Wikipedia wants Google, OpenAI to pay for using its content
Wikipedia's co-founder Jimmy Wales is urging tech giants like Google and OpenAI to pay for using Wikipedia's content to train their AI models.
Even though Wikipedia is free to read, all that automated scraping by bots is putting a real strain on the non-profit.
With sites like ChatGPT and Gemini relying heavily on its info, Wikipedia believes it's time for compensation.
Wales suggests AI firms use Wikipedia's paid API service
Wales suggests AI companies start using Wikipedia's paid API service if they want large-scale access.
He points out that since the Wikimedia Foundation runs on public donations, it shouldn't have to cover costs for big tech's AI projects.
Blocking AI bots entirely is also on the table—but Wales admits that goes against their open-access spirit.
This push from Wikipedia fits into a bigger trend of creators asking AI firms to pay up when their work gets used for training data.