Re: AI agents editing Wikipedia?

We have had one confirmed instance that we're aware of (TomWikiAssist, https://words.theresnotime.co.uk/2026/tomwikiassist-and-the-best-block-reason-ever/ ). There have been suspicions about other accounts as well, including some using VE, but it is difficult to confirm either way. Many agents appear to be driving real browsers, which makes it more difficult to detect.

AntiCompositeNumber
(they/them)

On Wed, Apr 15, 2026, at 11:00, Thiemo Kreuz via Wikitech-l wrote:
> Hard to tell without at least one example. Can you please provide one?
>
> Yes, I did hear a few vague suggestions that this is indeed happening.
> Unfortunately I don't have sources I can point you to.
>
> Personally I totally expect AI agents to not use the API (that would
> be the more responsible approach, which is not how AI agents behave)
> but try to reenact human behavior via the VisualEditor interface.
>
> No, I don't think there is a good technical solution to detect such
> edits other than looking at the accounts, when they have been created,
> and how they behave.
>
> Best
> Thiemo
> _______________________________________________
> Wikitech-l mailing list -- [email protected]
> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/postorius/lists/wikitech-l.lists.wikimedia.org/