Kristen Dominguez November 9, 2010
Semantic Web: A Step Towards Advancement
The past decade encountered an overwhelming advancement in technology. One of the greatest included the world access to the internet. This up rise in social con- nection allowed countless amounts of information to be spread rapidly. The internet currently connects and informs billions of people. Because of its demand, many people have been contemplating on how to approach the effectiveness of retrieving information on the internet. Popular websites like Google look for strategies on how to efficiently provide up to date and relevant information for its users. The Web needs this direction to advance and provide even more efficient ways of spreading and receiving information. To fill this void, the idea of the Semantic Web recently arose and became a trend to study for computer science experts. James Hendler, an arti- ficial intelligence researcher, suggests, ”As modern science continues its exponential growth in complexity and scope, the need for more collaboration among scientists at different institutions, in different subareas, and across scientific disciplines is be- coming increasingly important” [Hendler, 2003]. The evolution of the internet now depends on those willing to spend time, money, resources, and information to the study of this new Semantic Web. This new updated version of the web potentially can stimulate the government by providing access to other countries’ technological and scientific information, aid education by providing better resources and references
1 to teachers and students, spread health information and updates on an international level, and connect society by obtaining crucial information of up to date research and scientific technologies.
Problems with the Current Web
Web 2.0 provides the world information by using key words in search engines like Google. Problems are created when valuable information is either lost or remains unseen. Since many people use only the first few links provided by these search engines, much of the valuable information is not used. In particular, the science community remains affected. This is due to the inefficiency of the internet and results in a lack of resource and information at other institutions or countries.
The Origins and Functions of the Semantic Web
The term Semantic Web originated from Tim Berners-Lee. Also known as Web 3.0, the Semantic Web is an extension of the World Wide Web. With the Semantic Web, users can cross over the borders bounded by the applications and websites that are currently available. Content would be easier to disperse amongst a wider range due to its integration of current information applications creating a substantial data source. According to Tamas Doszkocs, ”Semantic searching boils down to dealing with language and search problems such as polysemy, synonymy, user intensions, context, disambiguation, understanding, personalization, and the like,” which in other words, the computer would reason like a human [Doszkocs, 2010].
2 RDF- Resource Description Framework
Hendler suggests that such improvements include the new web language RDF, Re- source Description Framework, which allows parts of documents to be described accu- rately. Older versions of the Web are described in Science in the Semantic Web simply by Abhishek Gattani. ”He explained that Web 1.0 was about linking webpages, Web 2.0 about linking people, and Web 3.0 about linking data,” writes Hendler. The updated Web would focus more on relevant information rather than code or social connection [Hendler, 2003].
Health and Recent Applications of the Semantic
Search Engine
Health related websites currently implement the semantic processes to help its user obtain access to essential information. The Center for Bioinformatics of the U.S. Cancer Institute use an RDF based language called OWL to distinguish vocabulary terms and make them machine readable. This allows words to be categorized by their associations. Knowledge on the subject of a medical condition would not be
3 restricted to keyword-based input, but rather a more precise level. RDF allows the user to input more scientific related material and receive information more relevant to their topic. Hendler insists that the Semantic Web is ”Designed to improve communi- cations between people using differing terminologies, to extend the interoperability of databases, to provide tools for interacting with multimedia collections, and to provide new mechanisms for the support of ”agent- based” computing in which people and machines work more interactively.”
The Current Web
Recent websites have begun the transition to the Semantic Web. Search engines, such as Google, have been a great way for users to retrieve information. A small study by Janna Anderson and Lee Rainee resulted in a discovery that Google is actually making its users more intelligent due to access of information often leading to better or alternative options. Search engines also provide useful tools for companies because of the opportunity to start research and share ideas. However, they have many limitations and cannot find everything on the internet. Key words can only bring up limited sources. To fix this problem, the Semantic Web would provide a way of searching that takes into account other aspects of wording and user desires. Efforts of creating this new technology have been seen in software like Microsoft’s Bing.
