Friend of SemanticWeb.com Dr. James Hendler recently shared his perspective on the arrival of Watson at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: “Every single student in the Department of Computer Science here at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has the potential to revolutionize computing. But with the arrival of Watson at Rensselaer, they’re even better positioned to do so. Watson has caused the researchers in my field of artificial intelligence (AI) to rethink some of our basic assumptions. Watson’s cognitive computing is a breakthrough technology, and it’s really amazing to be here at Rensselaer, where we will be the first university to get our hands on this amazing system.” Read more

Lee Feigenbaum of Cambridge Semantics recently interviewed (on CMS Wire) the BBC regarding the company’s adoption of semantic web technologies. Feigenbaum writes, “The BBC’s website for the 2010 World Cup was notable for the raw amount of rich information that it contained. Every player on every team in every group had their own web page, and the ease with which you could navigate from one piece of content to the next was remarkable. Within the Semantic Web community, the website was notable for one more reason: it was made possible by the BBC’s embrace of Semantic Web technologies.” Read more

Seth Grimes of Information Week recently shared his insights regarding the where sentiment analysis is heading next. He writes, “Whether in conversation or posted online or to our social networks, subjectivity and sentiment add richness to human communications. Captured electronically, customer sentiment–expressions that go beyond facts and that convey mood, opinion, and emotion–carries immense business value. We’re talking about the voice of the customer, and of the prospect, patient, voter, and opinion leader.” Read more

Allison Hornery of gov2.0radio reports that Jim Hendler has shared his insights into the Semantic Web in a new audio interview. Hornery writes, “In 2001 Professor Jim Hendler jointly conceptualised the semantic web along with Tim Berners-Lee and Ora Lassila. When he invented the World Wide Web, Berners-Lee always envisaged it as highly linked, and the idea of the semantic web – a web of linked data with meaning – is now emerging as a reality. Jim Hendler takes us on a journey into this semantic web, unpacking related terms such as Web 3.0, and exploring its potential for government. He emphasises the importance of linked open government data, and points to some useful tools and demos of how linked data can be used to create new insights.” Read more

Mike Bergman has written yet another insightful article regarding the rationale for semantic technologies. He writes, “Frequently customers ask me why semantic technologies should be used instead of conventional information technologies. In the areas of knowledge representation (KR) and knowledge management (KM), there are compelling reasons and benefits for selecting semantic technologies over conventional approaches. This article attempts to summarize these rationales from a layperson perspective.” Read more

The Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom has published an Open Data command paper. According to the office, the paper “sets out how we’re putting data and transparency at the heart of government and public services. We’re making it easier to access public data; easier for data publishers to release data in standardised, open formats; and engraining a ‘presumption to publish’ unless specific reasons (such as privacy or national security) can be clearly articulated. From the Prime Minister down, central Government is committed to making Open Data an effective engine of economic growth, social wellbeing, political accountability and public service improvement.” Download the full paper here. Read more

As we reported a few days ago, WorldCat.org pages now include schema.org markup. Richard Wallis has provided further insight into this news in a new article: “OCLC have been at the leading edge of publishing bibliographic resources as linked data for several years.  At dewey.info they have been publishing the top levels of the Dewey classifications as linked data since 2009.  As announced yesterday, this has now been increased to encompass 32,000 terms, such as this one for the transits of Venus.  Also around for a few years is VIAF (the Virtual International Authorities File) where you will find URIs published for authors, such as this well known chap.  These two were more recently joined by FAST (Faceted Application of Subject Terminology), providing usefully applicable identifiers for Library of Congress Subject Headings and combinations thereof.” Read more

Richard Wallis has provided his take on the schema.org panel at SemTechBiz this week. Wallis reports, “This well attended panel started with a bit of a crisis – the stage in the room was not large enough to seat all of the participants causing a quick call out for bar seats and much microphone passing.  Somewhat reflective of the crisis of concern about the announcement of Schema.org, immediately prior to last year’s event which precipitated the hurried arrangement of a birds of a feather session to settle fears and disquiet in the semantic community.” Read more

Luca Scagliarini recently shared his insight into why he believes semantics will play an important role in the future of technology. He writes, “As a kid growing up in Milan I was obsessed with two things:  sports and the future… While other kids probably dreamed about having superpowers, my dreams were about a future that was more grounded in possibility than fantasy, about inventions that, with the right combination of genius and determination, were possible. Having my own personal television, one small enough to take anywhere and where I could watch anything I wanted, anytime, was something I knew would come eventually. And while the mini TV was an encouraging sign, the technology was still many years away.” Read more

Richard Wallis recently commented on the incorporation of linked data and linked open data at libraries. Wallis writes, “Last summer, it was great to play a small part in the release of the British National Bibliography as Linked Data by the British Library – openly available via Talis and their Kasabi Platform.  Late last year the Library of Congress announced that Linked Data and RDF was on their roadmap, soon followed by the report and plan from Stanford University with Linked Data at its core.  More recently still, Europeana have opened up access to a large amount of cultural heritage, including library, data. Even more recently I note that OCLC, at their EMEA Regional Council Meeting in Birmingham this week, see Linked Data as an important topic on the library agenda.” Read more