Circular reporting is always bad. But circular reporting on Wikipedia is super bad. Very soon Wikipedia will become an extension of our memory. And when that happens, even small inaccuracies on Wikipedia will be able to cause tension in society and form the ground for ideological differences.

The easiest way to explain circular reporting is with an example. One of the earlier versions of the article on Sasha Baron Cohen stated that he worked for Goldman Sachs. The Independent put this detail in their piece on Cohen and referenced Wikipedia as a source. After that Wikipedia referenced The Independent back, thus finally confirming the fact of Cohen’s employment for Goldman Sachs. That is circular reporting.

You can find circular reporting in any media, but when it comes to Wikipedia, it’s another kind of problem. In the near future, Wikipedia will play an even more important role than it does now. There are two reasons for that: voice assistants and neurointerfaces (Ilon Mask’s Neurolink).

For now, Wikipedia is just a website. One of the biggest and the most important, yes. But the website. To form an opinion and read an article on slavery, vaccinations or the war in Iraq, you have to go on the web, type in the question, and click on the link.

But once voice assistants and neurointerfaces become the usual way to connect to the Internet, this barrier will disappear. People will use Wikipedia as seamlessly as we now use our memory. We won’t even hesitate before we quote Churchill. And we all remember his words: "The biggest problem with quotes on the Internet is that people don’t question their authenticity."

If you are one of those heroes who use their free time to correct inaccuracies in Wikipedia, you should know that in 100 years your name along with thousands of others will be remembered forever in history. Because you are the hero of the future.