Beyond AI: Why We Need More People Recording Human Stories

 

Beyond AI: Why We Need More People Recording Human Stories

When I attended Wikimania 2026 in Paris, one topic seemed to appear everywhere: generative artificial intelligence. People discussed ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, and other large language models. These AI systems often rely on information that has already been published online, including knowledge that appears on Wikipedia.

That made me think about an important question.

Where does all of that knowledge come from?

Many people assume that Wikipedia creates knowledge. It does not.

Wikipedia editors are not creating new facts. They are carefully collecting, organizing, and summarizing information that has already been published in reliable sources such as books, newspapers, academic journals, and other trusted publications.

In other words, Wikipedia is a curator of knowledge, not the original creator of it.

The same is true for generative AI. AI can only learn from information that has already been documented and made publicly available. If an important story has never been recorded, it cannot become part of our shared digital knowledge.

That is why interviews matter.

When someone interviews an elder, a scientist, an artist, a community leader, or a longtime volunteer, they are doing more than creating a conversation. They are preserving history.

A published interview can become a valuable source for future researchers. It may inspire books, documentaries, news articles, and archives. In time, it may even provide material that can be cited in a Wikipedia article.

The journey of knowledge often looks like this:

A person shares their story.

An interviewer records and publishes it.

Researchers and journalists build on that information.

Wikipedia editors summarize the published sources.

AI systems help people discover that knowledge.

Without the first step—the interview—the rest of the chain cannot happen.

This is especially important for communities whose histories have often been overlooked. If their stories are never recorded, they risk being forgotten. Every interview, oral history, podcast, documentary, or well-researched blog post helps preserve knowledge that future generations can learn from.

Perhaps the next generation of bloggers has an even bigger role than we once imagined. Instead of simply commenting on events, they can become creators of the historical record by interviewing people and documenting their experiences.

The future of knowledge depends not only on new technology but also on people willing to listen, ask thoughtful questions, and preserve human stories.

AI can help us find knowledge.

Wikipedia can help organize knowledge.

But people are the ones who create the record that makes both possible.




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