Semantic Web

• A Web of Data
• Freeing the data from the application that created it
• Enabling Recombinant data - data integration and reuse across application, organizational, community boundaries

A Problem

Where to stay?

• Hotel location information on web
• Meeting location information on desktop

Useful data on the Web

Representation problem

Common representation - RDF

A benifit of common representation

Useful Data on My Web

Another representation problem

30 sec, ical -> RDF conversion later...

A benifit of common represtation

Power of Recombinant data

How does it work?

• Apply power of URIs to concepts of relational data
• Model real things, not documents or database tables

Leveraging 'Reuseful' Data

• Wrapping, Enhacing the Existing Web
• Exposing data hiding in documents, servers and databases
• Machine Processible data on the Web
• Web Evolution not Revolution

Common semantics - e.g. space and time

And ...

• taking advantage of increasibly available commerical and open source tools
• in this particular case, Simile's Piggy-bank, Solvent and icaltordf.py

Semantic Web Technologies

• Semantic Web foundation specifications RDF, RDF Schema and OWL are W3C Recommendations as of Feb 2004 (press release and testimonials)
• Standardization work is underway in Query, Best Practices and Rules
• Community work is underway in Semantic Web Health Care and Life Sciences
• Gloal of moving from a Web of Document to a Web of Data

Semantic Web Standards

• Focus is on Web Evolution
• Web Evolution causing a quiet data revolution

Oracle

"Oracle Database 10g Release 2 is the world's first mainstream commercial database to provide direct and native support for Semantic Web technologies from W3C. Oracle has already enabled many customers in the healthcare, life sciences and government industries to use semantic technologies to create exciting new solutions to real-world problems. Taking advantage of the scalability, security and availability of the Oracle technology, these new semantic capabilities are certain to find wide application in commercial enterprises."

- Ken Jacobs, VP Product Strategy, Oracle.

Oracle 10.2

• Native RDF store
• Converters / loaders for existing RDF data
• RDF Query - An RDF_MATCH function which can be used in SQL to find graph patterns in RDF (similar to SPARQL)
• SeeAlso: Over 100 Partners Thoroughly Test and Support Oracle Database 10g Release 2 and Semantic Technologies Center

Vodafone

"The Vodafone Live! service is a 'mobile portal' which provides a unified user experience and access to content and servers from a number of providers. Bringing goods closer to the customer increased sales, and the use of RDF metadata was a key factor in making this possible. On the Mobile platform, Semantic Web technologies are driving user experiences which touch and enrich millions of people's lives."

- Dan Applequist, Senior Technology Strategist, Vodafone Group Services Limited

Vodaphone Live Mobile Portal

Search application (e.g. ringtone, game, picture) using RDF better search : page views per download decreased 50% increased revenue : ringtone up 20% in 2 months Bringing goods closer to customers increased sales RDF was key factor in making this possible

Adobe

"As the leading provider of content creation tools to help people communicate better, adding intelligence to media via metadata was integral to our strategy. We developed Adobe XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform) based on W3C's RDF, because it provided a flexible and interoperable framework for fostering the capture, preservation, and interchange of metadata across digital media and workflows. The Adobe Creative Suite provides a design platform that enables creative professional to create information rich assets powered by XMP that can be more effectively repurposed and consumed across multiple media and diverse domains."

- David Burkett, Director of Product Management, Adobe Systems

Adobe's XMP

Adobe's eXtensible Metadata Platform (XMP) leverage RDF to enable more effective management of digital resources extensible framework for creation, processing, and interchange of document metadata across publishing workflows

Hendler, Berners-Lee, and Miller, Integrating applications on the Semantic Web Journal IEE Japan, 122(10):676-680, 2002.

But wait, there's more!

Lots more commercial applications

Equally impressive Open Source stories

Common Themes

• No "one schema" that can be used for describing everything
• No "right way" for describing / organizing anything
• Interest -> Desire -> Need for Recombinant Data
• Importance of "Partial Understanding"
• Things change, plan up front for it
• Recognized need to free data from the application that created it
• The value in "as needed" data integration
• Big wins come from many little ones
• The power of links - network effect
• Open-world, open solutions are cost effective

Future work planned

• Exposing data on the Semantic Web: e.g. GRDDL, SPARQL
• Standards for supporting deployment: e.g. SKOS, Vocabulay Managment, RDF/A
• Education and Outreach
• Community work: e.g. Health Care Life Sciences

eGovernment

A fractal tangle of interconnected and interelated data from various perspectives

• Law
• Policy
• Regulation
• Services
• Security
• Processes
• Best Practices
• Languages

Challenge: Social Demands on Semantic Web Architecture

Enables

• Web of Data
• across boundaries of scale -- personal, group, corporate, community, global

Requirements

• Security
• High-granularity access control
• Privacy
• Intellectual Property management

Challenge: From Unference to Inference

• URI's for contructs
• owl:sameAs is useful not only because of its formal semantics
• Supporting fast, scalable RDF storage (lifesciences is testing notions of scale)
• Supporting fast, scalable, light weight inferencing: RDFS++, OWL-tiny
• Supporting scalable inferencing
• All points along the spectrul are needed!

Challenge: Content

• Creation
• Annotation
• Exposing existing collections of data
  • Relational databases
  • Spreadsheets
  • LDAP directories
  • etc.

Challenge: Persistence and Marketplace

• Goal of providing a marketplace that allows investment in others URIs
• Persistence policies
• Directory Services, search services for terms
• eGovernment oriented ontology directory

Challenge: Social

• Nature of the technology is that it addressees different communities needs / requirements
• Work underway in application of technlogies in multiple communities
• Lots of lessons learned
• "connecting the dots" - translating lessons / practices across communities is challenging

Conclusions

• Semantic Web enables a Web of Data
• Impressive vender and open source tools
• Increasing adoption
• More lessons learned, communities of practices to draw from
• Specific eGovernement challenges
• Sharing experiences, needs is important to shaping current practices future standards

More Information

• Slides are available at http://www.w3.org/2006/Talks/0327-aaai-em/
• W3C - http://www.w3.org/
• Semantic Web Home Page - http://www.w3.org/2001/sw/
• Me - Eric Miller, em@w3.org