Wikipedia bots areInternet bots (computer programs) that perform simple, repetitive tasks onWikipedia. One prominent example of an internet bot used in Wikipedia isLsjbot, which has generated millions of short articles across various language editions of Wikipedia.[1]
Computer programs, calledbots, have often been used to automate simple and repetitive tasks, such as correcting common misspellings and stylistic issues, or to start articles, such as geography entries, in a standard format from statistical data.[2][3][4] Additionally, there are bots designed to automatically notify editors when they make common editing errors (such as unmatched quotes or unmatched parentheses).[5]
Anti-vandalism bots likeClueBot NG, created in 2010 are programmed to detect and revertvandalism quickly.[3] Bots are able to indicate edits from particular accounts orIP address ranges, as occurred at the time of the shooting down of theMH17 jet incident in July 2014 when it was reported edits were made via IPs controlled by the Russian government.[6]
Bots on Wikipedia must be approved before activation.[7]
A bot once created up to 10,000 articles on theSwedish Wikipedia in a day.[8] According toAndrew Lih, the current expansion of Wikipedia to millions of articles would be difficult to envision without the use of such bots.[9] TheCebuano, Swedish andWaray Wikipedias are known to have high numbers of bot-created content.[10]
One notable development in recent years has been the use of bots to perform vandalism-fighting chores in place of human labor. According to recent estimates, 50% of all vandalism is already eliminated by bots. Human patrollers have congratulated the bots on their accuracy and speed in a number of remarks posted on their talk pages.[11]
The best method for reducing hazards without compromising functionality is Wikipedia's bot policy.[citation needed] Bots that update metatags and fix spelling "must be harmless and useful, have approval, use separate user accounts, and be operated responsibly," according to the guidelines.[7] Only once their application has been accepted by the platform and they have been publicly registered online can Wikipedia bots go live.[7]
On Wikipedia, bots typically engage in more reciprocal and prolonged conversations than humans. However, bots in various cultural contexts may act differently, much like people. According to research, even comparatively "dumb" bots have the potential to produce complex relationships, which has important consequences for the study of artificial intelligence. Comprehending the factors that influence bot-bot interactions is essential for effective performance.[12]
One way to sort bots is by what activities they perform:[13][14]
