Bulbapedia: Messages from the Editor — October 9th, 2024

Editors may use a variety of tools to assist in editing Bulbapedia. Tools such as spell checkers or automatic photo editing software are generally beneficial and pose minimal risks, while machine-assisted contributions pose greater challenges and are therefore restricted. Bulbapedia defines machine-assisted contributions as edits that are supported (entirely or in part) by tools such as machine-translation, AI image models, and generative large language models.
Machine-assisted contributions necessitate heightened scrutiny, because they increase the risks of inaccurate contributions, contributions that violate copyright, or contributions which violate the spirit of the wiki.

General principles for using machine-assisted tools
Bulbapedia is a community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia, which means that our users and contributors – people from around the world with a passion for Pokémon – are our focus. Contributors must keep the following in mind:

• Users are always responsible for their edits - Standard Bulbapedia rules such as the manual of style, the speculation policy, or the code of conduct apply to all edits, including those using machine-assisted tools. Consequences such as blocks also apply to machine-assisted contributions. Editors are responsible for reviewing machine-assisted contributions to make sure the content is accurate and compliant with Bulbapedia rules.
• Transparency is Essential - For transparency, the use of generative tools in a contribution should be disclosed in the edit summary, with specifics about the tool if possible. This helps other editors to view the edit in light of being substantially created without human judgment, potentially spotting limitations, inaccuracies, or other faults.
• Lack of understanding is not an excuse - Not understanding the risks of an editing tool is not an excuse for submitting machine-assisted results that break the rules. Editors who are not fully aware of the risks and not able to overcome the limitations of these tools should not edit with their assistance.

Users violating these principles may result in staff taking action in accordance with this policy. This may take the form of warnings, prohibiting users from using these tools for Bulbapedia contributions, or bans in accordance with the banning policy.

What are machine-assisted contributions?
Machine-assisted contributions, in the context of Bulbapedia, is the use of tools to help create or modify text or visual content for the encyclopedia. While a list of machine-assistive tools cannot be exhaustive, this guideline explains the risks associated with the following:

• Machine translation (|DeepL, Google Translate, etc.)
• Automated editing (Editing scripts, automated find-and-replace operations, etc.)
• Image modification (Color adjustment, sharpening, etc.)
• Generative AI tools like Large Language Models "''LLMs''" (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.) or image generation tools (Midjourney, DALL-E, etc.)

Examples of issues with machine-assisted contributions

• Machine translation - Machine-generated output is inferior to translations made by proficient humans. Machine translations can produce nonsensical grammatical constructions, and fail in cases when specialty terms like game moves and other franchise specific concepts are localized instead of translated. For example, the Japanese name of Great Ball (スーパーボール) translates to the English term ''Super Ball'', but is localized as ''Great Ball''. Machine translation can be used as an assistive tool on Bulbapedia, but should be avoided without additional human intervention. If using a translation tool (e.g. Google Translate), edit summaries and improvement tags should indicate that machine translation is used. Translations provided by a person with knowledge of both the translated language and English is preferred to machine translation, and machine translation cannot be used to override a language-speaker's judgment.
• Automated editing- The nature of the subject matter we document on Bulbapedia means that there are a significant number of articles written in a consistent style using similar language. Occasionally, there is a need to make mass edits to promote accuracy and consistency with modern day source material released by the company or to reflect trends in fandom interests. For example, switching from the outdated official term ''starter Pokémon'' to the modern official term first partner Pokémon was done with the use of automated editing. Automated editing is convenient and fast, but exceptions to the rules of automation do exist and should be anticipated prior to conducting an automated edit. As a result, most automated editing is restricted to staff who can account for and answer to said risk.
  • Please contact a staff member if you want to suggest any automated edits.
• Image modification - Bulbapedia strives to provide a consistent experience throughout all of its documentation, both written and visual. This is a challenge because official sources (Nintendo and The Pokémon Company International) may be inconsistent. Newly released artwork might come in the form of physical media scans instead of digital assets, or images of new Pokémon cards might be first released as uncropped digital game assets that do not reflect the final product people will see. Dedicated tools can be exceptionally useful for simple image-editing tasks such as cropping images in a consistent way, but should be monitored and verified by the editor. Additional non-generative/non-AI functions available in image editors like Photoshop, such as color adjustment or sharpening, should be avoided if possible.
• Generative AI - Generative AI is any tool that generates text, images, audio, or other media. While generative AI has some useful real-world applications, machine-generated text and images can contain errors or be nonsensical.
  For example, if a user asks a Large Language Model (LLM) such as ChatGPT to write the plot summary of animated media, its output will not meet Bulbapedia's quality standards. LLMs do not have the ability to review, process, and prioritize visual information like people can. They also have tendency to hallucinate falsehoods, i.e. to produce output that is in fact false and misleading, and sometimes entirely fabricated. In addition, the output generated could contain plagiarism or other use of copyrighted material (in violation of the policy at Bulbapedia:Copyrights) not permitted on Bulbapedia. Therefore, LLMs creating content "from scratch" cannot be used on Bulbapedia. Editors can use LLMs to edit or "clean up" their original writing, but should be fully aware of copyright and other risks, and this should only be used for tasks with which the editor has substantial familiarity. The editor is responsible for verifying that the content is compliant with Bulbapedia including the manual of style, the speculation policy, or the code of conduct; violations will be met with consequences as described in the blocking policy.

Bulbapedia aims to accurately document both the source material and the community experience when interacting with that material. Images generated or modified by Artificial Intelligence betray that principle, as the visual information contained in the image is no longer the authentic (or original) portrayal of the subject matter. The use of AI to generate images, upscale image quality, fill in substantial missing parts, or extrapolate outside the "frame" of an image is not an accepted practice on Bulbapedia. Images confirmed to be generated or modified by AI tools will be deleted, and users found to be knowingly uploading said images are subject to appropriate consequences in accordance with the blocking policy.

Special provisions for uploading official AI imagery
This policy does not prevent Bulbapedia from documenting official or real-world instances of AI imagery in Pokémon media. While Bulbapedia intentionally does not allow the use of AI imagery in its content coverage, exceptions are permitted for imagery released by official sources known to use AI. AI images that are deemed to provide encyclopedic value may be uploaded to the Bulbagarden Archives, so long as they are marked with the [[a:Template:AI|{{AI}}]] tag. Bulbapedia staff will review these images, and will delete any that do not have a clear encyclopedic purpose.

If AI is known or suspected to be used in the generation of an image, the following three question means test should be undertaken prior to uploading the image on the Bulbagarden Archives. This means test does not preclude the image from having to fulfill other Bulbapedia standards such as those outlined in the manual of style.

1. 1. Does the Image come from an official source such as The Pokémon Company, Niantic, or Game Freak?
2. 2. Is the image free from any generative AI modifications made after sourcing the image?
3. Certain non-generative AI assistance such as in adding transparency masks or autocropping an image is permitted but the uploader should beware of the risks as outlined in this policy.
4. 3. Does the image contribute to the information contained in a Bulbapedia article?

If the answer to all three questions in the means test is “yes”, the image may be uploaded to the Bulbagarden Archives, provided that it is tagged with the [[a:Template:AI|{{AI}}]] tag, and the image does not contravene any other site policy. If however, the answer to any one of the the questions in the means test was “no”, '''do not upload the image!''' Instead, should you feel the image serves an encyclopedic purpose, consult with an Administrator. Admins may exceptionally exempt an image from the AI image means test requirements on the basis of the image providing an encyclopedic purpose.