What to know

  • Wikipedia has revealed a new three-year AI strategy that will not replace human editors and volunteers.
  • AI will be used to automate tedious tasks, improve information discovery, and assist with translations.
  • The strategy focuses on a human-centered approach guided by Wikipedia's longstanding values of privacy and human rights.

On Wednesday, April 30, 2025, Wikipedia unveiled its new three-year plan for implementing artificial intelligence across its platform. The organization has made it clear that AI will not replace its community of editors and volunteers.

Instead, Wikipedia aims to use AI technology to develop new features that will "eliminate technical obstacles" for its human contributors. These tools will help editors, moderators, and patrollers perform their tasks without getting bogged down in technical implementation details.

The Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, plans to harness generative AI in specific areas where the technology excels. This includes creating AI-assisted workflows to automate monotonous tasks that currently consume volunteers' time.

AI will also enhance information discovery on the platform, allowing editors to spend more time on essential human discussions. These discussions are crucial for reaching consensus on creating, modifying, and updating entries.

Additional applications include automating translation processes and helping with the onboarding of new volunteers. Chris Albon, the director of machine learning at the Wikimedia Foundation, emphasized that the organization's efforts will be guided by its longstanding values and principles.

The priorities outlined in the strategy include promoting human agency, utilizing open-source or open-weight AI, ensuring transparency, and addressing multilingual needs. This last point is particularly important to Wikipedia's mission of providing knowledge in multiple languages.

Albon also highlighted the growing importance of maintaining Wikipedia's knowledge base as generative AI becomes more prevalent. This is especially relevant given that AI systems sometimes produce errors and incorrect information.

The strategy document published by the Wikimedia Foundation states specific goals, including onboarding new editors, motivating existing contributors by reducing their workload, strengthening Wikipedia's position as a trusted knowledge source, and establishing the Foundation as a leader in human-first AI approaches.

This announcement comes at a time when many industries are concerned about AI potentially replacing human jobs, particularly in content creation. Wikipedia's approach demonstrates a commitment to using AI as a tool to enhance human work rather than substitute it.

Via: techcrunch