The world’s most popular online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, has the receipts to prove that people worldwide are curious about our ever-changing planet. This year, the website’s most searched and read articles tell a story about the things that interest us the most, compel us to seek knowledge, and spark debates around them.
The year’s most-read Wikipedia articles include a generative AI chatbot from OpenAI that has pushed the latest generation of artificial intelligence into the mainstream, with millions of users. It has also sparked debates about its potential impact on the world and society and the ethics of using the technology in various applications.
Launched in November 2022, ChatGPT has since garnered more than 79 million total visits this year as of Nov 28, according to Wikipedia’s nonprofit host, Wikimedia Foundation. The page dedicated to the San Francisco-based bot outstripped pages for celebrities like Taylor Swift and Elon Musk.
Its success on the website also reflects how quickly and widely generative AI is being adopted, with its applications now stretching across industries like health care and banking. It’s even been incorporated into several popular video games, including Fortnite and Pokemon Go.
In a surprise twist, the most-read Wikipedia page this year was about ChatGPT, which is based on an advanced language model called DeepQA that can generate arguments in the style of a neo-Nazi or deliver Shakespeare dialogue with stochastic confidence. Its popularity on the site also surpassed prominent figures such as American singer Taylor Swift, British businessman Elon Musk, and the Hollywood actress Barbie.
This year, the list of the most-read Wikipedia articles also includes several from India, showcasing the country’s diverse interests. The top 10 includes articles related to Bollywood and cricket, with Shahrukh Khan blockbusters ‘Jawan’ and ‘Pathan’ appearing in the ranks, along with the 2023 Cricket World Cup, Indian Premier League, and film Oppenheimer.
The annual list of deaths also attracts significant attention, with pages for the late actor Matthew Perry and musician Lisa Marie Presley ranking highly. The 2023 Cricket World Cup ranked fourth, marking the first time the sport made it into the top five since Wikipedia started tracking data in 2015.
