Identical text perceived as less credible when presented as a Wikipedia article than as simulated ChatGPT or Alexa output. The researchers note that these results might be influenced by the fact that it is easier to discern factual errors on a static text page like a Wikipedia than when listening to the spoken audio of Alexa or watching the streaming chat-like presentation of ChatGPT.
However, exploratory analyses yielded an interesting discrepancy between perceived information credibility when being exposed to actual information and global trustworthiness ratings regarding the three information search applications. Here, online encyclopedias were rated as most trustworthy, while no significant differences were observed between voice-based and dynamic text-based agents.
Contrary to our predictions, people felt higher enjoyment [measured using questions like “I found reading the information / listening to the information entertaining”] when information was presented as static or dynamic text compared to the voice-based agent, while the two text-based conditions did not significantly differ. In Experiment 2, we expected to replicate this pattern of results but found that people also felt higher enjoyment with the dynamic text-based agent than the static text.
I wonder if Wikipedia could mitigate this to some degree by updating their UX. I don’t particularly want them to, and I certainly don’t want a “New Coke” Wikipedia. But the design is rather plain and “looks old” to a modern user.
And people are suckers for a friendly-looking starter like “Certainly!”
The did recently, or at least within the last year or so. Naturally, I hate it. lol
I’ve seen the redesign too and not really sure how I feel about it 😂 there’s a lot of additional whitespace and it kinds looks like a blown up mobile version of the site
I made https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Aaron_Liu/v22.css to fix that. Otherwise I adore the design.
The whitespace and the popovers. I hate reading a page and accidentally bump the cursor over something and a popup preview covers up what I’m reading. Then it triggers popovers on every word as I move the mouse out of the way. Feels like navigating a mine field. That’s the part I’m most split in: sometimes I find that useful, most times it’s a nuisance.
Nobody wants that. It’s bug report worthy.
I don’t see how you could do that while having it stay an encyclopedia.
Not sure I follow you. An update of the visuals / presentation doesn’t change the inherent nature of it. Books get republished with new dust jackets all the time.
People liked the ChatGPT presentation because it slowly revealed the text (which also made errors harder to discern). To update and adapt it would be doing away with the encyclopedia format. If you want a ChatGPT presentation, just use ChatGPT or that OneWordReader thing.
OK, now I understand. I think we’re talking about different things here. Or I missed that point in the paper. I would not want that kind of thing for Wikipedia, I agree with you there.
https://www.wikiwand.com/ is what your looking for, its basically a wrapper with a modern UI
If you visit the site straight from the web there may be ads but if you use the extension there shouldn’t be
They are also a leading donor to wikipedia so its not like they’re just stealing content for profit. You may indirectly do more to get money in wikipedia their hands then you do by visiting the main site.
It’s modern alright, complete with an “AI tools sidebar” and a “please login” popup that takes up half the screen.
There’s no login popup and you can easily hide the sidebar, just like Wikipedia’s skin.
Ah, I must’ve clicked on a premium theme on the way in.
from Wikiwand’s description:
oh how mighty have fallen.
I don’t use Wikiwand because I don’t like the interface, but IMO that’s just how they attract funding.
Well, they could just have a wikipedia.org and old.wikipedia.org and have the option for it to redirect
Make the page 15x more bloated with JavaScript popups and it’ll be “modern”.