After crunching the numbers to exclude armies of data-scraping AI bots, the Wikimedia Foundation says that between March and August this year, the number of Wikipedia page views coming from real humans declined by 8% year-on-year.Wikipedia warned against the potential implications of falling viewer numbers on the site, saying it could lead to fewer volunteers filling the site with content and fewer donors to support its upkeep. It also called on AI firms and digital platforms to make it more transparent about where their generations come from and support their sources.Wikipedia’s recent problems aren’t unique. Many of the world’s most popular online news websites have also complained that AI-generated search engine summaries—such as Google’s AI Overviews—are leading to fewer clicks and less revenue. Is AI good or bad for publishers ?
