Wikipedia unveils new 'people-first' AI strategy to remove technical barriers and make it easier for volunteers to work

One of the features of the free encyclopedia 'Wikipedia' is that anyone can edit it. The Wikimedia Foundation, which operates Wikipedia, described the volunteer users who collaboratively create Wikipedia as 'something that cannot be replaced by AI' and announced a new AI strategy to double the number of volunteers.

Our new AI strategy puts Wikipedia's humans first – Wikimedia Foundation

The AI strategy was co-authored by Chris Albon, director of machine learning at the Wikimedia Foundation, and Leila Zia, head of research.

In an announcement, the Wikimedia Foundation said it plans to build features that use AI to remove technical barriers so that users, who are at the heart of Wikipedia, can spend their time doing what they want to achieve, rather than being trapped by the technical means of achieving those goals.

The main points raised are the following four:

1: Help Wikipedia moderators and patrollers (trusted users who check newly created pages) with AI workflows that support knowledge integrity and automate tedious tasks.

2: By making information on Wikipedia easier to find, we free up time for editors, allowing time for human review, judgment, and consensus building.

3: Automate the translation and adaptation of common topics, allowing editors to share local perspectives and context.

4: Expand training of new Wikipedia volunteers through guided mentoring.

The Wikimedia Foundation states, 'Wikipedia's mission is to provide freely accessible knowledge to everyone on the planet, and with the rise of generative AI, that mission has become even more important. This is why Wikipedia is at the core of all AI learning models.'