Wikimedia calls on AI companies to use paid API

"Wikimedia has called on AI companies to take responsibility for using Wikipedia content in their language models. This can be achieved by stopping scraping and using the paid API instead. In a blog post, the organization states that artificial intelligence cannot exist without the human knowledge collected and maintained on platforms such as Wikipedia. To maintain that balance, Wikimedia asks developers of generative AI to clearly cite their sources and contribute to the continued existence of the open knowledge project via the paid Wikimedia Enterprise platform."

"The call comes at a time when Wikipedia is facing changing traffic patterns. According to TechCrunch, the number of human visitors fell by eight percent compared to last year. The news site also reports that Wikimedia discovered that a large share of the traffic peak in May and June came from AI bots attempting to impersonate human users. After the organization adjusted its detection systems, it turned out that these bots were using Wikipedia on a large scale for training purposes."

"In the blog post, Wikimedia states that transparency about the origin of information is essential for trust in online knowledge. When platforms do not indicate where their information comes from, both the quality and continuity of that knowledge are at risk. Less traffic to Wikipedia ultimately means fewer volunteers contributing and fewer donations to keep the project running."

Wikimedia called on AI companies to stop scraping Wikipedia and instead use the paid Wikimedia Enterprise API so models rely on sustainable access. Wikimedia stated that artificial intelligence depends on human knowledge collected and maintained on Wikipedia and asked generative AI developers to clearly cite sources and contribute financially through Wikimedia Enterprise. The Enterprise product enables large-scale use of Wikipedia data without overloading servers while supporting the non-profit mission. Wikimedia noted it is not pursuing legal action against scrapers but expects responsible, sustainable content use. Wikimedia reported declining human visitors and large-scale AI bot traffic used for training, risking volunteer contributions and donations.

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