” Italian Paradox 10-12 September, Barcelona HYPE STUDIES CONFERENCE (Don’t Believe the Hype) Case Study: Il Foglio Il FoglioAI! 1 month: 4 pages/day written with AI! Now: 4-page weekly insert every Tuesday! Style very close to the newspaper! 🗣 “Italy may be the only country with a newspaper publishing an AI-written section every week.” 10-12 September, Barcelona HYPE STUDIES CONFERENCE (Don’t Believe the Hype) How it Works The Process! Editor-in-chief writes all prompts! Starting point: news from agencies/web! AI asked to rewrite in Foglio’s style! Journalists correct, refine, restart if needed! 🗣 “AI is not fine-tuned. It is prompted like a special collaborator, then carefully edited by humans.” 10-12 September, Barcelona HYPE STUDIES CONFERENCE (Don’t Believe the Hype) Voices from Il Foglio Claudio Cerasa (Editor-in-Chief):! “AI must integrate, not replace.” “I always write the prompts myself” “I want a direct relationship with the machine.” “Even if written 100% by AI, there is always an idea behind, born in the newsroom.” 🗣 “Cerasa describes AI as a co-author, but never as a substitute.” 10-12 September, Barcelona HYPE STUDIES CONFERENCE (Don’t Believe the Hype) Broader Ecosystem Italian Journalism as a Laboratory! 12 semi-structured interviews with skilled journalists! 1,300 survey responses (contracted + freelance)! AI used informally, individually, without rules! 🗣 “Italy is a natural lab: adoption from the bottom up, not from institutions.” 10-12 September, Barcelona HYPE STUDIES CONFERENCE (Don’t Believe the Hype) Survey Findings 1 What Journalists Do with AI! ~70% already use AI in daily tasks! Tasks: transcription, translation, summaries, brainstorming! No editorial or ethical guidelines! 🗣 “Most Italian journalists are already using AI, but in fragmented, informal ways.” 10-12 September, Barcelona HYPE STUDIES CONFERENCE(Don’t Believe the Hype) 10-12 September, Barcelona Italy’s Role Italy as a Laboratory! Silent resistance + informal experimentation! Not a laggard, but a testbed! Unique context to rethink AI adoption! 🗣 “Italy shows us that resistance and experimentation can coexist and teach us something new.” HYPE STUDIES CONFERENCE(Don’t Believe the Hype) 10-12 September, Barcelona Closing Knowledge → GEN-AI as cognitive amplifier! Integrity → Editorial values, Ethics, Responsibility ! Agency → With GEN-AI literacy, journalists drive innovation HYPE STUDIES CONFERENCE(Don’t Believe the Hype) 10-12 September, Barcelona THANK YOU