Wikipedia talk:WikiProject AI Cleanup
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ChatGPT Userscript
editI was going through userscripts today when I found User:Phlsph7/WikiChatbot. It seems to use ChatGPT to embed a chatbot into Wikipedia pages, which can give editing advice. I'm not sure if there should be a wider discussion on whether this sort of thing should be allowed to be installed, but figured I'd raise it here first. The WordsmithTalk to me 02:42, 1 June 2024 (UTC)
- Hello The Wordsmith and thanks for raising this issue. For previous discussions, see Wikipedia_talk:Large_language_models#Chatbot_to_help_editors_improve_articles and Wikipedia:Village_pump_(miscellaneous)/Archive_75#Feedback_on_user_script_chatbot. As with most AI technology these days, it is a two-sided sword. It can be a helpful tool if used responsibly and in tune with the documentation and the recommendations at WP:LLM. However, it can also cause problems if potential pitfalls are ignored. Phlsph7 (talk) 07:37, 1 June 2024 (UTC)
- I definitely see how it can be useful in the right hands, I use Generative AI in my personal and professional lives all the time. Mostly to give myself ideas, summarize things or edit documents/emails for tone. Never for text that gets submitted on Wikipedia, that just seems too dangerous even if I know what I'm doing. There should probably be some safeguards around it's use.
- Is there a way that we can monitor the pages it is used on? Something like how Twinkle or SPIhelper can log activity to a file in userspace, but ideally it would be automatic rather than toggling it on/off. I know we can use Special:WhatLinksHere/User:Phlsph7/WikiChatbot.js to see who has it installed, but that doesn't tell us where it's being used. A mandatory edit summary tag or edit filter entry might also be ideas, or limiting it to certain usergroups. Courtesy ping to @JPxG: who has it instaleld and is also a member here, maybe he can give some insight on how it can be used or suggestions on safeguards. The WordsmithTalk to me 18:30, 2 June 2024 (UTC)
- I think an edit filter entry would probably be the best solution, if that can be implemented. I'm also a bit concerned about some non-editor-facing features, like the chatbot giving quizzes to readers (apparently with no independent verification of the quiz contents). Chaotic Enby (talk · contribs) 21:32, 2 June 2024 (UTC)
- Thanks for all the suggestions. I removed the quiz-button (the quiz content was based on the article text selected by the user).
- Twinkle and spihelper directly perform edits to wikipedia pages: roughly simplified, you press a button and then the script makes an edit on your behalf. Since the edits are directly managed by these scripts, they can add tags and adjust the edit summary. This function is absent from WikiChatbot: it does not make any edits for the user, it only shows them messages. All edits have to be made manually by the user without assistance from the script (the documentation tells editors to mention in their edit summaries if they include output from the script in their edits). In this regard, the script is similar to Microsoft Copilot, which is an LLM directly integrated into the Edge browser to talk about the webpage one is currently visiting without making changes to it.
- Another safeguard is that WikiChatbot keeps warning the user. Every time it is started, it shows the following message to the user:
Bot: How can I assist you? (Please scrutinize all my responses before making changes to the article. See [[WP:LLM]] for more information.)
- It also shows more specific warning messages for certain queries. For example, when asking for expansion suggestions, its response always starts with
Bot: (Please consult reliable sources to verify the following information) ...
