**Wikipedia at 25: The Online Encyclopedia’s Existential Threats Come Home to Roost**
It’s hard to believe it’s been 25 years since Wikipedia first burst onto the scene as the free online encyclopedia that would change the way we access information forever. But when I say “forever,” I mean it. In the age of Google and AI, the site’s relevance is being tested like never before.
Let’s flash back to 2010 when the FBI sent Wikipedia a stern letter demanding they remove all references to the FBI’s branding from their entry. The wiki lawyers pushed back, and the FBI eventually backed down. This little tussle was a reminder of a bygone era when the government respected the rule of law, even if they disagreed with it.
Fast-forward to today, and Wikipedia is facing threats on multiple fronts. Right-wing commentators are accusing the site of being controlled by “far-left activists” and perpetuating a supposed liberal bias. (Yes, that’s the worthy response of Tucker Carlson, who dedicated a 90-minute podcast to trashing Wikipedia.). Meanwhile, the site’s editors are being targeted by the conservative Heritage Foundation, which says it will “identify and target” contributors deemed to be biased.
But it’s not just the politics. AI bots have been scraping Wikipedia’s data, causing server strain and fueling concerns about the site’s future. And to top it all off, the volunteer-powered project is facing a brain drain as long-time editors have retired or moved on.
For those under 30, Wikipedia might seem like an ancient relic of the internet’s early days. In reality, it’s an underdog that’s still clinging to its ideals of neutrality, fact-checking, and community-driven content. But that’s not the norm in today’s internet landscape, where it’s every platform for itself and the loudest voice wins.
Wikipedia’s board may be taking a more diplomatic approach, with new CEO Bernadette Meehan drawing on her experience as a diplomat and ambassador. But can even the most skilled diplomat survive the onslaught of government censorship, AI-based disinformation, and volunteer burnout?
As the UK proposes age-gating Wikipedia under its Online Safety Act and Saudi Arabia imprisons editors for documenting human rights abuses, it’s clear that the politics are getting ugly. The Great Firewall of China continues to block the site, and the tech industry is slowly writing Wikipedia off as an outdated relic.
But this is where it gets interesting. Even within the Wikipedia community, longtime editors are questioning the site’s relevance. “Temple” is how veteran editor Christopher Henner described Wikipedia’s future – a sacred space filled with aging volunteers, content no one looks at, and a dwindling purpose.
In the midst of all this noise, there’s a more fundamental question: what’s the point of human labor in the age of AI? Wikipedia may have been built on the premise that human collaboration and fact-checking are essential, but the tech industry is increasingly saying that’s a thing of the past.
However, new research is showing that AI might not be the clear winner when it comes to producing high-quality information. When AI systems train on human-wrtten and vetted data (i.e. the kind of content Wikipedia is built on), they perform better than when they’re trained recursively on themselves – a phenomenon known as model collapse.
So as Wikipedia marks its quarter century, it’s worth asking: what’s the future of this beloved institution? Can it adapt to a world where bias and disinformation are the norm? Can it continue to justify the role of human labor in the age of AI? Or will it become just another relic of the past, a forbidden site behind China’s Great Firewall?
The next 25 years will tell.
