Wikipedia Embraces AI to Support Human Editors, Not Replace Them
Wikipedia has unveiled its new AI strategy, emphasizing collaboration between artificial intelligence and human volunteers rather than replacement. The Wikimedia Foundation announced plans to leverage AI to streamline workflows, automate repetitive tasks, and improve content discoverability—all while keeping human editors at the core of decision-making.
“We believe that our future work with AI will be successful not only because of what we do, but how we do it,” stated Chris Albon and Leila Zia of the Wikimedia Foundation in a blog post. The organization aims to use AI to reduce technical barriers, allowing editors to focus on content quality and consensus-building rather than manual processes.
Key initiatives include AI-assisted workflows for tedious tasks, automated translations, and smoother onboarding for new volunteers. The foundation also stressed its commitment to open-source AI, transparency, and multilingual support, aligning with Wikipedia’s long-standing values.
Amid concerns about AI replacing jobs, Wikipedia’s approach stands out by prioritizing human agency. The platform recognizes that while AI can enhance efficiency, human oversight remains crucial—especially as generative AI models are prone to errors and hallucinations.