By banning AI, English-language Wikipedia is fighting for high-quality content // Photo: gettyimages.com.
The reason for the ban is cited as a tendency to violate some of the basic rules of content creation for Wikipedia. At the same time, the use of AI in translating publications from other languages into English is allowed, but editors must have sufficient knowledge of the source language to confirm the accuracy of the translation.
For now, only in English
The recently announced changes apply only to the English-language version of Wikipedia. They are the result of a long discussion among the editors of the largest Web encyclopedia, most of whom were in favor of a stricter policy on neural networks.
According to a statement from Wikipedia, “the new policy is intended to address the problematic use of large language models and expand the space for what is considered worthy use.” It notes that some people’s writing style may be similar to that of a large language model, and editors will need to rely not only on stylistic or linguistic features, but also on the text’s compliance with basic posting rules to justify potential restrictions on their ability to interfere with the text.
The fight against AI is gaining momentum
The changes come in the context of the Wikipedia administration’s intensified fight against authors’ use of neural networks. Editors have formed a community called “WikiProject AI Cleanup”, whose members identify and quickly remove low-quality content, mostly generated by AI, and support users in identifying it.
The administration of the English-language version of Wikipedia has urged users from around the world to heed the recommendations to curb the flow of low-quality content.
The English-language section is the most extensive in the Wikipedia database. Over the 25 years of the resource’s existence, more than 7.1 million publications in English have been created. The second place is occupied by the Cebuano language section (6.1 million), the speakers of which are 15.8 million Filipinos. The third place is occupied by the German-language section with 3.1 million publications.