- Phlsph7 (talk) 07:26, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
- Good points, and the safeguards look pretty neat! Regarding the edit summary, I know that some helpers like Wikipedia:ProveIt add default edit summaries when they're invoked (which can be edited by the user), even if they don't make the whole edit by themselves, so that could be something to look into! Chaotic Enby (talk · contribs) 09:23, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
- The comparison with Proveit is helpful, I'll look into it. One possibly relevant difference may be that the purpose of Proveit is to change wikitext in the edit area. When this text is changed, it automatically adds an edit summary remark. WikiChatbot is intended for interaction with the regular article view (the rendered HTML code) and does not make changes to the wikitext in the edit area. Phlsph7 (talk) 07:31, 4 June 2024 (UTC)
- Good points, and the safeguards look pretty neat! Regarding the edit summary, I know that some helpers like Wikipedia:ProveIt add default edit summaries when they're invoked (which can be edited by the user), even if they don't make the whole edit by themselves, so that could be something to look into! Chaotic Enby (talk · contribs) 09:23, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
- Regarding user groups, it would be possible to limit the script to autoconfirmed users. In that case, if the user is not autoconfirmed, they get an error message. I checked a few of its current users and they are all autoconfirmed so, on a practical level, this would make little to no difference. The hurdles to using this script are high since each user has to obtain their personal OpenAI API key, without which no responses from the LLM model can be obtained. So the script is unlikely to attract many inexperienced casual users. Phlsph7 (talk) 09:15, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
- I think an edit filter entry would probably be the best solution, if that can be implemented. I'm also a bit concerned about some non-editor-facing features, like the chatbot giving quizzes to readers (apparently with no independent verification of the quiz contents). Chaotic Enby (talk · contribs) 21:32, 2 June 2024 (UTC)
- I am genuinely confused about some of the functions provided by this chatbot, such as
Ask quiz question: Asks the reader a quiz question about the selected text.
(how is this encyclopedic?)
Also, functions such asSuggest expansion: Suggest ideas how the selected text could be expanded.
, orWrite new article outline: Writes a general outline of the topic of this article. Ignores the content of the article and the selected text.
appear to be the kind of generative use of LLMs that are usually frowned upon.
While the documentation mentions that editors using the chatbot should take care of not adding hallucinations it can generate into the article, the fact that the chatbot is explicitly also intended for readers makes it even more worrying, as there would be no human verification of the answers it gives to the reader. Chaotic Enby (talk · contribs) 15:32, 1 June 2024 (UTC)
Tracking of removed content and/or users who added chatgpt/AI content?
editIs there any desire to track which articles had AI-generated content removed from them, or who the offending users were? I recently did my first removal of AI content, in this edit. That content was added in this edit on 9 Dec 2023 by a new user User:NuclearDesignEngineer who apparently tried this on 4-5 other articles, got promptly reverted on many (but not all). Hasn't edited since. I'm not sure if I should complain, or just quietly revert, or what. 67.198.37.16 (talk) 04:33, 1 June 2024 (UTC)
- we do have a record of potential AI-using editors at Wikipedia:WikiProject AI Cleanup/Possible AI-using editors, although it hasn't been updated in awhile. if they did it less than ~10 times, it's probably not worth logging though. quiet reversion is probably fine, assuming they don't continue. ... sawyer * he/they * talk 18:44, 2 June 2024 (UTC)
New editor adding a lot of ChatGPT
editThe following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
User:Davecorbray is a new editor adding a lot of AI-generated text to articles about 19th century British prime ministers. I happened to have one, Spencer Perceval, on my watchlist as I had done a lot of work on the article some years ago. I thought there was something odd about the additions and eventually went through each paragraph checking the text against the sources and deleting the paragraphs where the sources did not support the text. That turned out to be all of them. I only thought of ChatGPT at that stage and the editor admitted on their talk page to using it, although rather downplayed their use of it. I replied with what I see as the problems [1]. As for the other articles - I have done a few spot checks and the additions seem likewise to be ChatGPT, with inappropriate "sources". I have never come across this before, and I wondered if someone with more experience could take a look at it. Southdevonian (talk) 22:22, 13 June 2024 (UTC)
- Thanks a lot for signaling this! Yeah, adding false information and/or false references is just as much of a problem when it's done with ChatGPT (even more, as the person can do it at scale much easier). If they keep doing it after what you told them, best to formally give them something like {{uw-ai3}}, which looks like this:
If they still don't stop after the warning, you can send them to ANI or something. Chaotic Enby (talk · contribs) 22:28, 13 June 2024 (UTC)Please stop. If you continue to make unconstructive edits to Wikipedia using a large language model (an "AI chatbot" or another application using such a technology), you may be blocked from editing.
