New study looks at the ways machine intelligences and human users work together to improve and expand the world’s largest digital encyclopedia
Since launching in 2001, Wikipedia has evolved into a sprawling repository of human knowledge, with 40 million collaboratively-written articles and almost 500 million monthly users. Maintaining that project requires more than 137,000 volunteer editors – and, increasingly, an army of automated, AI-powered software tools, known as bots, that continually scour the website to eliminate junk, add and tag pages, fix broken links, and coax human contributors to do better.
Researchers at Stevens Institute of Technology, in Hoboken, N.J., have now completed the first analysis of all 1,601 of Wikipedia’s bots, using computer algorithms to classify them by function and shed light on the ways that machine intelligences and human users work together to improve and expand the world’s largest digital encyclopedia. The work, published in Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, could inform the development and use of bots in commercial applications ranging from online customer service to automated microchip design.
“AI is changing the way that we produce knowledge, and Wikipedia is the perfect place to study that,” said Jeffrey Nickerson, a professor in the School of Business at Stevens and one of the study’s authors. “In the future, we’ll all be working alongside AI technologies, and this kind of research will help us shape and mold bots into more effective tools.”
By leveraging Wikipedia’s transparency and detailed record-keeping, Nickerson used automated classification algorithms to map every bot function as part of an interconnected network. By studying the places where functions clustered, the team identified bots’ roles like “fixers”, which repair broken content or erase vandalism; “connectors”, which link pages and resources together; “protectors,” which police bad behavior; and “advisors,” which suggest new activities and provide helpful tips.
In total, bots play nine core roles on Wikipedia, accounting for about 10 percent of all activity on the site, and up to 88 percent of activity on some sub-sections such as the site’s Wikidata platform. Most of that activity comes from more than 1,200 fixer-bots, which have collectively made more than 80 million edits to the site. Advisor-bots and protector-bots, by contrast, are less prolific, but play a vital role in shaping human editors’ interactions with Wikipedia.
New members of online communities are more likely to stick around if they’re welcomed by fellow members – but Nickerson and his team found that new Wikipedia users who interacted with advisor- and protector-bots were significantly more likely to become long-term contributors than those greeted by humans. That remained true even when the bots were contacting users to point out errors or delete their contributions, as long as the bots were cordial and clear about their reasons.
“People don’t mind being criticized by bots, as long as they’re polite about it,” said Nickerson, whose team includes Feng Mai, graduate student Lei (Nico) Zheng and undergraduate students Christopher Albano and Neev Vora. “Wikipedia’s transparency and feedback mechanisms help people to accept bots as legitimate members of the community.”
Over time, some bots fell into obsolescence while others expanded and took on new roles. Studying the evolution of bots, and the ways that human-defined policies shape the bot ecosystem, remains a promising field for future research. “Are we heading for a world with a handful of multipurpose super-bots, or one with lots and lots of more specialized bots? We don’t know yet,” said Nickerson.
One thing is clear, though: Wikipedia’s bots, and the governance and feedback systems that have sprung up around them, offer lessons for commercial bot-builders. “The things we’re seeing on Wikipedia could be a harbinger of things to come in many different industries and professions,” said Nickerson. “By studying Wikipedia, we can prepare for the future, and learn to build AI tools that improve both our productivity and the quality of our work.”
Learn more: Stevens Team Completes First Census of Wikipedia Bots and Their Interactions With Humans
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Human-machine interactions
[google_news title=”” keyword=”human-machine interactions” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
Human-machine interactions
- LuminAI puts human dancers and AI on the same stageon May 12, 2024 at 7:00 am
Dance and computers are having a moment with LuminAI, a collaboration between Kennesaw State University Dance Department and Georgia Tech.
- Can AI Deceive Human Beings? Explainedon May 11, 2024 at 7:17 am
A recent Massachuetts institute of technology article concluded that AI’s have the potential to deceive human beings. Read more for further explanation.. - Newsx ...
- China accelerates industrial development of brain-machine interfaceon May 10, 2024 at 12:01 am
A monkey with soft electrode filaments implanted in its brain controlled an isolated robotic arm and grasped a strawberry by simply using its thought ...
