Jimmy Wales, co-creator of Wikipedia, fired shots at AI wannabes like ‘Grokpedia’ during the India AI Impact Summit 2026. Speaking in New Delhi, he rejected any real rivalry, calling the idea unrealistic.
The session exposed a key blind spot: AI builders overlook Wikipedia’s reliance on human teamwork, open processes, and credible citations. ‘You can’t automate what makes us work,’ Wales insisted.
He spotlighted AI’s citation woes as ethically troubling. Beyond tech hurdles, proper sourcing is vital for digital integrity. Wales noted ongoing failures in AI to pinpoint data origins.
Shifts in info consumption hit Wikipedia hard—down 8% in human traffic. Wales deemed it catastrophic, reflecting a pivot to AI-powered snippets over full reads. India’s IT strength and engineers position it well, he added positively.
AI will supercharge skills and speed, per Wales, but brace for chaos: ‘Enormous transformation and uncertainty.’ Job losses in unspecified fields are likely.
From financial trader to internet pioneer, Wales built Wikipedia into a global beacon and co-founded Fandom. His verdict: Human collaboration trumps AI every time.