Tag: wikipedia
Wikipedia will not perform Online Safety Bill age checks
Founder Jimmy Wales believes generative AI could help improve Wikipedia
ChatGPT-like chatbots and other “intelligent” algorithms could one day write entire Wikipedia articles, even though that future is still far away. Jimmy “Jimbo” Wales, founder of the collaborative encyclopedia and the Wikimedia non-profit organization, tackled the AI problem in a recently published interview, stating that machine learning-based chatbots are a…
Wikipedia says it has found the ‘sound of all human knowledge’ with new audio logo
We don’t always think about it, but sound can be as important to identifying a brand as any graphical logo. Netflix’s ‘ta-dum’ instantly brings the streaming service’s logo to mind. Apple’s startup chime feels like a warm greeting from your computer. Now, Wikipedia has an iconic audio mark of its own: a fluttering of book pages, keyboard clicks and synthesize tones it calls “The Sound of All Human Knowledge.”
In true Wikipedia fashion, the four second audio clip was sourced from the community. The Wikimedia Foundation hosted a contest to find an audio logo for “projects when visual logos are not an option.” Over 3,000 submissions later, they landed on a series of warm, happy notes preceded by book and keyboard noises, created by Thaddeus Osborne.
Osborne, a Nuclear Scientist by day, will be awarded $2,500 for creating the winning sound. Wikimedia will also be flying him to a professional recording studio to help produce a finalized version of the audio logo. The foundation says it hopes to have the final sound ready to use by June of this year.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wikipedia-says-it-has-found-the-sound-of-all-human-knowledge-with-new-audio-logo-181059089.html?src=rss
Russia Hits Wikipedia With Fine for Going Against Putin’s War Narrative
Russia issued a two million ruble fine ($27,000) to Wikipedia on Tuesday, claiming the site refused to remove “misinformation” about the country’s military involvement in the Ukraine War. The Kremlin issued a series of laws last year restricting reports that contradict Russia’s official message.
Wikipedia Unblocked in Pakistan After Prime Minister’s Intervention
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Pakistan unblocks Wikipedia after a three-day ban
People in Pakistan can once again use Wikipedia, three days after the country blocked the website over content that regulators deemed “sacrilegious.” As TechCrunch notes, prime minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered officials to unblock Wikipedia after determining that the ban was “not a suitable measure to restrict access to some objectionable contents/sacrilegious matter on it.” Sharif’s office said in a statement that the “unintended consequences of this blanket ban” outweighed the “benefits.”
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) “degraded” access to Wikipedia last Wednesday, warning the site’s operators that they had 48 hours to remove certain content or face repercussions. Wikipedia apparently demurred and the PTA blocked the site in Pakistan on Friday.
Meanwhile, Sharif is establishing a cabinet committee to “explore and recommend alternative technical measures for removal or blocking access to objectionable content posted on Wikipedia and other online information sites, in view of our social, cultural and religious sensitivities, on the touchstone of proportionality.” The committee is also being tasked with offering other suggestions aimed at “controlling unlawful content in a balanced manner.”
Sharif asked the committee to provide the cabinet with recommendations within one week. That doesn’t give the committee members much time to fully assess and analyze the many, many considerations that go into content moderation.
Prime Minister @CMShehbaz has directed that the Wikipedia website be restored with immediate effect. The Prime Minister has also constituted a Cabinet Committee on matters related to Wikipedia and other online content. pic.twitter.com/fgMj5sqTun
— Marriyum Aurangzeb (@Marriyum_A) February 6, 2023
Wikipedia Briefly Banned in Pakistan for ‘Blasphemous’ Content
Pakistan lifted its Wikipedia ban today after degrading the site on Saturday following the site’s refusal to remove what local government officials called blasphemous and anti-Islam content. The Pakistani government said they gave the site 48 hours to remove the “anti-Islam” information which hurts Muslim sentiment.
Pakistan blocks Wikipedia over ‘sacrilegious’ content
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has blocked Wikipedia after slowing access to the website for 48 hours over content it considers “sacrilegious.” A PTA spokesperson told Bloomberg that the agency has blocked the online encyclopedia for failing to remove said content within the past couple of days.
The telecom authority revealed on February 1st that it approached the website with a court order to remove “blasphemous” material from its website. After Wikipedia didn’t comply or appear before authorities, the PTA degraded access to the website for a couple of days and threatened to block it entirely if it didn’t comply with its demands. The agency didn’t publicly list the Wikipedia entries it doesn’t want people in Pakistan to see.
Wikipedia was approached for blocking/removal of the said contents by issuing a notice under applicable law & court order(s). An opportunity of hearing was also provided, however, the platform neither complied by removing the blasphemous content nor appeared before the Authority. pic.twitter.com/6dWRcbxHGB
— PTA (@PTAofficialpk) February 1, 2023
As TechCrunch notes, Pakistan has been trying to exert more control over content found on various digital platforms. In 2020, the PTA temporarily banned TikTok due to “immoral and indecent” material before the short-form video app promised to moderate clips according to Pakistani “societal norms” and laws. It’s worth noting that the Muslim-majority country has stringent blasphemy laws, and the punishment for breaking them includes life imprisonment and even death.
In a blog post, the Wikimedia Foundation confirmed that Pakistan blocked Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects based on its internal traffic reports. “In Pakistan, English Wikipedia receives more than 50 million pageviews per month, followed by Urdu and Russian Wikipedias. There is also a sizable and engaged community of editors in Pakistan that contribute historical and educational content. A block of Wikipedia in Pakistan denies the fifth most populous nation in the world access to the largest free knowledge repository. If it continues, it will also deprive everyone access to Pakistan’s knowledge, history, and culture,” the Foundation wrote. It’s now calling on Pakistan’s authorities to restore access to the Wikipedia website in the country.
PTA’s spokesperson told Bloomberg that the agency is still in talks with Wikipedia officials and that the agency will consider unblocking the website if it completely removes sacrilegious content.
Wikipedia Blocked in Pakistan Over ‘Sacrilegious’ Content
Read more of this story at Slashdot.