There is a moment every week dedicated to placing my face in front of my phone screen: my children’s karate practice. While they are learning their kicks and punches, I mindlessly scroll through clickbait, videos, games, and social feeds to pass the time. While it gives me something to do, I don’t feel good about it.
Then I heard about WikiTok, which, as its name alludes to, is a web interface that combines TikTok and Wikipedia. Unlike traditional video-sharing platforms, WikiTok offers users a refreshing respite from the relentless algorithms that dominate our digital landscape. The web app delivers an article at random, with an engaging image filling the display. If something interests you, you can tap “Read More,” and then the full Wikipedia article will pop up in another window. If it doesn’t catch your fancy, you scroll up, and another article will randomly appear.
Credit: Lifehacker
I wanted to test WikiTok, so when my karate kids started doing their thing, I headed to the site and started scrolling, where I encountered a genuinely random feed filled with articles about philanthropist Dorothy Lichtenstein, the second wife of pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, and a rundown of the San Diego Padres’ 2019 season. I couldn’t stop scrolling, not because WikiTok gave me what I wanted, but because its content was intriguing.
Over the next hour, I read about the Samsung Continuum Android phone, learned that Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce will also get Super Bowl rings, and viewed an architectural marvel in Denmark resembling the fjords that dot the country’s landscape.
The lack of rhyme and reason to WikiTok feeds is intentional, and developer Issac Gemal told Ars Technica that he has no plans to change that anytime soon: “I had to put my foot down and say something along the lines that we’re already ruled by ruthless, opaque algorithms in our everyday life; why can’t we just have one little corner in the world without them?”
Adjusting to life without algorithms
Of course, not having content tailored to your interests takes some getting used to. I was concerned that with each click of “Read More,” WikiTok was learning something about me. At one point during my scrolling session, I was convinced that there was a reason why I encountered more than one article on baseball teams and small towns in Arizona, the state I call home.
When I returned for another scrolling session the next day, I realized my fears were unfounded. I was fed articles about Las Vegas office complexes, villages in India, and sports motorcycles. Not once did I encounter an article about what I go on the internet for most: news about movies and music.
Gemal’s creation appears to be exclusively web-based, but several apps that poorly mimic the feeling of being on WikiTok are already available. One even asks for your email address before letting you scroll, which seems suspect. Stick to the web browser version and enjoy your well-deserved break from algorithms.
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