"Wikipedia is getting a lot of AI slop" - Nish Kumar meets Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales (pt 4)

How will AI change Wikipedia—and what is already going wrong (and right) in the battle for factual information online? In this episode, Jimmy Wales shares what happens when “AI slop contributions” creep into Wikipedia, explains why artificial intelligence is “really bad at facts,” and offers wild stories such as botched ISBN numbers, AI hallucinations, and the ever-growing need for media literacy. The discussion ranges from fake news, “cytogenesis” (how errors spread across the web), and the hilarious plight of “robot barf” QR codes, to why some Wikipedia entries simply can’t be replaced by machines. Plus: the best inherently funny Wikipedia article, and a light-hearted finishing note about joke-writing in the AI age. Don’t miss this honest, practical, and sharp take on the future of truth and technology—from the inside. Event description: Comedian Nish Kumar joins Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales to ask: in the post-truth age, can we save the resource that powers both Wikipedia and our democracy? Two decades ago, Jimmy Wales founded Wikipedia and transformed the world’s access to knowledge. Today, people view Wikipedia 11 billion times every month in the English language alone. Nish Kumar is one; in fact he loves the site so much that, before he was known as the UK’s preeminent political comedian, he used to present his own Nishipedia feature on Radio X. In an age of ‘alternative facts’, conspiracies and disinformation, the foundations of Wikipedia are increasingly under threat: and the problem at the heart of it all extends to the whole of society. Trust: like water, like electricity, our society can’t function without it. It’s a treasure, a living thing that can be cultivated and grown. But it can also wither and die, and it is increasingly under threat. Without it, we have no knowledge, and without knowledge, we can’t fight back. Derived from decades of observation, participation and discussion with leaders across the world, Jimmy and Nish will share clear, actionable rules for building trust in business, leadership and life. Bringing together an icon of the digital age with one of our greatest living comics, this is an unmissable live event for anyone interested in the future of knowledge and turning the tide against our age of disinformation. Praise for Jimmy Wales’s The Seven Rules of Trust: ‘Fascinating … Should be required reading everywhere’ – Stephen Fry ‘An important book … Both hopeful and practical’ – Yuval Noah Harari ‘Where trust has been lost, Jimmy Wales offers routes to its rediscovery’ – Alastair Campbell ‘Thank you to Jimmy Wales for founding Wikipedia and now, for the first time, telling us how he did it!’ – Simon Sinek "