That trust, Wales argues, comes from Wikipedia’s decentralized model and its refusal to speak with a single authoritative voice on contested issues. “We don’t try to answer the question or take a side,” Wales says. “What we do is describe the debate.” But that principle is under strain. Wales addresses recent backlash over Wikipedia’s handling of politically sensitive topics, including Gaza, where he says the site crossed an important line by adopting language that lacked broad consensus. “For Wikipedia to speak in its own voice requires an extremely high bar,” he explains.
Bremmer and Wales also explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping the information ecosystem. While AI systems are already trained on Wikipedia’s content, Wales says the platform is moving cautiously, prioritizing transparency, open source tools, and independence over partnerships with big tech. “Wikipedia’s biggest liability is also its biggest strength,” Wales says. “No one owns it.” In an internet increasingly dominated by centralized platforms and opaque algorithms, Wales makes the case that Wikipedia’s model, messy, imperfect, and community-driven, may be more necessary than ever.
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