By: Julieta Long
The discussion, moderated by María Lorente, focused on the need to balance innovation and operational efficiency with ethical safeguards and transparency protocols.
De izq. a der. Franco Piccato, director ejecutivo, Chequeado (Argentina); Jazmín Acuña, cofundadora y directora editorial, El Surtidor (Paraguay); Juan Aurelio Arévalo, editor jefe, El Comercio (Perú) y María Lorente, Agencia France-Presse América Latina (Uruguay).
By: Julieta Long
Artificial intelligence is already present in newsrooms around the world and has been integrated into journalistic processes. While it is a tool with many benefits, it is also important to consider the risks we face when using it.
During the IAPA Mid-Year Meeting, Franco Piccato (executive director of Chequeado), Juan Aurelio Arévalo (editor-in-chief of El Comercio in Peru), and Jazmín Acuña (co-founder and editorial director of El Surtidor) analyzed how this technology is accelerating deep-seated tensions in the business model, content distribution, and audience trust.
The discussion, moderated by María Lorente, centered on the need to balance innovation and operational efficiency with ethical safeguards and transparency protocols, emphasizing that human oversight remains the critical factor in mitigating risks such as bias or misinformation in today’s news ecosystem.
El Comercio: 187 Years of History Powered by AI
Juan Aurelio Arévalo, editorial director of Peru’s El Comercio, described the newspaper as “an old newspaper with new ideas.” The publication has structured its progress through the Media LAB, a unit created with three objectives: to train the newsroom, develop AI tools, and establish strategic partnerships, such as the one recently signed with Perplexity.
One of the most significant milestones is the creation of Merlín, a chatbot that allows users to ask questions about current content published on El Comercio’s website and which, in its next version, will draw on the newspaper’s 187-year-old archive.
Arévalo noted that these tools have increased dwell time on articles, a key metric for gauging audience engagement with new narratives. However, he emphasized that nothing is published without human oversight and stressed the importance of transparency.
“The problem isn’t the technology; it’s how you use it. You have to have clear rules, and transparency is paramount. We must tell readers when we use AI and how we use it,” he said.
El Surtidor: AI for Impact and Local Identity
From Paraguay, Jazmín Acuña presented the perspective of El Surtidor, a digital-native media outlet that uses AI to deepen its visual and impact journalism.
“AI is just another technology; we use it to optimize internal processes and to experiment. We experiment with an eye toward how these tools can serve our audiences,” Acuña said.
Among the standout projects, the journalist mentioned “Eva,” a chatbot that enables an intimate narrative through conversations with a woman in prison, offering readers a new way to engage with the content.
For Acuña, the value of AI lies not in competing on volume, but in crystallizing impact: “Our value is not measured by reach or engagement, but by the concrete changes we facilitate. The impact of our journalism is the measure of success.”
Faced with declining traffic from traditional search engines, the outlet is betting on direct connection and formats such as “live journalism.”
Chequeado: The Struggle for Trust in the Age of Noise
Franco Piccato, executive director of Chequeado, offered a critical perspective on trust and misinformation. Although the organization has been using AI since 2015, Piccato warned that generative AI adds an unprecedented level of “noise,” with deepfakes and chatbots that can serve as tools for misinformation.
Chequeado’s approach is to use AI as a “co-pilot” for journalists, always maintaining ultimate human control over what is published. Piccato emphasized the importance of transparency and labeling; their policy stipulates that any content generated significantly with AI assistance must include a caption clarifying this.
“Hopefully, the wave of artificial intelligence will allow us to rethink the relationship we have with our audiences and shift from ‘clicks’ to impact metrics. Journalism serves its purpose when it serves its communities—that is the key. Our great opportunity is to reinvent that relationship to enable people to make informed decisions. If we succeed, technology will be secondary,” he concluded.