The Wikimedia Foundation, which operates Wikipedia, has reported an 8% decline in human traffic, attributing it to changing online information-seeking behaviors. Senior director Marshall Miller highlighted that this drop follows an update in how the Foundation distinguishes between genuine human visits and bot activity, revealing that a prior surge from Brazil was primarily bot-generated. The rise of generative AI and social media has shifted user attention; many prefer platforms like YouTube and TikTok for information, while search engines provide direct answers that often use Wikipedia content. This trend threatens Wikipedia’s volunteer base and could reduce donations crucial for its operations. Ironically, large language models (LLMs) often depend on Wikipedia data, which may inadvertently harm the site. To address these challenges, Wikimedia aims to establish responsible content sharing practices and is exploring outreach to younger audiences through innovative platforms. Additionally, the Foundation launched the Wikidata Embedding Project to enhance LLM access to quality data.
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