Archive · 21 Jan 2026
Jimmy Wales on Wikipedia's Trust and AI
Jimmy Wales, the person who started Wikipedia, talked about how important trust and truth are for Wikipedia.
He said that even though some people think we live in a world where truth doesn't matter, he believes people still care about honesty.
Wikipedia focuses on being neutral and accurate, and its community works hard to make sure the information is correct.
Wales also talked about how they use artificial intelligence (AI) a little bit to help with their work, but they don't let AI write the articles because it can make mistakes.
He thinks it's important to be transparent and admit mistakes to build trust.
He also criticized AI-generated encyclopedias for being unreliable and full of errors.
Jimmy Wales emphasizes the importance of trust and truth in Wikipedia's work.
Wikipedia focuses on neutrality, quality, and accurate sourcing.
Wales believes people still care about honesty and dislike being lied to.
Wikipedia uses AI for limited tasks like sourcing but not for writing articles.
Wales criticizes AI-generated encyclopedias for being unreliable and error-prone.
- Who
- Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia and Wikimedia Foundation
- What
- Interview about Wikipedia's trust, neutrality, and AI
- When
- During the Jaipur Literature Festival
- Where
- Jaipur, India
- Why
- To discuss Wikipedia's principles and future with AI
- Founder
- Jimmy Wales
- Organization
- Wikipedia and Wikimedia Foundation
- Year Launched
- 2001
- Key Focus
- Quality, Neutrality, Accuracy
- AI Use
- Limited, for sourcing support
- AI Content Creation
- Not used for writing entries
- Transparency
- Critical for trust