Wikipedia Co-Founder Warns Against Trusting Artificial Intelligence

AI Concerns Raised

According to НВ — Техно: Jimmy Wales, the co-founder of Wikipedia, has voiced serious concerns about placing trust in artificial intelligence, specifically pointing to the issue of AI hallucinations. He made these remarks during Climate Action Week in London. While acknowledging that AI agents could be useful for notifying editors about niche news stories, Wales stressed that they should never be allowed to directly edit articles.

“We would not let it edit directly because it really can’t be trusted,” Jimmy Wales stated.

Wikipedia’s Traffic and Business Model

According to Wales, the 8% drop in human traffic to Wikipedia is notable but not disastrous. At the same time, bot traffic has increased. He emphasized that Wikipedia’s business model relies on user donations rather than directly on traffic numbers. Since its launch in 2001, Wikipedia has consistently ranked among the top 10 most visited websites globally.

Wales also called on AI companies to pay a fair share for using Wikipedia’s resources, noting that “hitting us with millions of requests costs real money.” In March 2026, Wikipedia decided to ban the use of content generated by large language models for creating or editing articles. Additionally, Wikipedia blocked the AI agent TomWikiAssist for editing without permission, highlighting the importance of overseeing such systems’ behavior.

Wales added: “We are starting to block those who misbehave, but we will see how it goes.”

As a result, Wikipedia continues to seek a balance between leveraging cutting-edge technology and preserving high-quality content produced by human contributors. The decline in human traffic alongside the rise in bot usage may signal shifting approaches to how information is edited and consumed online. Ensuring oversight of AI systems underscores the need to maintain trust in the content published on the platform.

As concerns about AI's reliability grow, the situation becomes even more complex when examining recent incidents involving educators. A notable case features a professor who advocated for students to steer clear of AI tools but was later found to have utilized ChatGPT for her own writing. This development raises critical questions about the consistency of AI usage in academic settings. To explore this intriguing story further, click here.