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Generative AI and Wikipedia editing: What we learned in 2025

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Re: Generative AI and Wikipedia editing: What we learned in 2025

#61

Post by ketzu »

wry_durian wrote: post #13

Note that this article is only about edits made through the Wiki Edu program, which partners with universities and academics to have students edit Wikipedia on course-related topics. It's not about Wikipedia writ large!

That's interesting as my first thought reading the comments was "this problem seems very similar to many students writing papers just finding citations that sound correct".

Sometimes it is really sad to read from (even PhD level) students on social media about their paper writing practices.

Re: Generative AI and Wikipedia editing: What we learned in 2025

#62

Post by oblio »

simianwords wrote: post #7

I find it very interesting that the main competitor to Wikipedia which is Grokipedia is taking a 180 degree approach being AI first.

That thing is "the main competitor to Wikipedia" in the same way I'm the main competitor for the Olympic 100m race. I mean, both I and the winner have legs so it's going to be a close race, right?

Re: Generative AI and Wikipedia editing: What we learned in 2025

#63

Post by oblio »

malfist wrote: post #48
emp17344 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Astroturfing or marketing, I’d guess. I’ve noticed you’re no longer allowed to say negative things about AI here without significant pushback, and I’d bet this isn’t an organic shift in perception.

I've found that generally people reserve down votes for posts that don't add to the conversation, in general, just like we're supposed to do. Its always been down vote city if you happen to criticize political positions that benefit libertarian technologists. But lately anything critical of AI tends to get a lot of down votes. Even on older posts that you can't find on the front page anymore... It feels inorganic

> Its always been down vote city if you happen to criticize political positions that benefit libertarian technologists.

This varies wildly by timezone. Usually I get upvoted during European timezones and then brace for the Americans to wake up.

Re: Generative AI and Wikipedia editing: What we learned in 2025

#64

Post by anthk »

nl wrote: post #44
ktzar wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Didn't know about Grokipedia, I've just opened an article in it about Spain, scrolled to a random paragraph, and the information in it is plain wrong: From https://grokipedia.com/page/Spain#terrain-and-landforms > Spain's peninsular terrain is dominated by the Meseta Central, a vast interior plateau covering about two-thirds of the country's land area, with elevations ranging from 610 to 760 meters and averaging arou…

I'm not an expert on the geography of Spain, and it's rare that I'd defend Grokipedia but in this case I think it is correct. Meseta Central mean central tableland . Segovia is on the edge of the mountain range that surrounds that tableland, but often referred to as part of it. This is fuzzy though. Wikipedia says: The Meseta Central (lit. 'central tableland', sometimes referred to in English as Inner Plateau) is one…

Spaniard here. Spain it's tricky, it's both 'flat' with the meseta and the 2nd most mountainous country in Europe. I am not kidding, look at a heigth map. It has a plateau... surrounded by mountains and with a bigass sierra at mid-North (Picos de Europa).

Re: Generative AI and Wikipedia editing: What we learned in 2025

#65

Post by 6510 »

homebrewer wrote: post #50
malfist wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know what other site you can provide evidence to and change to be more correct?

I don't ever edit English wikipedia because my English is not nearly up to the standard, and suggestions for improvement (worthwhile IMO) are usually ignored. Grok at least won't ignore you. (I tend to post suggestions to unpopular pages with sparse edit history, which is probably the reason for them going unnoticed.)

I use to frequent irc channels and forums where no such thing as an old question existed. Someone asked an interesting question on irc and days or weeks later a response would happen. On forums the response could be more than a year "delayed". Gradually things shifted to newer new new news that couldn't possibly be new enough. Then debates happen where people sometimes link to the vastly superior olds. Wikipedia finally caught up and questions are no longer ignored. In stead they are archived long before an ignored status could be earned.

Re: Generative AI and Wikipedia editing: What we learned in 2025

#66

Post by charcircuit »

malfist wrote: post #49
charcircuit wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Grok does cite that claim as being from https://countrystudies.us/spain/30.htm a page in Eric Solsten and Sandra W. Meditz, editors. Spain: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1988. The nice thing about grokipedia is that if you have counter examples like that you can provide it as evidence to change it and it will rewrite the article to be more clear.

You know what other site you can provide evidence to and change to be more correct?

Not Wikipedia as Wikipedia doesn't care about evidence. Those people care about reputable secondary sources and will ignore you when point out evidence that contradicts such sources.

Re: Generative AI and Wikipedia editing: What we learned in 2025

#67

Post by forgetfreeman »

DrewADesign wrote: post #51
nullsanity wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because a difference in scale can become a difference in category. A handful of buggy crashes can be reduced to operator error, but as the car becomes widely adopted and analysis matures, it becomes clear that the fundamental design of the machine and its available use cases has fundamental flaws that cause a higher rate of operator error than desired. Therefore, cars are redesigned to be safer, laws and regulations…

Is the sarcasm really that opaque? Who would unironically equate buggy accidents and automobile accidents?

How much time have you spent around developers?

Re: Generative AI and Wikipedia editing: What we learned in 2025

#68

Post by simianwords »

oblio wrote: post #62
simianwords wrote: post #7

I find it very interesting that the main competitor to Wikipedia which is Grokipedia is taking a 180 degree approach being AI first.

That thing is "the main competitor to Wikipedia" in the same way I'm the main competitor for the Olympic 100m race. I mean, both I and the winner have legs so it's going to be a close race, right?

It’s on its way to becoming more popular and a clear competitor to it. Just a matter of time.

Re: Generative AI and Wikipedia editing: What we learned in 2025

#69

Post by simianwords »

Sharlin wrote: post #26
simianwords wrote: post #7

I find it very interesting that the main competitor to Wikipedia which is Grokipedia is taking a 180 degree approach being AI first.

Main competitor? I’m pretty sure that Uncyclopedia is a more relevant competitor to Wikipedia than Grokipedia. Likely more accurate, too.

In some time it will become a serious alternative.

Re: Generative AI and Wikipedia editing: What we learned in 2025

#70

Post by Sharlin »

simianwords wrote: post #69
Sharlin wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Main competitor? I’m pretty sure that Uncyclopedia is a more relevant competitor to Wikipedia than Grokipedia. Likely more accurate, too.

In some time it will become a serious alternative.

Serious alternative if what you're after is false information, certainly.
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