- A retrospective look at Human Computer Interaction - free public lecture by Professor Manolya Kavaklion May 9, 2024 at 4:59 pm
The latest inaugural lecture at Aston University will look at the complex relationship between humans, computers and technology. Professor Manolya Kavakli will discuss progress so far and ...
- Intelligent Vending Machines Market To Reach USD 86.3 Billion By 2032 | DataHorizzon Researchon May 4, 2024 at 11:40 pm
The intelligent vending machines market was valued at USD 24.7 Billion in 2023 and is anticipated to grow CAGR at 14.9% to reach USD 86.3 Billion by 2032.Fort Collins, Colorado, May 05, 2024 (GLOBE ...
- Human-Machine Interface Market to be Worth $8.57 Billion by 2030 - Exclusive Report by Meticulous Research®on May 3, 2024 at 3:17 am
REDDING, Calif., May 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new market research report titled, 'Human Machine Interface (HMI) Market By Offering (Hardware (Display Units, Others), Software, Services), ...
- Contactless interactive displays respond to finger movements and breath via humidity sensingon April 26, 2024 at 5:00 pm
(Nanowerk Spotlight) The ubiquity of touchscreens has revolutionized the way we interact with digital devices, but the next frontier in human-machine interaction lies in the development of contactless ...
- More than machines: Computer scientist prepares robots to improve human liveson April 23, 2024 at 5:00 pm
But a human with social intelligence can easily discern the difference. Teaching machines to do the same can help them ... these gaps in the interaction. People who were conversing with this robot ...
- How AI voice tech is forging more natural human-machine interactionson April 15, 2024 at 11:15 am
Voice technology will finally free humans’ hands “We are pioneering AI and voice technology to revolutionize human-machine interaction,” Chaligńe says. “Our mission is to make sure ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Machine intelligences and human users work together
[google_news title=”” keyword=”machine intelligences and human users work together” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
Machine intelligences and human users work together
- Artificial Intelligence ‘Friends’on May 9, 2024 at 6:49 am
Artificial intelligence, we are told, is a transformative economic force; it will change workers’ jobs, boost corporate profits and reshape industries. But for the last month, I’ve been investigating ...
- Artificial Intelligence And Human Expertise In Graphic Designon May 8, 2024 at 4:15 am
So, I’ve put together a ... AI has advanced greatly? Human designers weave empathy into their work to evoke human emotions due to superior and authentic emotional intelligence.
- Redefining Work in the Age of AI: Augmented Intelligence and the Future of Collaborationon April 29, 2024 at 7:56 am
In a data-driven economy where businesses create value and compete by using information, adopting artificial intellige ...
- Machines Cannot Replace Human Boredomon April 8, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Work!, is a study of automation in the era of artificial intelligence ... A closer look reveals a video screen inside the machine. When users cups their hands and place them below the sensor ...
- Artificial Intelligenceon March 23, 2024 at 12:22 pm
Artificial intelligence (AI), sometimes known as machine intelligence, refers to the ability of computers to perform human-like feats ... Wearable gadgets push their users to exercise or consider ...
- As The Line Between Humans and Machines Begins to Blur, One Question Remains: What Will It Mean to Be Human? Here's What We Know.on June 14, 2023 at 2:18 pm
What does it mean to be human in the age of hybrid intelligence ... humans and machines can greatly enhance our quality of life. We are already approaching a world where we can work alongside ...
- What’s The Difference Between Machine Learning And Artificial Intelligence, Anyway?on February 9, 2023 at 6:06 pm
Artificial intelligence ... problem-solving Machine learning is a computer application using artificial intelligence to find patterns and trends in complex data sets without human instructions ...
- Program Overviewon January 4, 2023 at 10:14 pm
Northwestern’s Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence (MSAI) program produces graduates who have exceptional technical skills in the emerging technologies of machine intelligence ... and deploy ...
- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: Enhancing Human Effort with Intelligent Systemson July 28, 2022 at 9:50 pm
By the 1950s, British scientist and philosopher Alan Turing posed the question “Can machines think?” in his seminal work on ... artificial intelligence (XAI). According to IBM, XAI is a set of ...
- Cisco: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning Key To Networking's Next Evolutionon June 10, 2019 at 10:30 am
That means bringing in more artificial intelligence ... users better visibility and increased insight, Cisco is using machine-learning algorithms to perform logical troubleshooting steps that a ...