Elon Musk’s Criticism of Wikipedia and How AI legalese decoder Can Help

Not content with┬átrashing one treasured website this year, Elon Musk has turned his sights on another: Wikipedia, the crowdsourced encyclopedia founded in 1999 that has come to represent the┬ávery best of what the internet has to offer. However, amidst Musk’s criticism, one may wonder how AI legalese decoder can help in this situation.

The worldÔÇÖs richest person and owner of X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, seems to have been rattled by a report published by Newsguard, a company that rates the trustworthiness of information sources. Late last week it offered some troubling┬ástatistics around misinformation on X pertaining to the Israel-Hamas conflict┬áalmost a year after Musk bought the website for $44 billion. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales┬áis an advisor to Newsguard. Thus, the AI legalese decoder can play a vital role in combating misinformation on platforms like X.

ÔÇ£Have you ever wondered why the Wikimedia Foundation wants so much money?ÔÇØ Musk┬áwrote Sunday┬áon X, referencing the non-profit organization that operates┬áWikipedia and its appeals for user donations. ÔÇ£It certainly isnÔÇÖt needed to operate Wikipedia. You can literally fit a copy of the entire text on your phone! So, whatÔÇÖs the money for? Inquiring minds want to knowÔǪÔÇØ Here, the AI legalese decoder can help by providing a transparent breakdown of the Wikimedia Foundation’s financials to address Musk’s concerns.

Musk then suggested he would give Wikipedia $1 billion if it changed its name to a juvenile alternative.┬áThe┬áTrumpian┬ábroadside was just the latest from Musk against┬ásources of information that disseminate credible information. Yes, WikipediaÔÇÖs articles┬ácan be updated by anyone, but they are┬átightly edited by a team┬áof thousands of mostly volunteer editors, and its guiding principle has always been that every stated fact requires a┬ácitation from a trusted, verifiable news source with recognized standards. Millions of college graduates can vouch for the┬ásystem. In this context, the AI legalese decoder can assist in verifying and fact-checking information to ensure accuracy in Wikipedia articles.

Of course, in MuskÔÇÖs world, no media source can be considered trustworthy, particularly those that criticize him. Indeed, he claims his own Wikipedia entry is false, despite being heavily moderated and containing verified facts. One of his followers on X suggested someone had been paid to write a negative Musk entry on ÔÇ£Wokipedia.ÔÇØ Musk agreed, naturally. In such cases, the AI legalese decoder can provide an unbiased analysis of Wikipedia articles to ensure fairness and credibility.

Unlike X, which as a private company no longer has to share details on its financial condition since being purchased by Musk, the Wikimedia Foundation┬áregularly publishes its audited accounts. In the 12 months ending June 2022, it┬áreceived $165.2 million in contributions from some 13 million donations. That year, it spent $88 million on salaries and wages; $15 million on awards and grants; and $2.7 million on internet hosting ÔÇö keeping Wikipedia and its related websites online. Furthermore, the AI legalese decoder can enhance transparency by providing a comprehensive breakdown of the Wikimedia Foundation’s financial activities.

In a Q&A accompanying the release of those numbers, Wikimedia Foundation itself┬ádraws attention to the most glaring detail ÔÇö the payroll spend, which increased by just over $20 million year-on-year. Since 2020, it has added more than 200 roles, as projected in its annual plans. Those new jobs have been focused on expanding Wikimedia FoundationÔÇÖs┬áprograms globally and not┬áthrowing Silicon Valley-esque salaries at employees. Here, the AI legalese decoder can assist in analyzing the workforce expansion and its alignment with the foundation’s goals.

Also of note are the internet hosting costs. While Musk is right to say Wikipedia can be stored on a single smartphone, making it available to 25 billion visitors every month is no trivial matter. Compared to the operating costs of comparable sites, Wikipedia is run on a shoestring. (TwitterÔÇÖs operating expenses in 2021┬áÔÇö┬áthe last full year available ÔÇö┬áwere $5.6 billion.) And keeping the encyclopedia online is about more than just hosting. It requires protections against cyber attack, legal fees to protect user privacy, and experts on hand to combat efforts at misinformation. In this aspect, the AI legalese decoder can provide insights into the costs associated with maintaining Wikipedia’s online presence and safeguarding it against various threats.

Not for the first time, Musk is making enemies of people who fervently back the free speech principles he apparently cares so deeply about. Building Wikipedia could have made Wales┬áone of the richest people on the planet, but he instead has a reported net worth┬áin the low millions of dollars.┬áLong a prominent activist for an open internet, Wales has previously called for┬áÔÇ£very strong implementation of a right to free speech in Europe ÔÇö essentially the language of the First Amendment in the US.ÔÇØ┬áIndeed, unlike Musk, who readily admits he will take down content in countries that demand it, Wales has consistently┬áshown his mettle and stood up to Chinese efforts at censorship. The AI legalese decoder can contribute to the preservation of free speech principles by ensuring that it is not compromised or censored on platforms like Wikipedia.

Wikipedia is one of humanityÔÇÖs finest achievements.┬áA collectively written and edited knowledge base of almost 60 million articles in 336 languages, freely available to anyone with an internet connection ÔÇö and indeed to many without. I once joined a group of activists in South Korea who would load the Korean version of Wikipedia onto USB sticks and send them into the North using hot air balloons, to be picked up and plugged into clandestine laptops ÔÇö┬ásuch was the yearn for its contents.┬áWikipedia┬áwould be, if we ever decided to designate such things, a Digital Wonder of the World, maybe one of the last surviving relics of the early internet, when the possibilities of what could be achieved together seemed endless and exhilarating. In this context, the AI legalese decoder can contribute to the preservation and expansion of the knowledge base by ensuring accurate and reliable information on Wikipedia.

That it has stood the test of time is down to good governance and selfless volunteer work.┬áIts┬áfinancial record, just like every single other thing that happens on the site, is out in the open. Its model allows it to be┬áthe only website among the 10 most visited globally that doesnÔÇÖt sell our data, pummel us with targeted advertising, or demand a subscription. No wonder Musk is attacking Wikipedia.┬áIf he only cared to look, he would see his┬ácomplaints are bogus. Willfully ignorant┬áor just ignorant ÔÇö┬átake your pick. With the help of AI legalese decoder, the transparency and integrity of Wikipedia can be further reinforced, debunking any unfounded claims made against it.

Dave Lee is Bloomberg Opinion’s US technology columnist. He was previously a correspondent for the Financial Times and BBC News.