How inaccurate AI translations of Wikipedia pages, which AI models use for training, may cause a doom spiral that further marginalizes vulnerable languages
When Kenneth Wehr started managing the Greenlandic-language version of Wikipedia four years ago, his first act was to delete almost everything. LinkedIn: Soeren Eberhardt and Rachel Courtland Bluesky: @jacobjudah , @bhaggart , @drsmith , and @smcgrath.phd Forums: r/Longreads , r/TrueReddit , and r/wikipedia See also Mediagazer LinkedIn: Soeren Eberhardt : I recently noticed that Cebuano is the language with the second-most articles on #Wikipedia. This article sheds light on phenomena … Rachel Courtland : Machine translation is poisoning Wikipedia entries written in rarer languages, and AI is poised to send these valuable resources into a doom spiral. … Bluesky: Jacob Judah / @jacobjudah : AI and Wikipedia are sending the most vulnerable languages into a harmful linguistic doom loop. — Wikipedia is used to train AI to speak vulnerable languages. But users are now flooding Wikipedia with shoddy AI translations. — Latest in @technologyreview.com: www.technologyreview.com/2025/09/25/ 1... Blayne Haggart / @bhaggart : So many thoughts. Let's go with three. — 1. Keep in mind that preserving endangered languages is supposedly a big genAI selling feature. — 2. GenAI's careless deployment, exemplified by computer scientists' and industry neglect of the basic “garbage in, garbage out” principle, is infuriating. … James Andrew Smith / @drsmith : Machines learning from machines is not going to end well. [embedded post] Scott McGrath / @smcgrath.phd : Poor AI translations are flooding Wikipedia editions for vulnerable languages. With no community to correct errors, this flawed content risks being used to train future AI models, creating a “doom spiral” that further degrades the language online. Forums: r/Longreads : How AI and Wikipedia have sent vulnerable languages into a doom spiral r/TrueReddit : How AI and Wikipedia have sent vulnerable languages into a doom spiral r/wikipedia : How AI and Wikipedia have sent vulnerable languages into a doom spiral See also Mediagazer