Academics have a duty to defend open knowledge systems like Wikipedia

Wikipedia faces an existential threat from generative AI companies whose products provide immediate answers to users, diverting traffic away from the platform and reducing its volunteer community's motivation to contribute. Academics have an ethical duty to defend open knowledge systems like Wikipedia because it serves the common good as an independent, self-governing community and is crucial infrastructure that AI companies themselves rely on for training data. Without intervention, declining readership could lead to fewer article updates and corrections, ultimately resulting in Wikipedia's deterioration or collapse.