PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Zachary McDowell

Also known as Zach McDowell, Zachary J. McDowell

Zachary McDowell is a communication researcher whose work connects Wikipedia, shared knowledge, and AI. After earning a communication PhD at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, he served as Wiki Education’s research fellow in 2016 and became an assistant professor at UIC by 2018. He coauthored Wikipedia and the Representation of Reality with Matthew Vetter in 2021. His work examines how Wikipedia’s policies shape knowledge, how technology firms use open data, and what large language models mean for the encyclopedia’s sustainability. As of October 2026, he is an associate professor of communication at UIC.

Timeline

  1. 2016–2017

    Wiki Education research fellow

    In 2016, Wiki Education names McDowell its research fellow for the 2016–2017 academic year to study student learning outcomes from a Wikipedia assignment in higher education. He arrives from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a PhD in communication and has taught courses with Wikipedia since 2011.

  2. 2018–2019

    Assistant professor at UIC

    By January 2018, McDowell is an assistant professor of communication at UIC, where he uses Wikipedia as a teaching tool and course project. In 2019, his work spans information access, digital literacy, security, public policy and digital culture; he is also a founder and editor of the open-access journal communication +1.

  3. 2021

    A Routledge book on Wikipedia

    With Matthew A. Vetter, McDowell publishes Wikipedia and the Representation of Reality with Routledge in 2021. The book examines how Wikipedia represents reality, how its policies and editors decide which information appears, and why marginalized topics remain underrepresented.

  4. December 2023

    Wikidata and free data

    In December 2023, McDowell and Matthew A. Vetter publish “The Realienation of the Commons: Wikidata and the Ethics of ‘Free’ Data” in the International Journal of Communication; it appears in volume 18 (2024) under “Rethinking Artificial Intelligence: Algorithmic Bias and Ethical Issues.” The article examines Wikidata’s move away from “share alike” licensing, its effect on editors’ relationship with Wikimedia, and search engines’ use of data from open-source web communities.

  5. March 2024

    Wikipedia and large language models

    In March 2024, Convergence publishes McDowell’s article “Wikipedia and AI: Access, Representation, and Advocacy in the Age of LLMs.”

  6. 2025

    LLMs and Wikipedia’s sustainability

    In 2025, McDowell, Matthew A. Vetter and Jialei Jiang publish “An Endangered Species: How LLMs Threaten Wikipedia’s Sustainability” in AI & Society. Their expert interviews examine the unclear role of Wikipedia in LLM training, ethical issues around contributor expectations and data provenance, and sustainability challenges. The authors call on big tech firms to accept accountability.

  7. 2025

    Wikimedia Foundation grants

    In 2025, the Wikimedia Research Fund awards McDowell $14,300 for “Establishing a Critical Digital Commons Research Network,” with work planned from October 2025 to March 2026. A second $4,941.05 grant supports Wiki Week at UIC in September 2025.

  8. As of October 2026

    Associate professor at UIC

    In October 2026, UIC identifies McDowell as an associate professor of communication. His research covers media, information, Wikipedia, and technology policy and ethics around the internet and AI technologies.

Career

  1. Since 2018University of Illinois ChicagoAssistant professor of communication
  2. 2016–2017Wiki EducationResearch fellow

Education

  1. University of Massachusetts AmherstPhD

From the biography.

  1. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes University of Illinois Chicago. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  2. Google has the highest combined h-index among AI organizationsIncludes University of Illinois Chicago. We estimate that Google holds the highest combined h-index at 8,016, while universities account for 73% of the deduplicated total across AI organizations.
  3. 5 of the 25 people with the most-cited recent papers also lead on career citationsIncludes University of Illinois Chicago. We compare citations to 2023–2025 papers with career citations and h-index, after correcting reviewed publication-date errors: who leads, when they started and where they work.
  4. Universities keep AI researchers for a median of 6 years, compared with 2 years at frontier labsIncludes University of Massachusetts Amherst. Across 15,811 dated work stays (6,529 people), median role tenure runs from 6 years at universities to 2 years at frontier labs. We compare all five organization types, starting decades from the 1970s to the 2020s, and the organizations that keep people longest.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Zachary McDowell yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Zach McDowell – Wiki Education wikiedu.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Professor Zachary McDowell Shares How His Wikipedia Project Enlightens Communications Students | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences | University of Illinois Chicago las.uic.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. VU Faculty of Communication - Assist. Prof. Zachary J. McDowell visit at Faculty of Communication kf.vu.lt. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Wikipedia and the Representation of Reality – Wiki Education wikiedu.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Dr. Zachary McDowell Discusses AI, Wikipedia, and Public Knowledge on Digital Kallipolis Podcast “Think About Your Thinking” | Communication | University of Illinois Chicago comm.uic.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. Rethinking Artificial Intelligence: Algorithmic Bias and Ethical Issues| The Realienation of the Commons: Wikidata and the Ethics of “Free” Data | International Journal of Communication ijoc.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. Zachary McDowell - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. Vetter Publishes Article on Wikipedia’s Role in Training Large Languages Models - Department of Language, Literature, and Writing - IUP iup.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  9. Dr. Zachary McDowell has been awarded a grant from the Wikimedia Foundation | Communication | University of Illinois Chicago comm.uic.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  10. Dr. Zachary McDowell Honored with Two Wikimedia Foundation Grants | Communication | University of Illinois Chicago comm.uic.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  11. Associate Professor Zach McDowell Interviewed by the Chicago Sun-Times on AM Radio in New Cars | Communication | University of Illinois Chicago comm.uic.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  12. Zachary McDowell | UIC today today.uic.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.