Re: The Semantic Web-Life Sciences SW-LS (W3C; World Wide Web Consortium)

[Tim Gwinn <***>]

Judith wrote:
> So, with the Semantic Web up and running, and human beings manipulating it
> to extract information that they need for their own pursuits, THERE'S the
> entailment that was lacking in the internet as a separate,
> discrete system.
> The human mind closes the entailment loop.

Ah! That is a marvelous way to view it! Yes, yes - the human mind closes the
loop and breaks off the incipient infinite regress of syntactic referents in
the software; but only when the two are taken as a complete system: the
"chimerical Unum"!  Very nice!

Regards,
Tim

> -----Original Message-----
> From: ROSEN Forum [mailto:*** Behalf Of Judith
> Rosen
> Sent: Wednesday, October 27, 2004 7:52 PM
> To: ***
> Subject: Re: The Semantic Web-Life Sciences SW-LS (W3C; World Wide Web
> Consortium)
>
>
> This discussion stirs up a bunch of interesting thoughts... For instance:
>
> I think Tim is right that the internet will not be any more "intelligent"
> with the Semantic Web than it is without it. Bear in mind,
> "self-referential" loops aren't necessarily the same as "closed loops of
> entailment". All by itself, without human interaction, the internet is
> nothing. It's an unfinished sentence. The internet, like any
> human language
> or social relationship, is a human creation.
>
> One thing AI enthusiasts keep forgetting is the human factor;
> what my father
> referred to as the "chimerical system of human-and-computer or
> human-and-internet". When people are using the internet and/or
> computational
> technology, there really IS an "artificial intelligence" created by the
> combination. No single human being would be capable of the kind
> of knowledge
> base or speed of thought or global reach that these technologies give us.
> (Although Google reminds me a lot of my father in it's ability to answer
> questions and bring up all kinds of ancillary subjects of interest...) We
> use technologies to augment our natural capacities, which turns us into
> various chimerical systems of human/technology.
>
> So, with the Semantic Web up and running, and human beings manipulating it
> to extract information that they need for their own pursuits, THERE'S the
> entailment that was lacking in the internet as a separate,
> discrete system.
> The human mind closes the entailment loop. The Semantic Web is a Life
> Sciences project-- in order that scientific data will be searchable and
> retrievable in a much more precise and comprehensive way. The capability
> that will give individual human minds is going to be huge.
>
> The whole concept of E Pluribus Unum is one of pooling resources into one
> really versatile, creative, capable chimerical system. The internet gives
> each individual the opportunity to turn themselves into a chimerical
> "Unum"...
>
> Fascinating stuff!
>
> Judith
>