Hajra Naz
As artificial intelligence continues to influence media and editorial work, websites are setting clearer rules for its use. This week, Wikipedia updated its policy, banning editors from using AI-generated text to create or rewrite articles. However, the site hasn’t completely prohibited AI in all editorial processes.
Clearer Guidelines on AI Use
The new policy now explicitly states that “the use of LLMs to generate or rewrite article content is prohibited.” This is a clarification of previous, less strict guidance, which only advised that AI “should not be used to generate new Wikipedia articles from scratch.”
Community Support for the Change
AI usage in Wikipedia has long been debated among its large community of volunteer editors. According to 404 Media, the updated rules were put to a vote, and they received overwhelming approval, passing with a 40 to 2 majority.
Read More. Wikipedia asks AI firms to use its paid API instead of scraping content
Limited AI Use Still Allowed
Despite the ban on generating content, the policy allows some limited AI-assisted editing. Editors can use AI tools to suggest basic copyedits for their own writing, but any suggestions must be carefully reviewed.
The guidelines caution that AI can unintentionally alter the meaning of text, introducing inaccuracies or statements not supported by the cited sources.
“Caution is required,” the policy emphasizes. Editors are responsible for ensuring that AI suggestions do not misrepresent the information or create unsupported claims.
