Wikipedia's big move: It will now charge AI companies for using its content and monetize its content. Find out the complete plan..
Wikipedia has always been the face of a free and open internet. But now, the company has taken a significant step towards monetizing its content. The Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, has announced that it has entered into commercial agreements with several artificial intelligence companies, under which AI models will use Wikipedia's content under specified terms and conditions, and with payment.
Major Tech Companies Involved, from Amazon to Meta
According to the Wikimedia Foundation, these deals have been made with companies such as Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Perplexity, and France's Mistral AI. The aim is to provide AI companies with faster and more organized access to Wikipedia's vast and reliable knowledge base. However, the financial terms of these agreements have not been made public.
Free Internet vs. the Pressure of AI
Wikipedia has long been an example of an open and free internet, but the growing trend of generative AI has created a new challenge. Many AI models are being trained by scraping data from the web without payment, including a large amount of Wikipedia's content.
Who Will Pay for AI Training?
The Wikimedia Foundation says that the large-scale data access by AI companies puts a heavy strain on its servers, the cost of which the organization has to bear. This is why the decision has been made to generate revenue from the commercial use of its content.
This is not the first time Wikipedia has made such a deal. In 2022, Google became its first enterprise customer. A similar agreement was later made with smaller search engines like Ecosia.
Jimmy Wales' Clear Stance
Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales supported the use of content by AI, stating that Wikipedia is a platform curated by humans, and therefore provides more reliable data for AI. However, he also made it clear that AI companies should pay a fair price for it.
Human traffic decreased, bots increased.
According to the Wikimedia Foundation, human visits to Wikipedia decreased by approximately 8% last year, while the activity of AI bots increased rapidly. Many bots secretly scrape data, putting an extra burden on the servers. AI search engines and chatbots are now providing direct answers, leading to fewer clicks on websites. In this situation, Wikipedia has chosen the path of cooperation rather than confrontation, but on its own terms.
Disclaimer: This content has been sourced and edited from Amar Ujala. While we have made modifications for clarity and presentation, the original content belongs to its respective authors and website. We do not claim ownership of the content.