- @Chaotic Enby So does that mean I can’t edit Wikipedia? Not to be rude, but I think that you’re taking this a step up. I only used ChatGPT fairly recently (around a week from now). I only used it to help me with writing and researching rather than using it to spread falsehoods. I followed up on @Southdevonian your suggestion that ChatGPT can be tricky to use in terms of research and writing, as a machine it could be inconsistent and inaccurate sometimes to some degree. If any information or sources was false or misleading, I accept the responsibility for it and I apologise sincerely. Also I would remove information that is indeed irrelevant and not use further AI-generated content. But you should know that all the edits I have made since last month are all written by me and they have been fact-checked earlier beforehand, I only used ChatGPT only to help me out with paraphrasing long sentences and conducting certain research to accurately confirm some sources (which I accepted above as being incorrect and wrong). It isn’t that simple undoing edits that are frustratingly hard for the reader to understand and yes it is also similarly frustrating sometimes to turn up in dead ends when doing research on these topics. So that’s why I used ChatGPT and I didn’t intentionally use it to make misleading statements or anything else. Again, I apologise for any grievances caused by my edits. Davecorbray (talk) 23:29, 13 June 2024 (UTC)
- If you are relying on ChatGPT's information for
conducting certain research
when youturn up in dead ends when doing research on these topics
, and you didn't realize ChatGPT often gave you inaccurate or fully incorrect information, it's a mistake – but don't worry, we all make mistakes, and Southdevonian explained the situation to you. Now, you shouldn't do it, and write your Wikipedia edits in your own words without relying on information given by ChatGPT. That doesn't mean you can't edit Wikipedia, only that you shouldn't use ChatGPT for it. Not just "it's tricky so I should be careful", no, it spreads enough subtle falsehoods and fake references to basically be net zero information.However, if you continued doing it after it has been explained to you, then it would not be a mistake but actively disruptive, and that is why I mentioned ANI.Also, when you mention that your editshave been fact-checked earlier beforehand
, was it with ChatGPT or by doing your own research and verifying inside the sources? ChatGPT is often known to make up sources that just don't exist, or to quote sources that don't say anything it claims. Chaotic Enby (talk · contribs) 00:24, 14 June 2024 (UTC)- @Chaotic Enby Thank you for your support and advice. Now I understand that the negative impact this has had the articles themselves and the need to fact-check any source that does not support the research. To answer your question “was it with ChatGPT or by doing your own research and verifying inside the sources”: yes, I do verify sources before using them in any form of reports, articles, essays or say summaries. But as I have noted in my previous statement, I only used ChatGPT about 2/1 weeks ago from now. That means that I was simply wasn’t using it before that time and again I only used it to either paraphrase or simplify sentences and words that might be unclear. It might have gotten quite mixed up in the end, I presume, but I don’t use ChatGPT in every one of my edits. Sources in this case, also similarly, have been inappropriately misused. For instance, I have asked Chat for sources on Spencer Perceval’s tenure as Attorney General and it returned sources that I, mistakenly believed, were actual because of assurances of it’s accuracy. But now I know that was a false alarm. So I am indeed very wrong in this aspect of the situation. So I would discontinue to use any ChatGPT for that matter then. Davecorbray (talk) 01:06, 15 June 2024 (UTC)
- I have just realised that it is probably a case of sockpuppetry/block evasion as well User:Danjwilkie. Southdevonian (talk) 12:23, 15 June 2024 (UTC)
