Jimmy Wales: Wikipedia Won’t Allow AI to Edit Articles Yet

Wikipedia AI policy: Jimmy Wales says AI hallucinations remain a risk, so AI cannot edit articles directly but can help editors find stories.

Jimmy Wales speaking about Wikipedia AI editing policy and artificial intelligence hallucinations risk

Jimmy Wales Says Wikipedia Won’t Let AI Edit Articles Directly. The co-founder made this clear while speaking to AFP at a climate action event in London.

He said the platform does not trust artificial intelligence enough to make direct changes to articles.

The reason is simple: hallucinations. Wales admitted that newer AI models have improved, but the problem of false information still shows up.

“The problem of AI hallucinations is still very, very bad,” he said. “We would not let it edit directly because you can’t really trust it enough.”

That does not mean AI is banned from Wikipedia entirely. Wales explained that AI tools can still support volunteer editors. They can help flag niche news stories and developments that might otherwise be missed.

He also pointed out how much AI companies now depend on Wikipedia. Many chatbots and search tools pull answers directly from the encyclopedia.

As a result, bot traffic to Wikipedia servers has jumped sharply. At the same time, visits from human readers dropped by about 8%.

Wales called the shift “meaningful” but “not a disaster.” He said Wikipedia stays strong because it ranks among the top 10 most-visited websites globally.

Unlike many platforms, it relies on donations, not ads. That makes it less exposed to sudden traffic changes.

But the server costs are real. Wales urged AI companies to contribute more. “We encourage them to pay their fair share because hammering us with millions of requests costs real money,” he said.

The Wikimedia Foundation has already signed agreements with some major tech firms for content use and server access. Wales added that Wikipedia is now blocking bots that abuse the system.

“We’re starting to block the ones who aren’t behaving themselves, but we’ll see how that goes,” he said.

For now, Wikipedia’s millions of volunteer editors remain in control. AI can assist, but it cannot publish. Wales believes that boundary protects the accuracy readers expect from the platform.