RE: First Order Logic and Semantic Web RE: NPR, Godel, Semantic W eb

[Danny Ayers <danny@panlanka.net>]

>My biggest worry (in this connection, at least) is not so much
>spotting them
>as stopping them. MS as a social phenomenon is a great example of
>a feedback
>loop. Must of us have spotted the loop, but it has such a momentum that we
>have trouble stopping it, even if Bill weren't busy hard-selling the
>illusion in India and other places where they might not have
>spotted it yet.

From what I've encountered in this part of the world, Bill has got an uphill
struggle on the road ahead - Universities aren't keen to waste $$$ so more
people get started on Linux (and seem to be a bit more savvy than in the
West), though there is a lot of home use of MS product, perhaps in part
because e.g. Windows 2000 is openly sold (even in large stores) for about
$2.

>Is there a way to build SW so that a semantic loop cannot be built without
>automatically incorporating some defusing devise that can be popped by any
>random surfer that finds it?

If most people program sane systems you'll get distributed dampening.

>> Len's postulate that SW can only operate in narrowly scoped domains with
>> clear authority seems a logical conclusion.

Was that Len's postulate? Anyway, where does Google get its clear authority
from? Or does it have a narrowly scoped domain?
Ok, most current e-business fits the narrow/clear model, but isn't it a bit
early to assume that business will continue using a mirror of the non-e
paradigm? Personally I'd guess that before long we'll be seeing a lot of
relatively unscoped material with negligible authority - not unlike the
first waves of static web sites.

>> > > This all gets back to checks and balances. This can't be ad hoc.

Oh, but look.

>> > Self-training agents? Auto-adjusting stereotypes?

A lot of the techniques needed for such entities have been developed
already, though in closed environments. It will be interesting to see how
they cope with the wild...

>> Yes, eventually. Probably won't live to see it.
>
>That's what I'm worried about.
>
>> > I like that metaphor. Does any interactive fiction of the
>> > complexity of War and Peace exist yet?

Yes : xml-dev.