Ever since 2022,
large language models (LLMs) like
ChatGPT have become a convenient tool for writing at scale. Unfortunately, these models virtually always fail to properly source claims, and are often seen introducing errors. Essays like
WP:LLM strongly encourage care in using them for editing articles. These are the project's goals:
To identify text written by AI, and verify that they follow Wikipedia's policies. Any unsourced, likely inaccurate claims need to be removed.
To identify AI-generated images and ensure appropriate usage.
To help and keep track of AI-using editors who may not realize their deficiencies as a writing tool
The purpose of this project is not to restrict or ban the use of AI in articles, but to verify that its output is acceptable and constructive, and to fix or remove it otherwise.
Editing advice
Tag articles with appropriate templates, remove unsourced information, and warn users who add unsourced AI-generated content to articles.
Identifying AI-assisted edits is difficult in most cases since the generated text is often indistinguishable from human text. Some exceptions are if the text contains phrases like "as an AI model" or "as of my last knowledge update" and if the editor copy-pasted the
prompt used to generate the text together with the AI response. Other indications include the presence of fake references or other obvious
AI hallucinations. AI content sometimes takes a promotional tone, reading like a tourism website. Other times, the AI gets confused and will
write abouta hotel instead of
a nearby village. Automatic AI detectors like
GPTZero are unreliable and should not be used.
AI content is not always "unsourced" - sometimes it has real sources that are unrelated to the article's topic, sometimes it creates its own
fake sources, and sometimes it uses legitimate sources to create the AI content. Be careful when removing bad AI content not to remove legitimate sources, and always check the cited sources for legitimacy.
Example: the article
Leninist historiography was entirely written by AI and previously included a
list of completely fake sources in Russian and Hungarian at the bottom of the page. Google turned up no results for these sources.
Other example: the article Estola albosignata, about a beetle species, had
paragraphs written by AI sourced to actual German and French sources. While the sourced articles were real, they were completely off-topic, with the French one discussing an unrelated genus of crabs.
Sometimes entire articles are AI-generated, and in such a case, make sure to check that the topic is legitimate and
notable. Occasionally,
hoaxes have made it onto Wikipedia because AI-generated content created fake citations to appear legitimate.
Example: the article
Amberlihisar was created in January 2023, passed
articles for creation, and was not discovered to be entirely fictional until December 2023. It has since now been deleted.
Ever since 2022,
large language models (LLMs) like
ChatGPT have become a convenient tool for writing at scale. Unfortunately, these models virtually always fail to properly source claims, and are often seen introducing errors. Essays like
WP:LLM strongly encourage care in using them for editing articles. These are the project's goals:
To identify text written by AI, and verify that they follow Wikipedia's policies. Any unsourced, likely inaccurate claims need to be removed.
To identify AI-generated images and ensure appropriate usage.
To help and keep track of AI-using editors who may not realize their deficiencies as a writing tool
The purpose of this project is not to restrict or ban the use of AI in articles, but to verify that its output is acceptable and constructive, and to fix or remove it otherwise.
Editing advice
Tag articles with appropriate templates, remove unsourced information, and warn users who add unsourced AI-generated content to articles.
Identifying AI-assisted edits is difficult in most cases since the generated text is often indistinguishable from human text. Some exceptions are if the text contains phrases like "as an AI model" or "as of my last knowledge update" and if the editor copy-pasted the
prompt used to generate the text together with the AI response. Other indications include the presence of fake references or other obvious
AI hallucinations. AI content sometimes takes a promotional tone, reading like a tourism website. Other times, the AI gets confused and will
write abouta hotel instead of
a nearby village. Automatic AI detectors like
GPTZero are unreliable and should not be used.
AI content is not always "unsourced" - sometimes it has real sources that are unrelated to the article's topic, sometimes it creates its own
fake sources, and sometimes it uses legitimate sources to create the AI content. Be careful when removing bad AI content not to remove legitimate sources, and always check the cited sources for legitimacy.
Example: the article
Leninist historiography was entirely written by AI and previously included a
list of completely fake sources in Russian and Hungarian at the bottom of the page. Google turned up no results for these sources.
Other example: the article Estola albosignata, about a beetle species, had
paragraphs written by AI sourced to actual German and French sources. While the sourced articles were real, they were completely off-topic, with the French one discussing an unrelated genus of crabs.
Sometimes entire articles are AI-generated, and in such a case, make sure to check that the topic is legitimate and
notable. Occasionally,
hoaxes have made it onto Wikipedia because AI-generated content created fake citations to appear legitimate.
Example: the article
Amberlihisar was created in January 2023, passed
articles for creation, and was not discovered to be entirely fictional until December 2023. It has since now been deleted.