61. Will Wikipedia survive Artificial Intelligence? (And Can A.I. Survive Without Wikipedia?)

Wikipedia readers consume nearly one billion articles per day from the online encyclopedia. In its 25 years of operation, this compendium of human knowledge has become an integral tool for understanding the world in which we live. But artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT could threaten Wikipedia's viability over the next 25 years. And in fact, by diverting fundraising traffic, undermining traditional journalism, and thinning the ranks of Wikipedia editors, large language models (LLMs) could even imperil their own usefulness. So in this episode, we're talking to a Wikipedia expert about the implications—both for strategic communicators and for society in general. Bill Beutler is the founder of Beutler Ink, a PR firm that specializes in optimizing brands' presence on Wikipedia. And together we'll discuss what can be done to preserve Wikipedia as a resource, how communicators should adapt their strategies, and what the future might hold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices