Re: Google Zero is coming [was Re: Wikipedia at 25: A Wake-Up Call (essay)]

Steven Walling via Wikimedia-l <[email protected]> Fri, 10 Jul 2026 11:05:31 -0700
Newsgroups gmane.org.wikimedia.foundation
Message-ID <CABxVVqvJ59iigb2OK0dAstAJyQe_N6G2g221sKNGU_WByoypyQ@mail.gmail.com>
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On Fri, Jul 10, 2026 at 10:36=E2=80=AFAM Gerard Meijssen via Wikimedia-l <
[email protected]> wrote:

> Hoi,
> How does that raise more eyeballs to our data, to our projects. Why would
> we build this to serve companies that raise CO2 with 35%?
>
> Why support AI at all when it is killing our future!
> Thanks,
>       GerardM
>

Gerard,

ChatGPT alone has over a billion monthly active users and these platforms
are growing rapidly (note the survey data I linked to previously in
thread).

Everything Wikimedia does has a CO2 emissions cost. We are not carbon
neutral today as far as I am aware, though I would bet many of us would
agree that is a goal worth pursuing.

Steven


> On Fri, 10 Jul 2026 at 19:30, Steven Walling via Wikimedia-l <
> [email protected]> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Jul 10, 2026 at 9:52=E2=80=AFAM Erik Moeller via Wikimedia-l <
>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> On Fri, Jul 10, 2026 at 5:59=E2=80=AFPM James Heilman via Wikimedia-l
>>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>> > Yah a search engine that actually gives real references that supports
>>> the statements in question would be amazing.
>>>
>>> Almost like .. a Knowledge Engine. ;-)
>>>
>>
>> Is the WMF building an MCP server to connect Wikipedia and Wikidata
>> directly to Gemini, Claude, and ChatGPT? This is a more lightweight,
>> backdoor way to leverage the audience of those platforms but present
>> structured outputs to AI chats for users based on Wikimedia knowledge. I=
f
>> we did so, we could present citations within the returned responses to
>> users, and those platforms make it transparent to the user when they are
>> calling a particular tool.
>>
>> Steven Walling
>>
>> Sadly, the only realistic path I see there would be through
>>> acquisition, and even if that was financially feasible, you'd begin by
>>> inheriting a lot of corporate practices that aren't really consistent
>>> with Wikimedia values.
>>>
>>> But perhaps there is a middle ground where Wikimedia seeks to define
>>> more clearly the terms of engagement that it wants with search engines
>>> (clear attribution, clear and correct references, calls-to-edit,
>>> etc.), and then finds and recognizes search partners who implement
>>> those. To Luis' point, that need not be done by WMF.
>>>
>>> Warmly,
>>>
>>> Erik
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l
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.org/message/HNDPDZBBDMILF7WGMUBVJVIAZYQ7OXOS/
>>> To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-leave-RusutVdil2icGmH+5r0DM0B+6BGkLq7r@public.gmane.org
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines
>> at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and
>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l
>>
> Public archives at
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org/message/IUDAKJRN5EQT5CCWEEYQXKDSVXCDBXR6/
>> To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-leave-RusutVdil2icGmH+5r0DM0B+6BGkLq7r@public.gmane.org
>
> _______________________________________________
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<div><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir=3D"ltr" =
class=3D"gmail_attr">On Fri, Jul 10, 2026 at 10:36=E2=80=AFAM Gerard Meijss=
en via Wikimedia-l &lt;<a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]">w=
[email protected]</a>&gt; wrote:<br></div><blockquote class=3D=
"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(2=
04,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir=3D"ltr">Hoi,<div>How does that raise=
 more eyeballs to our data, to our projects.=C2=A0Why would we build this t=
o serve companies that raise CO2 with 35%?=C2=A0</div><div><br></div><div>W=
hy support AI at all when it is killing our future!</div><div>Thanks,</div>=
<div>=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 GerardM</div></div></blockquote><div dir=3D"auto"=
><br></div><div dir=3D"auto">Gerard,=C2=A0</div><div dir=3D"auto"><br></div=
><div dir=3D"auto">ChatGPT alone has over a billion monthly active users an=
d these=C2=A0platforms are growing rapidly (note the survey data I linked t=
o previously in thread).=C2=A0</div><div dir=3D"auto"><br></div><div dir=3D=
"auto">Everything Wikimedia does has a CO2 emissions cost. We are not carbo=
n neutral today as far as I am aware, though I would bet many of us would a=
gree that is a goal worth pursuing.=C2=A0</div><div dir=3D"auto"><br></div>=
<div dir=3D"auto">Steven</div><div dir=3D"auto"><br></div><blockquote class=
=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rg=
b(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div dir=3D"auto"></div><=
/div><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote"></div><div class=3D"gmail_quote"><div d=
ir=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_attr">On Fri, 10 Jul 2026 at 19:30, Steven Wallin=
g via Wikimedia-l &lt;<a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]" ta=
rget=3D"_blank">[email protected]</a>&gt; wrote:<br></div></d=
iv><div class=3D"gmail_quote"><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"ma=
rgin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:=
1ex"></blockquote></div><div class=3D"gmail_quote"><blockquote class=3D"gma=
il_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,2=
04,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div dir=3D"ltr"><br></div><br><=
div class=3D"gmail_quote"><div dir=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_attr">On Fri, Jul=
 10, 2026 at 9:52=E2=80=AFAM Erik Moeller via Wikimedia-l &lt;<a href=3D"ma=
ilto:[email protected]" target=3D"_blank">[email protected]=
ikimedia.org</a>&gt; wrote:<br></div><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" styl=
e=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);paddin=
g-left:1ex">On Fri, Jul 10, 2026 at 5:59=E2=80=AFPM James Heilman via Wikim=
edia-l<br>
&lt;<a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]" target=3D"_blank">wi=
[email protected]</a>&gt; wrote:<br>
<br>
&gt; Yah a search engine that actually gives real references that supports =
the statements in question would be amazing.<br>
<br>
Almost like .. a Knowledge Engine. ;-)<br></blockquote><div><br></div>Is th=
e WMF building an MCP server to connect Wikipedia and Wikidata directly to =
Gemini, Claude, and ChatGPT? This is a more lightweight, backdoor way to le=
verage the audience of those platforms but present structured outputs to AI=
 chats for users based on Wikimedia knowledge.=C2=A0<span style=3D"backgrou=
nd-color:transparent">If we did so, we could present citations within the r=
eturned responses to users, and those platforms make it transparent to the =
user when they are calling a particular tool.=C2=A0</span><span style=3D"ba=
ckground-color:transparent">=C2=A0</span></div><div class=3D"gmail_quote"><=
span style=3D"background-color:transparent"><br></span></div><div class=3D"=
gmail_quote"><span style=3D"background-color:transparent">Steven Walling=C2=
=A0</span></div><div class=3D"gmail_quote"><br><blockquote class=3D"gmail_q=
uote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,2=
04);padding-left:1ex">Sadly, the only realistic path I see there would be t=
hrough<br>
acquisition, and even if that was financially feasible, you&#39;d begin by<=
br>
inheriting a lot of corporate practices that aren&#39;t really consistent<b=
r>
with Wikimedia values.<br>
<br>
But perhaps there is a middle ground where Wikimedia seeks to define<br>
more clearly the terms of engagement that it wants with search engines<br>
(clear attribution, clear and correct references, calls-to-edit,<br>
etc.), and then finds and recognizes search partners who implement<br>
those. To Luis&#39; point, that need not be done by WMF.<br>
<br>
Warmly,<br>
<br>
Erik<br>
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blockquote></div></div>
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