Developer Siqi Chen created Humanizer, a custom skill for Anthropic's Claude, that applies Wikipedia’s AI‑detecting guide to strip out tell‑tale phrases and patterns commonly used to spot machine‑written content. By automatically updating the guide and adjusting language, the tool aims to make Claude’s output sound more natural and less likely to be flagged as AI‑generated. Read more →

Merriam-Webster has selected “slop” as its 2025 word of the year, defining it as low‑quality digital content produced in large volumes by artificial intelligence. The term captures growing concerns about AI‑generated material flooding major online platforms such as YouTube, Wikipedia, Spotify and Pinterest. While some sites work to curb the spread, others—including Meta, OpenAI and Disney—are embracing AI‑driven video services. Merriam-Webster also highlighted other notable words from the year, underscoring the cultural impact of AI on language and internet culture. Read more →

Wikipedia editors have released a public guide that helps readers and contributors identify writing produced by large language models. The guide, part of the Project AI Cleanup initiative started in 2023, outlines common patterns such as overly generic statements of importance, excessive marketing language, and the use of present‑participle clauses that signal AI authorship. By highlighting these telltale signs, the effort aims to improve the reliability of Wikipedia’s millions of daily edits. Read more →

The Wikimedia Foundation, which operates Wikipedia, has asked major AI developers to stop scraping the encyclopedia’s data for free and instead pay to use its Enterprise API. The nonprofit argues that AI models need high‑quality, human‑curated information, but the massive traffic and server load caused by unsanctioned scraping threaten Wikipedia’s sustainability. While some companies, including Google, previously reached commercial agreements, many have not responded to the request. The foundation’s appeal adds to a broader movement by online publishers seeking compensation for the use of their content by AI systems. Read more →

The Wikimedia Foundation announced that it expects AI developers to access Wikipedia content through its paid Wikimedia Enterprise platform rather than scraping the site. The move aims to ensure proper attribution, reduce server strain, and support the nonprofit’s mission as human page views decline. The foundation emphasized that generative‑AI tools should credit Wikipedia contributors and direct users back to the source, warning that continued scraping could impact volunteer engagement and donor support. Read more →

Elon Musk’s artificial‑intelligence venture xAI has launched Grokipedia, a new online encyclopedia that mirrors Wikipedia’s layout and content style. The site offers a simple search‑driven homepage and article pages with headings, subheadings and citations, but currently limits user editing. Many entries acknowledge that they are adapted from Wikipedia under a Creative Commons license, and some appear nearly identical to their Wikipedia counterparts. xAI claims the platform includes AI‑generated fact‑checking, though critics note the challenges of AI‑produced “facts.” The Wikimedia Foundation’s spokesperson, Lauren Dickinson, emphasized Wikipedia’s longstanding role as a trusted, nonprofit knowledge source. Read more →

Wikimedia’s senior director of product, Marshall Miller, says the rise of generative‑AI chatbots and AI‑generated search summaries is driving a notable decline in Wikipedia page views. After improving bot detection, the foundation reports an 8 percent year‑over‑year drop in traffic, which it attributes to users receiving answers directly from AI‑powered search results. Miller cautions that reduced visits could affect volunteer contributions and funding, threatening the site’s hallmark standards of verifiability and neutrality. He urges AI developers and search platforms to direct users back to the original Wikipedia articles for full context. Read more →

Wikipedia volunteers are confronting a surge of AI‑written articles that contain false information, bogus citations, and poor prose. The community has introduced faster deletion procedures and new detection guidelines to remove such content quickly, while the Wikimedia Foundation supports tools that help editors spot AI‑generated drafts. By tightening policies and leveraging machine‑learning assistance, volunteers aim to preserve the encyclopedia’s reliability without stifling beneficial uses of AI. Read more →