Will the internet set us free? | Head to Head

"Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge," says Jimmy Wales about his brainchild Wikipedia, the non-for-profit crowd-sourced online encyclopedia.

But as internet freedoms are besieged by mass surveillance, can his project survive?

In this episode of Head to Head, Mehdi Hasan questions Jimmy Wales, one of the world’s most renowned internet gurus, on his future plans, on whether Wikipedia is advancing or degrading our knowledge, and on whether liberty, privacy and security can coexist in an online era.

So, is the internet dumbing us down? Is Wikipedia the best thing since sliced bread? Can online freedom survive state surveillance?

Joining the discussion are Bob Ayres, a former NSA and CIA intelligence officer; Isabella Sankey, the director of policy at British human rights organisation, Liberty; Herman Chinery-Hesse, a Ghanaian internet entrepreneur and founder of one of Africa’s largest software companies; and Oliver Kamm, a British writer and journalist.

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[HastoSuprayogo]

I think Wikipedia is great as a starting point for anyone, especially students to learn any subjects. When they want to learn more seriously, then they could take academics courses or publications. Salute to Jimmy Wales!

[potterhharry]

Respect to Jimmy Wales for providing us FREE Wikipedia.
I'm sure they try their best to provide accurate information. You have to realize that it's free and there is no advertising. Also, Wales has a net worth of only 1 million compared to the other internet billionaires. Can you believe that?

[SophyaAgain]

When I was a kid not many parents could afford to buy their children a encyclopaedia. Now Mr. Kamm, you'd better read something much more scholarly as you are much more educated than us, ordinary people. I am quite happy with information I get from Wikipedia for I am not a scholar or writing any paper. Thank you Jummy Wales.

[BeautyHealthZoneBlog]

I'm not sure.

There are many advantages and disadvantages to being on the Internet.

So many nice people to interact with and also so many horrible people at the same time.

If you are a sensitive person, you can get overwhelmed by the sheer negative energy and people on here, but at the same time so many funny and interesting people to interact with.

You can learn so much while using the Internet.

[Deanthomoyoutube]

if not for the internet i would never have seen this debate as an example of its ability to share knowledge 

[odemaj]

I admire the host a lot, he is so confident and well grounded, he is someone worth having intellectual conversations with, in short, he knows his craft 👏👏👏👏👏

[TiffanyNg]

this is one of the video where I find Medhi just chilling and asking question. no aggression. because the Wiki guys was so clear about what he talking about.

LOL, I forgot he is the creator of Wikipidiea webpage :D

[skrmacs]

THANK YOU! Mr. Jimmy Wales. Love the concept of Wikipedia.

[Angkor-ec]

Thanks so much, Jimmy for your significant contribution to humanity. You're deserved more respects and credit for what you have done so for the world so far.

[mz]

Thank you Wales for all what you've been doing for us in the last years

[GonzoTehGreat]

Jimmy Wales is a true hero and pioneer. I hope history doesn't just remember his work but that Wikipedia continues to grow and prosper, and outlasts him, for future generations to enjoy.
However, it genuinely scares me that a supposedly democratic government would hire someone we so little regard for individual privacy as Bob Ayres.

[cluelessbuttrying]

The Internet (in it's current form) is the best thing I have experienced. I count myself lucky to be alive and with an Internet connection.

[SJ-todt]

If Jimmy Wales says that any topic is up for debate and even a random person (having no knowledge about that topic whatsoever) can argue with a professor.. This kind of statement has multi-faceted implications and it can set up an environment of perpetuating senseless arguments, misunderstanding and overall a lack of accountability to sound judgement and real and/or factual knowledge

[Malcolm]

We're not stupid- we know wikipedia is censored/edited- it very often doesn't tell the full story.

[toseeornotsee]

Wikipedia utilises footnotes that can be used as great reference points. If someone is writing a serious article about a particular topic, wiki will help as a starting point. In fact, it's a great place to fact check things and find credible counter views to already formed opinions.

[chikeezebilo]

My university professors hated Wikipedia.

[Ngamotu]

It's actually not true to say that scholarship does not rely on consensus. If there was no element of consensus in scholarship, then someone could write up a paper making grand claims and get it published, without anyone else having to first test those claims. There has to be a consensus that the evidence supports the claims; that the experiment produced the results as claimed by the initial scholar. Other scholars in the same discipline have to agree that the initial scholar's claims are backed up by the evidence. That's the whole point of peer review.

[moizali]

the only guest who survived on head to head

[firstnamesurname]

Oliver did not really make many points here tbh he just went on with one personal attack after another it was frankly embarrassing to watch

[Dorianin]

lol....Mahdi is usually the best 'devil's advocate' ever...but you can tell which side he's on on this one....