Abd Alsattar Ardati
I'm a collaboration enthusiast and Lecturer at the University of St Andrews School of Computer Science. Originally from Syria, I've been driven by the impact of limited knowledge access to address social challenges through research and educational initiatives.
Since discovering the Wikimedia Foundation's mission in May 2018, I've been dedicated to supporting its movement, starting with an MSc dissertation focused on enhancing the Wikipedia content translation tool and supporting volunteer translation. During my PhD, I introduced a co-design framework for grassroots solutions and used it to co-designed WikiSync, a collaborative Wikipedia editing tool.
In 2021, I co-founded the IDEA Network to systematically support open-knowledge research projects. Presently, I'm focused on participatory design strategies to address social issues like digital poverty, exploring Wikipedia's potential as a medium to provide assistance to those affected.
While I'm not a regular contributor, I'm devoted to researching ways to improve Wikipedia for everyone. Outside of academia, I enjoy music, aesthetic bodybuilding, and archery.
Session
As artificial intelligence continues to reshape the digital landscape, collaborative knowledge platforms like Wikimedia find themselves at a pivotal crossroads. This lecture explores the evolving relationship between Wikimedia and AI technologies, examining how machine learning, natural language processing, and large language models are transforming content creation, moderation, and user engagement on one of the world’s largest open knowledge platforms. We will discuss both the opportunities, such as improved accessibility, automated editing tools, campaign organization, editor retention, and multilingual expansion, as well as the ethical and practical challenges, including misinformation, bias, changes in attention span, and transparency. By analyzing recent developments and community responses, the lecture aims to highlight how Wikimedia can preserve its core values of openness, neutrality, and collaboration in an increasingly AI-driven world.