Dominic here.
In tech, people always have their eyes peeled for the next big thing. Many see the potential for the latest internet revolution with the expected release of Wolfram Alpha, sometime this month. Wolfram Alpha dubs itself the computational knowledge engine, an extension and evelotion of the past decade`s search engine.
With Google`s search engine, we were able to search the internet for webpages relevant to our queries. Information became accessible, but Wolframs hyperintelligent search engine takes the next step by making the information tailored. Wolfram understands questions, and is able to deliver grammtically correct, analyzed information back to the user. These characteristics are similar to what many theorized what web 3.0, or the semantic web, would look like.
Users can enter questions like "How tall is Mount Everst" and recieve not only a direct answer, but an organized array of related information such as maps of nearby towns and surrounding mountains. Of course, it comes coupled with visual aids like charts and graphs. The real power of Wolfram is its ability to function even under more difficult queries.
"If you ask it to compare the height of Mount Everest to the length of the Golden Gate Bridge, it will tell you. Or ask what the weather was like in London on the day John F Kennedy was assassinated, it will cross-check and provide the answer. Ask it about D sharp major, it will play the scale. Type in "10 flips for four heads" and it will guess that you need to know the probability of coin-tossing. If you want to know when the next solar eclipse over Chicago is, or the exact current location of the International Space Station, it can work it out." - Dr. Stephen Wolfram
The broader implications of this revoluitionary search engine beyond becoming a powerful tool for students to do research papers is a paradigm shift in the way people interact with the web. Web 3.0 will allow the internet to respond to questions like "I want to see a funny movie and go for burritos afterwards". In the Google era, this would mean laboriously checking out times on Toho Cinemas time table, and looking through google for a resteraunt. Web 3.0 will be able to do this automatically, and based on our location, preferences and history will be able to compile and present a list of options. (Go see Burn After Reading and try Akasakas Junkadelic Resteraunt). Perhaps Web 3.0 will even book our tickets and make a reservation for us.
To take a look at Dr. Wolframs showcase of Wolfram Alpha at Harvard University, click here.
In tech, people always have their eyes peeled for the next big thing. Many see the potential for the latest internet revolution with the expected release of Wolfram Alpha, sometime this month. Wolfram Alpha dubs itself the computational knowledge engine, an extension and evelotion of the past decade`s search engine.
With Google`s search engine, we were able to search the internet for webpages relevant to our queries. Information became accessible, but Wolframs hyperintelligent search engine takes the next step by making the information tailored. Wolfram understands questions, and is able to deliver grammtically correct, analyzed information back to the user. These characteristics are similar to what many theorized what web 3.0, or the semantic web, would look like.
Users can enter questions like "How tall is Mount Everst" and recieve not only a direct answer, but an organized array of related information such as maps of nearby towns and surrounding mountains. Of course, it comes coupled with visual aids like charts and graphs. The real power of Wolfram is its ability to function even under more difficult queries.
"If you ask it to compare the height of Mount Everest to the length of the Golden Gate Bridge, it will tell you. Or ask what the weather was like in London on the day John F Kennedy was assassinated, it will cross-check and provide the answer. Ask it about D sharp major, it will play the scale. Type in "10 flips for four heads" and it will guess that you need to know the probability of coin-tossing. If you want to know when the next solar eclipse over Chicago is, or the exact current location of the International Space Station, it can work it out." - Dr. Stephen Wolfram
The broader implications of this revoluitionary search engine beyond becoming a powerful tool for students to do research papers is a paradigm shift in the way people interact with the web. Web 3.0 will allow the internet to respond to questions like "I want to see a funny movie and go for burritos afterwards". In the Google era, this would mean laboriously checking out times on Toho Cinemas time table, and looking through google for a resteraunt. Web 3.0 will be able to do this automatically, and based on our location, preferences and history will be able to compile and present a list of options. (Go see Burn After Reading and try Akasakas Junkadelic Resteraunt). Perhaps Web 3.0 will even book our tickets and make a reservation for us.
To take a look at Dr. Wolframs showcase of Wolfram Alpha at Harvard University, click here.
"laboriously checking out times on Toho Cinemas time table, and looking through google for a resteraunt."
Yup, I can't stand how laborious Google is :)
Seriously, though, this is amazing, and I can't wait to see it move into public access. On the other hand, if the cloud is able to handle simple natural-language queries and requests, there are going to be a lot of assistants, secretaries, and support staff out of jobs.