[Research on Semantic Web, combining the Web with artificial intelligence]
Takahira Yamaguchi’s research group is studying the Semantic Web, which combines the Web and artificial intelligence.
In the Semantic Web, software can be made to understand the meaning of Web pages, by adding headings called metadata to Web pages.
The key technology for achieving this next-generation Semantic Web is called ontologies.
Q. To put it simply, ontologies are like electronic dictionaries that enable software to understand the meaning of words. This research has been pursued not in the Internet field, but independently of the Internet, in the field of artificial intelligence.
Yamaguchis group has developed a tool for semi-automatic construction from text to ontology, and released it as an open source program.
Q. When such ontologies are constructed, they can be used to achieve Q&A systems using analysis engines, which are not possible with the current Internet. Suppose a user asks, for example, What is the average price of a condo in Tokyo? Were developing a system where the answer can be calculated using data and ontologies to give a reply automatically.
In addition, Yamaguchis group is researching Semantic Robot Services. These combine the Semantic Web and robots, so several robots can collaborate while considering various things.
Q. At present, the Internet is used mainly by searching, but as the next stage of processing, I think theres a lot of routine work; for example, when certified accountants do a variety of accounting processes. If all routine work could be done by the next-generation Internet, then specialists could concentrate on more advanced work. Wed like to create that sort of world.
Q. It is said that the Semantic Web will take 5-10 years to become practical. But since last fall, theres been a major trend in this direction, and Yahoo has introduced the basic technologies for the Semantic Web in its search engine. Our students are working on next-generation Internet services by looking at such trends.
A Service Innovation Course started at Keio Universitys Graduate School this year, and Yamaguchis group aims for students to suggest future Web services that anticipate the next-generation Web. The current generation of young people, who have grown up with the Web, are expected to become involved in education and research on service innovation.
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