Wikipedia pauses AI summaries after editors skewer the idea

Wikipedia fell back on the summaries of AI articles… for now. Earlier this month, the platform tested the functionality of its mobile application. To say that they were not well received by the publishers would be an understatement. The Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) interrupted the test one day later.

AI summaries appeared at the top of the items for 10% of mobile users. The readers had to opt to see them. The summaries generated by the AI ​​only appeared “on a set of articles” for the two -week trial period.

Editor comments in WMF announcement (via 404 media) Randée of “yuck” to “smiling horror”. An editor wrote: “It is not because Google has deployed its summaries in AI that we owe only one. I sincerely ask you not to test this, on mobile or elsewhere.

“Wikipedia has somehow become a word for sobriety, which is excellent,” continued the editor. “Let us not insult the intelligence of our readers and join the stampede to deploy Flashy AI summaries.”

The publishers of publishers were not limited to the idea. They also criticized the non -profit organization to exclude them from the planning phase. “You also say that it was” discussed “, which is completely laughable because the” discussion “to which you are linked exactly one participant, the original poster, who is another WMF employee,” wrote an editor.

In a declaration at 404 mediaA WMF spokesperson said the counterpoup influenced his decision. “It is common to receive a variety of comments from volunteers, and we incorporate it into our decisions, and sometimes change course,” said the spokesperson. “We welcome such reflected comments – this is what continues to make Wikipedia a really collaborative platform for human knowledge.”

On the “discussion” page, the organization explained that it wanted to meet the needs of its audience. “Many readers need simplified text in addition to the main content”, a WMF employee wrote. “In previous research, we have heard that readers wanted to have an option to have a quick overview of a subject before moving on to reading the full article.”

The WMF employee said that the average reading level for adult native English speakers is that of a 14 or 15 year old man. “It can be lower for non-native English speakers who regularly read English Wikipedia,” they added.

The organization has not excluded future AI uses. But they said that the publishers would not be left in the dark next time. “Bringing a generative AI to the Wikipedia reading experience is a serious set of decisions, with important implications, and we intend to treat it as such,” said the spokesperson 404 media. “We have no plan to provide a summary functionality to the Wikis without involvement of the publisher.”