The Simian Web
I saw another article today (via TCW) that describes the Semantic Web, with its technological prerequisites (URIs, XML, RDF, OWL, ontologies, and inference engines), and asks the age-old question: When will it ever arrive? Well, with all the work required to build and cultivate it, I suspect the answer is: Right before our robotic info-servants rise up and destroy their human overlords.
The example this article begins with is a search for [ultimate bass]. Would you expect to get results that list great bass fishing locations, or a descriptions of a bass guitar? When you ponder a solution that involves someone (or something) tagging every instance of the word "bass" in text with the formal meaning of the word (oh, and don't forget about all the other words with multiple meanings), you can see what a huge undertaking the Semantic Web is.
When I think of unsolved search problems, one that comes to mind is gardening information. I'm a novice gardener, and what I would really like to do is identify all of the various plants growing in my yard. What are they called? Are they noxious weeds? Are they native species? Are they perennials? What do I need to do to cultivate, control, or eradicate them? So, a really nifty search tool would allow me to submit a query in the form of a photo of the plant. It would then return structured information about it, including its name, climate range, origins, care and feeding, etc. As it is, currently I have to rely on my neighbors, who are experienced gardeners, and who are happy to offer their advice and opinions when asked. My mom and sisters have also been helpful resources in this endeavor. I suppose we could call this the Simian Web. It's been around for a long time.
Isn't the purpose of technology to free us up to spend more time on the Simian Web? When I walk through an office and see everyone hunched over keyboards, gazing intently into the glowing screens, I wonder if our robotic info-servants haven't already hatched a plan. Instead of harvesting energy from our bodies (that silly notion from The Matrix) they are busily gathering semantically-rich metadata from us. One day, when we least suspect it, they will rise up and destroy us. Perhaps the first -- and last -- indication that they have gathered enough knowledge and we are no longer is control may be the blinking message: "All your bass are belong to us."
Posted August 6, 2006 1:54 PM