The Human Semantic Web - Further Reflection

The web is a useful environment for enabling people to add their knowledge in both a less structured Web 2.0 way (development of less structured but interactive web tools/programs), and a more structured Semantic Web way. The greater interaction in the Web 2.0 approach at least makes it more likely that Semantic disagreements will be spotted, but it takes the structuring in the Semantic Web approach to then show the meaning of terms more clearly and unambiguously so that agreement or disagreement about and mapping of terms can be reached. This then makes possible Naeve’s (2005) ‘Semantic Collaboration’ through and also defining the ‘Human Semantic Web’ that Naeve advocates. This then enables moving on from the Web being an environment only for simple tasks to one where sophisticated programs and models could be run that enable calculation and decision support.

This combination in approaches of enabling greater human interaction, and more definition of semantics can be illustrated by adapting the table displayed in my previous post.

Table - Language and Tool Mapping - Further Development



















Thus Increased Semantic Structuring and Collaboration from right to left, combined with Increased Human Interaction from bottom to top makes it more possible to undertake modelling and programming because the information is then well mapped and structured, and made available for visualisation and human interaction. On reflection AJAX/Web 2.0 technology spans more than one part of this diagram depending on the emphasis of whether to structure it and/or enable greater interaction. To reach the top left of the diagram requires layered use of technology as per the diagram developed by Berners-Lee (2000) and also McGuinness (2003). This layering of technology is needed in order to translate from the computer centred representations in the bottom right to the human centred representations and modelling in the top left. Human centred representations are too abstract for computers and computer centred representations are too abstract for humans. Therefore the technologies in the top left are not superior to those below and to the right as they need to be built on those technologies. Further there is more than one way to reach the top left, e.g. along the diagonal arrow from Naeve’s (2005) Semantic Isolation through Semantic Coexistence to Semantic Collaboration, or by moving up then left, or left then up. Following the diagonal arrow based on Naeve’s analysis is best for planning and building such a project from the start, but the other forms of navigation might be the best way to build on an existing project that has already been moving in a particular direction, that is not on this diagonal arrow.

References

Berners-Lee, T., (2000) Semantic Web on XML – Slide 10 - http://www.w3.org/2000/Talks/1206-xml2k-tbl/slide10-0.html

McGuinness, D. L., 2003. Ontologies Come of Age. In: Dieter Fensel, Jim Hendler, Henry Lieberman, and Wolfgang Wahlster, ed. Spinning the Semantic Web: Bringing the World Wide Web to Its Full Potential. MIT Press, 2003.

Naeve, A., 2005, The Human Semantic Web – Shifting from Knowledge Push to Knowledge Pull. International Journal of Semantic Web and Information Systems (IJSWIS), Vol 1(3) (July-September 2005) pp 1-30.

Naeve - http://kmr.nada.kth.se/wiki/Amb/HomePage