Ddos 
The Wikimedia Foundation has issued a stark warning, cautioning that the rapid rise of artificial intelligence poses a profound threat to the integrity of online knowledge and the broader information ecosystem. According to the organization’s latest data, Wikipedia’s page views have shown a marked decline, a trend largely attributed to the growing popularity of large language model chatbots and the widespread use of AI-generated summaries in search engines.
Marshall Miller, Senior Director of Product at the Wikimedia Foundation, revealed in an official blog post that after refining the foundation’s bot-detection systems to produce more accurate analytics, Wikipedia’s page views fell by 8% year-over-year. Miller stated plainly:
“We believe that these declines reflect the impact of generative AI and social media on how people seek information, especially with search engines providing answers directly to searchers, often based on Wikipedia content.”
Miller emphasized that the crisis extends far beyond mere website traffic. If this trend continues, he warned, it could jeopardize “the only large-scale website that upholds the principles of verifiability, neutrality, and transparency — and underpins much of the web’s information infrastructure.”
A continued drop in referral traffic, he added, could result in fewer volunteer contributors, diminished financial support, and ultimately, a decline in content reliability.
In recent years, the Wikimedia Foundation has also struggled with increasingly sophisticated AI-driven web crawlers, whose precision makes it ever more difficult to distinguish between human and automated traffic. This not only skews analytical accuracy but also imposes a significant burden on server resources.
As a possible remedy, Miller proposed that large language models and search platforms should consciously create opportunities for users to engage directly with original information sources. He stressed that for people to maintain trust in online knowledge, platforms must clearly attribute their sources and enable users to access and participate in those sources directly.
Earlier this summer, Wikipedia considered adding AI-generated summaries at the top of articles, but the plan was swiftly abandoned after facing strong opposition from the site’s volunteer editors. The episode underscored the growing tension within the community — how to balance the efficiency of AI with the wisdom of human curation.
As AI continues to reshape how people seek and consume knowledge, Wikipedia’s dilemma underscores a turning point in the digital knowledge landscape. The central question now confronting the industry is how to embrace technological progress while ensuring the sustainability and credibility of reliable information sources.
Meanwhile, the Wikimedia Foundation is also exploring ways to integrate its vast knowledge repository with generative AI models, aiming to lower entry barriers for smaller developers and prevent the technology from being monopolized by a handful of tech giants. By positioning Wikipedia as a vital data source within the generative AI ecosystem, the Foundation hopes to secure its role in the next phase of digital evolution — though whether a new, sustainable model can emerge amid the rise of AI-driven platforms remains to be seen.
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