If Tim Berners-Lee thinks the Semantic Web is going to be the next big thing, I'm likely to agree with him. The man invented the Internet! But seriously, I think the ideas and the community to achieve something like this is out there. It's just a matter of connecting the right people, and convincing the Internet community at large that the time has come to start thinking about the next generation of the network.
I do have to wonder, though, what the philosophical implications of the Semantic Web would be. Aren't we talking about data, in a sense, recognizing itself? What is going to happen to human cognitive activities and capabilities if we have these Semantic Agents making our decisions and organizing our lives? As with most technological advancements, we have to continue to evaluate what this means for human agency, and where we fall in the picture; as controllers, or as the controlled?
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I didn't take from Sir Timothy's talk that we, the humans, would lose control. Data could be connected in this RDF world (who came up with Semantic Web? they should pursue a different career path...) but it would be us at the top of the food chain who would determine how the data is used and analyzed.
ReplyDeleteOr did I miss something (again)....
No, you are right that Sir Timothy asserts that we will remain at the top. Of course, he is the main proponent of the Semantic Web. What I'm thinking about is, if the data is able to make the types of connections mentioned, how do we stop the ball from rolling if we want to? Or will we want to? I guess it's the idea that the Semantic Web represents the next big step in "progress" that worries me, because most people will end up willfully sacrificing their cognitive agency and just assume that the data, literally, speaks for itself.
ReplyDeleteI share some of the same apprehensions about ubicomp and augmented reality. Imagine wearing a pair of glasses that can detect imbedded chips in physical objects and display information on that object right in front of your eyes. Or verbalizing a question into you mobile Semantic Agent and being fed an answer almost immediately. Will "tapping into" the collective intellect of the human race take on a new meaning in the future envisioned by Berners-Lee? I fear that experiencing reality has the potential to become a purely passive endeavor.
And where are all the librarians in all this?!
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