The Wikimedia Foundation has announced that it will be using generative AI on Wikipedia, but not to replace its human editors. According to the organisation, its new AI strategy will support the volunteers working on the encyclopedia by removing technical barriers and allowing them to avoid tedious tasks.
This human-focused approach will zero in on specific areas where generative AI shines. In addition to implementing AI-assisted workflows that automate tasks to support Wikipedia’s moderators and patrollers in maintaining the encyclopedia’s knowledge base, the foundation plans on using generative AI to improve information discoverability. This is meant to free up time for “human deliberation, judgment, and consensus building”.
Another way generative AI will be used is to automate the translation and localisation of common topics. Wikimedia also plans to provide guided mentorship to scale the onboarding of new Wikipedia volunteers. The organisation acknowledges the importance of its contributors and promises to take a human-centred approach, as well as rely on open-source or open-weight AI. Moreover, the foundation claims that it will prioritise transparency and take a nuanced approach to multilinguality as it continues to use its long-held values as a guideline.
The turn to generative AI is hardly a surprise by now, as its emergence has significantly shaped the technological landscape of today. Many organisations have already decided on integrating AI into their functions, and it seems that Wikimedia has chosen its own way to implement AI. Last month, the foundation partnered with Kaggle to offer part of Wikipedia’s content to train models after the platform was hit by a deluge of AI bot crawlers.
(Source: Wikimedia Foundation)
