Certain pages on Grokipedia indicate that content is ‘derived’ from Wikipedia.
Certain pages on Grokipedia indicate that content is ‘derived’ from Wikipedia.
xAI’s Grokipedia, its encyclopedia-like online platform, is currently active. The resemblances extend further than anticipated.
Grokipedia’s layout is quite simple at this stage; similar to Wikipedia, the main page predominantly features a large search bar, and articles mimic basic Wikipedia entries, complete with headings, subheadings, and references. I have yet to observe any images on the website. Wikipedia allows users to modify pages, but it seems that users currently lack that capability on Grokipedia; a prominent edit button at the top appeared on only a handful of pages for me, and when I clicked it, it solely displayed already completed edits without indicating who proposed or made the modifications, and I was unable to suggest my own alterations.
Entries also state that Grok has reviewed them for accuracy — a contentious notion, considering how large language models can fabricate false “facts” — and how long ago this “fact check” took place.
Nonetheless, in spite of Elon Musk’s assertion that Grokipedia would be a “significant enhancement” compared to Wikipedia, some articles seem to be lifting information from Wikipedia. For instance, at the page’s bottom for the MacBook Air, you can observe this message: “The content is derived from Wikipedia, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.” In some scenarios, the duplication is more than a mere rewrite: I’ve noticed that message also on pages for the PlayStation 5 and the Lincoln Mark VIII, and both pages are nearly identical — word-for-word, line-for-line — with their respective Wikipedia equivalents.
“Even Grokipedia relies on Wikipedia for its existence,” Lauren Dickinson, a representative for the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that manages Wikipedia, informs The Verge. You can read Dickinson’s complete statement at the end of this article.
This is not the inaugural instance where xAI’s AI has been observed referencing Wikipedia; last month, in response to an X user highlighting that Grok cites Wikipedia pages, Musk remarked that “we aim to resolve this by the end of the year.”
Not every Grokipedia article is derived straight from Wikipedia entries, and some might stir debate.
For example, while both platforms possess articles about climate change, Wikipedia’s page highlights that “There exists a nearly unidentified scientific consensus regarding climate warming and its human-induced causes. There is no scientific body of national or global repute that disagrees with this perspective.”
Meanwhile, in Grokipedia’s entry, the term “unanimous” only appears in a single paragraph: “Critics argue that assertions of near-unanimous scientific agreement concerning anthropogenic factors underlying recent climate change exaggerate consensus due to selective categorization in literature reviews.” It implies that the media alongside advocacy groups like Greenpeace are “amplifying public anxiety,” and are part of “joint initiatives to frame the matter as a dire necessity, impacting public conversation and legislation without consistently being backed by proportional empirical evidence.”
As per a ticker on the homepage, Grokipedia boasts over 885,000 articles; Wikipedia currently contains about 7 million English pages. Nevertheless, this is an early iteration of Grokipedia — it holds a v0.1 version number on the homepage.
Here is Dickinson’s complete statement:
We’re still in the process of grasping how Grokipedia functions.
Since 2001, Wikipedia has been the cornerstone of information on the internet. Operated by the Wikimedia Foundation, it remains the singular leading website globally managed by a nonprofit. In contrast to newer initiatives, Wikipedia’s advantages are evident: it possesses transparent regulations, diligent volunteer supervision, and a robust culture of perpetual enhancement. Wikipedia serves as an encyclopedia, crafted to educate billions of readers while steering clear of espousing a specific viewpoint.
Wikipedia’s knowledge is — and will always be — human. Through collective collaboration and consensus, individuals from diverse backgrounds develop a neutral, evolving record of human understanding — one that mirrors our diversity and common curiosity. This human-generated knowledge is what AI firms depend on to produce content; even Grokipedia requires Wikipedia to operate.
Wikipedia’s nonprofit autonomy — devoid of advertisements and not selling user data — differentiates it from for-profit alternatives. All of these advantages have sustained Wikipedia as a leading trusted resource for over two decades.
Numerous efforts to establish alternative renditions of Wikipedia have occurred previously; it does not impede our endeavors or mission. As we near Wikipedia’s 25th anniversary, Wikipedia will persist in its commitment to delivering free, reliable information constructed by its dedicated volunteer base. For further details on how Wikipedia operates, visit our website and the new blog series.
