Abstract
The Web of Knowledge: Encyclopedias in the Digital Age meticulously chronicles the evolution of encyclopedias from page to screen to networks and data platforms, which are coming to define the interconnected realms of digital knowledge intermediaries in the Western world.
Early parts of the book revisit the roots of encyclopedias and their transition into media, making it evident that even early encyclopedias were more than mere repositories of facts; they were mediators of cultural significance, echoing the intersection between knowledge, technology and cultural context. Informed by meticulous research on the early digital transformation of Britannica and Encarta and the evolutionary trajectories of Wikipedia, Alevizou captures how digital encyclopedias don’t just transmit knowledge—they mediate its ontology, organisation, and value. Encyclopedias are no longer discrete knowledge artefacts; they have evolved into infrastructural nodes within broader informational economies—integrated into search engines, voice assistants, educational platforms, and artificial intelligence models.
In turning to the future, she proposes that digital encyclopedias can be formative spaces—infrastructures, socio-technical interfaces, collectives, and artificial intelligence intermediaries—that shape our modes of digital knowing and being.
The future of knowledge will depend on how we regulate, contest, and design these digital infrastructures to maintain both epistemic integrity and public accountability. Ultimately, the future integrity of knowledge will depend significantly on our collective ability to regulate, contest, and consciously design these digital infrastructures, ensuring they remain both epistemically robust and publicly accountable in an age defined by synthetic intelligence.
Early parts of the book revisit the roots of encyclopedias and their transition into media, making it evident that even early encyclopedias were more than mere repositories of facts; they were mediators of cultural significance, echoing the intersection between knowledge, technology and cultural context. Informed by meticulous research on the early digital transformation of Britannica and Encarta and the evolutionary trajectories of Wikipedia, Alevizou captures how digital encyclopedias don’t just transmit knowledge—they mediate its ontology, organisation, and value. Encyclopedias are no longer discrete knowledge artefacts; they have evolved into infrastructural nodes within broader informational economies—integrated into search engines, voice assistants, educational platforms, and artificial intelligence models.
In turning to the future, she proposes that digital encyclopedias can be formative spaces—infrastructures, socio-technical interfaces, collectives, and artificial intelligence intermediaries—that shape our modes of digital knowing and being.
The future of knowledge will depend on how we regulate, contest, and design these digital infrastructures to maintain both epistemic integrity and public accountability. Ultimately, the future integrity of knowledge will depend significantly on our collective ability to regulate, contest, and consciously design these digital infrastructures, ensuring they remain both epistemically robust and publicly accountable in an age defined by synthetic intelligence.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | Cambridge |
| Publisher | Polity, Cambridge |
| Number of pages | 300 |
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - 2026 |
Publication series
| Name | Digital Media and Society |
|---|
Keywords
- digital encyclopedias
- media archeology
- epistemologies
- genre sociology
- platform studies
- expertise studies
- Commons
- collective intelligence
- Artificial inteligence
- semantic media
- Authority