NELL
Another recent development that contributes to the Semantic Web research is NELL, or the Never Ending Language Learning system. Created by Carnegie Mellon Uni- versity, NELL uses similar humanistic qualities to attain information. NELL does this by categorizing words into semantic relationships. By scanning web pages for
4 textual patterns and uses them to learn facts, the process resembles similarly to how humans retrieve and understand information. The algorithms are automated, so the programming input simple. Although useful in terms of becoming a basis for the Semantic Web, NELL requires improvement of the classification process. Dr. Tom Mitchell of CMU explains that NELL does not understand the difference between different contexts of a word. For example, NELL described Internet cookies as being baked goods. The New York Times interview with Dr. Mitchell suggested that the team of researchers working on NELL desired for the program to require no human assistance. But as Dr. Mitchell explained, ”Were not there yet, but you and I don’t learn from isolation either.” In other words, although they desire for human involve- ment to be kept to a minimum, computers need assistance from us to learn, like a student needs a teacher.
5 Categorizing Example
The Semantic Web’s Affect on Education
In retrospect to the previous topic, teachers have desired an updated version of the Web in order to enrich their curriculum. Educators rely on current technology to find resources that aid their teachings and to provide their students with adequate
6 information on the subjects being taught. Ohler initiates the topic of the Semantic Web’s effect on education by stating, ”To start with, basic Internet searches would become much more effective. When a student searches for causes of the Civil War, for example, rather than receiving a list of pages that merely contain the words cause and Civil War, he would receive information in which the word cause is specifically related to the cause of the Civil War.” This can help relieve students of the hassle of searching for information, and create more time to actively understand, analyze and critically think about the information when quickly found. Other ways the Semantic Web indirectly helps the school systems include the describing of course objectives. Since it is difficult to understand what other institutions are studying, a direct database in which all schools have the same course and graduation requisites is necessary. Transfer students would be relieved of the confusion they experience as they search for classes they are required to take to for their degree at different schools. Institutions would also have better access to other universities’ scientific work with a more organized and detailed manner. This current and updated sharing of work will undoubtedly help society grow faster, while making students more intelligent and well informed.
Government Encouragement
Government involvement in the Semantic Web launching effort finally has arrived. Countries like the United States of America, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and Australia have been opening up their government data. However, the recent creation of Linked Data replenishes the interest of the computer science community. ”The opening of large amounts of government data provides new sources for the Linked Data community to build around,” David Stuart explains. Linked Data uses the web to publish and connect data using RDF. The U.S. government suggests that by providing
7 this data, the public becomes aware, therefore participates more, and ultimately stimulates the economy. The problem with current government websites include the linking to other sites for information. Berners-Lee suggests that to deal with this the governments should release raw data so that it may be reframed. However, this presents a problem with the classification on which data is current, up to date, and authorized by the government. Users also need to learn basic programming skills to access the data since the information would need to be found through new computer languages. Other governments need to support this effort to linking data and provide their information as well despite Linked Data’s slow beginnings. David Stuart encourages this effort as he explains, “What is important is that the data is made available in what is deemed to be the most suitable format and that governments provide the support long enough for the users to innovate around the data that is available.”
A Need for Stimulation
Although the Semantic Web continues to gain support from the science community, many are reluctant to invest effort, time and money into a project that has taken over a decade to create. Since many programmers work on the Semantic Web as a hobby rather than a profession, it is hard to find funding. Additional problems the project faces are the free and low-cost nature that the Web originates from. Hendler explains, ”The original World Wide Web revolution was enabled by open code, free software, and the wide dissemination of low-cost computing technology. The Semantic web requires similar openness.” However, encouragement and pressure from the government, educators, health physicians and society as a whole can help support the Semantic Web effort.
8 References
[Doszkocs, 2010] Doszkocs, T. 2010. ”Semantic search engines mean well.” Online, 34, 36-42.
[Hendler, 2003] Hendler, J. 2003. ”Science and the semantic web.” Science, 299, 520- 521.
[Lohr, 2010] Lohr, S. 2010. ”Aiming to learn as we do, a machine teaches itself.” The New York Times, D1.
[Ohler, 2010] Ohler, J. 2010. ”The power and peril of web 3.0: It’s more than just semantics.”Learning and Leading with Technology.
[Stuart, 2010] Stuart, D. 2010. ”Linked data and government data: More than mere semantics.” Online, 34, 36.
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