2026-10-30 / Signal #4
Wikipedia told the court: AI may train on the open web — it may not spit the web back
“Wikipedia just told OpenAI and the New York Times they are both wrong.”
The Story
The Wikimedia Foundation filed an amicus brief that backs neither the Times nor OpenAI. It wants courts to treat model training as fair use so Wikipedia still gets AI tools against vandalism and doxxing — but to treat chatbot regurgitation / RAG copying as not fair use, or the open web locks down. CEO Bernadette Meehan: expanding knowledge with AI must still respect the humans who made the knowledge.
Why It Matters
Institutions and the open web, told as a weird custody battle: Wikipedia is the child of both sides, asking the judge not to kill the commons.
Evidence
The Verge (Lauren Feiner, Oct 30); Wikimedia Foundation amicus / CEO Bernadette Meehan statement, filed in the consolidated NYT v. OpenAI litigation.
Sources
Daily scan: 2026-10-30