Hi Amir, Good to see you in this discussion.
While I get where you are coming from with this question, what you're asking is more of a general "AI vs. Wikimedia / Open Knowledge" question. It is important to discuss, but perhaps in a separate thread, so the focus of this one remains the project. Will answer as briefly as I can -- Yes, there was a reason to think AI has "special requirements"in some cases. At the point in time when the project was pitched, most LLM were trained heavily on WP, but not WD (all Linked Open Data, in fact, despite being "machine readable'). WD (and all Linked Open Data for that matter) remained an untapped resource. This meant that when you asked GenAI platform questions and answers were not on WP, WD / WB would not be consulted (despite being machine readable), which led to less accurate informationon GenAI platforms. Back then, that struck me (and many, more technically capable, others) as a miss, and the idea of being able to create a bridge between WD/WB and LLMs was compelling. That became the second 'bridge' in the project (the second bucket of work). I also think (and that's more personal, so bear with me --) that intention and focus matter. What we do in this movement has always been making knowledge accessible to everyone, for free, in various languages. I, for one, continue to think that matters, especially today. So making the process for bringing knowledge in, and querying it, easier, is important. This has been an issue in the movement for years, way before GenAI, and from my perspective, it's worth investing 2 years of my life trying to solve for it, by joining forces with others who believe the same. I can't control what Big Tech are doing. That's in my "circle of concern". Instead, I try to.focus on my "circle of influence". To me, it is what I can do to counter Big Tech, to offer an alternative. Part of it ended up being making sure we're using these systems to the benefit of preserving knowlege and making it available for free. Intention and focus matter. Hope that answers. If not, let's continue privately, so this thread remains focused on this project, rather than on general "state of Wiki & AI". Shani. On Mon, Feb 16, 2026, 00:16 Amir E. Aharoni via Wikimedia-l < [email protected]> wrote: > What's the difference between "making data available to 'AI' " and simply > "making data available"? > > Is there a reason to think that "AI" have special requirements? > > -- > Amir Elisha Aharoni · אָמִיר אֱלִישָׁע אַהֲרוֹנִי > http://aharoni.wordpress.com > “We're living in pieces, > I want to live in peace.” – T. Moore > > > בתאריך שבת, 14 בפבר׳ 2026 ב-4:18 מאת Shani Evenstein Sigalov via > Wikimedia-l <[email protected]>: > >> Hello, everyone. >> >> As some of you know, in September 2025, I started a new position as a >> Marie Curie postdoctoral Research Fellow, at the Digital Humanities >> Research Hub, University of London. The project I lead is called *AI-BRIDGES >> *(funded by the European Commission for two year, ending 08/2027), and >> is focused on *bridging institutional data, the Open Knowledge community* >> (specifically, Linked Open Data, i.e. Wikidata and Wikibase)*, and >> GenAI. * >> >> The project was launched with *4 core partners: *WMDE, WMUK, WMBR & >> PleiAs, but it really is a global, collaborative effort, with many >> additional individuals, affiliates, organizations and institutions joining >> forces in attempting to reach solutions together (you can see a partial >> list of partners here <https://ai-bridges.org/partners/>; it's being >> updated all the time). >> >> As this project is heavily embedded in our community (specifically in >> Wikidata and the Wikibase ecosystem, but also in wider circles related to >> our Outreach programs, working with institutions globally), I wanted to >> take a moment to share some details about the project, so if the topic is of >> interest to you / your affiliate / your organization, you'll be able to >> join us and get involved. >> *Below are a** few resources and events we thought would be worthy of >> your attention*. >> >> If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us via this >> mail: *[email protected] <[email protected]>*. >> >> We look forward to your engagement! >> Shani, on behalf of the AI-BRIDGES team. >> >> ----------------------------------------------------- >> >> ** AI-BRIDGES Website:* >> Today I'm very excited to launch the project's new website >> <http://ai-bridges.org/>, where you can find out more about the project, >> how we are practically approaching the work ahead, and different ways to >> engage, support this effort and become part of the solution. >> >> ** AI-BRIDGES Open Forum: * >> On Friday, Feb 27th (in about two weeks), we'll be launching the >> AI-BRIDGES Open Forum. This would be a monthly space to share ideas and >> become joint thought-partners in trying to solve some tough challenges >> together. >> The Open Forum has a dedicated google group to support its work, so if >> you are interested in joining us, please join the google group: >> https://groups.google.com/g/ai-bridges. All announcements will be made >> through the group, and all meetings will be recorded, for those who can't >> participate. >> >> ** AI-BRIDGES Symposium:* >> On May 28-29, we will be hosting an in-person Symposium in London. Online >> participation will be possible for part of the Symposium, but you'll have >> to register to save a spot, even if it's online. >> Learn more about the Symposium and registration here >> <https://ai-bridges.org/2026/02/13/symposium/>. >> >> >> ** AI-BRIDGES Meta Page:*The project finally has a meta page: >> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:AI-BRIDGES. I will do my best >> to update it, mainly with outputs, or relevant events, but the project's >> website is the safest way of tracking the project. >> >> ---------------------------------- >> Dr. Shani Evenstein Sigalov >> Marie Curie Postdoctoral Research Fellow >> Digital Humanities Research Hub, >> School of Advanced Study, >> University of London. >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines >> at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and >> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l >> Public archives at >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/JUDDGCG5LJVFEW2X3OFHPATM643HOD4S/ >> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines > at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > Public archives at > https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/T5KN2EW2I2XSSGJM2HPQQOJW3XAV2DZ2/ > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >
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