- @Chaotic Enby Thank you for your support and advice. Now I understand that the negative impact this has had the articles themselves and the need to fact-check any source that does not support the research. To answer your question “was it with ChatGPT or by doing your own research and verifying inside the sources”: yes, I do verify sources before using them in any form of reports, articles, essays or say summaries. But as I have noted in my previous statement, I only used ChatGPT about 2/1 weeks ago from now. That means that I was simply wasn’t using it before that time and again I only used it to either paraphrase or simplify sentences and words that might be unclear. It might have gotten quite mixed up in the end, I presume, but I don’t use ChatGPT in every one of my edits. Sources in this case, also similarly, have been inappropriately misused. For instance, I have asked Chat for sources on Spencer Perceval’s tenure as Attorney General and it returned sources that I, mistakenly believed, were actual because of assurances of it’s accuracy. But now I know that was a false alarm. So I am indeed very wrong in this aspect of the situation. So I would discontinue to use any ChatGPT for that matter then. Davecorbray (talk) 01:06, 15 June 2024 (UTC)
- If you are relying on ChatGPT's information for
- @Chaotic Enby So does that mean I can’t edit Wikipedia? Not to be rude, but I think that you’re taking this a step up. I only used ChatGPT fairly recently (around a week from now). I only used it to help me with writing and researching rather than using it to spread falsehoods. I followed up on @Southdevonian your suggestion that ChatGPT can be tricky to use in terms of research and writing, as a machine it could be inconsistent and inaccurate sometimes to some degree. If any information or sources was false or misleading, I accept the responsibility for it and I apologise sincerely. Also I would remove information that is indeed irrelevant and not use further AI-generated content. But you should know that all the edits I have made since last month are all written by me and they have been fact-checked earlier beforehand, I only used ChatGPT only to help me out with paraphrasing long sentences and conducting certain research to accurately confirm some sources (which I accepted above as being incorrect and wrong). It isn’t that simple undoing edits that are frustratingly hard for the reader to understand and yes it is also similarly frustrating sometimes to turn up in dead ends when doing research on these topics. So that’s why I used ChatGPT and I didn’t intentionally use it to make misleading statements or anything else. Again, I apologise for any grievances caused by my edits. Davecorbray (talk) 23:29, 13 June 2024 (UTC)
Adding a category to users warned with the user templates
editHi all,
I was looking at the list of people supected of using AI, and it seems a bit outdated. Couldn't we just make the AI warning templates automatically add the users to a category? Acebulf (talk | contribs) 01:35, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
- Sounds good to me. I'll go ahead and do it in a few days if no one else does so or objects. Queen of Hearts talk 01:58, 20 June 2024 (UTC)
- @Acebulf: this search can be used to find pre-tracking-cat subst'd instances of the warning templates (229 results). ~ Tom.Reding (talk ⋅dgaf) 09:55, 7 July 2024 (UTC)
Help with AI-written articles
editAn editor admitted to using AI to write two aircraft articles; Caproni Ca.104 and Focke-Wulf W 4, and has agreed to stop using AI to write more. Both articles have been determined to be largely inaccurate, but I am unsure about the proper course of action for dealing with such cases. My first instinct is to nominate them for CSD G3, but given the unfamiliar circumstances, I thought I'd bring it up here first. - ZLEA T\C 00:08, 1 July 2024 (UTC)
- FYI: While investigating the CSD tag on Caproni Ca.104 image as a copyvio (and subsequently deleting it), I looked at the Caproni Ca.104 article which was tagged as a possible hoax. Because of the discussion on the talk page and the discussion at User talk:Sir MemeGod, I tagged and deleted the article as a G3 hoax. If the Focke-Wulf W 4 article has some valid text, I suggest deleting everything else and leaving what can be salvaged. Otherwise, ZLEA, I agree that the article should be tagged G3 as a AI-generated hoax. Afterwards it can be created from scratch using valid sources. — CactusWriter (talk) 01:21, 1 July 2024 (UTC)
- Thanks a lot. - ZLEA T\C 02:00, 1 July 2024 (UTC)
- yeah, such things strike me as clearly a case for WP:TNT, whatever path you take to that conclusion - David Gerard (talk) 08:21, 1 July 2024 (UTC)
Listed at MfD July 2024
editSee Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia:WikiProject AI Cleanup/Possible AI-using editors. - SmokeyJoe (talk) 11:34, 28 July 2024 (UTC)