Wolfram|Alpha is described as having four key components:

An ever-growing repository of underlying curated data piped in and stored on Wolfram Research systems, complementing the existing computable data stores already available through Mathematica. 5-6M lines of computational code repurposed from the Mathematica software kernel Rudimentary natural language processing (NLP) capability, which is optimized for this specific domain, and mapped into the underlying computational pattern language Automated presentation of results in the most useful way, using text, graphics, and sound, for the context of the submitted inquiry.

Relating Wolfram|Alpha to the Semantic Web As a researcher interested in all things related to the Semantic Web, I wanted to find out more about if, or how, Wolfram|Alpha might be leveraging W3C-based standards, including RDF linked data across OWL-based ontologies, to infer meaning and results across both curated and uncurated data stores.

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Earlier this month, via web conference, I had the privilege of participating in a live demo of the pre-release Wolfram|Alpha, presented in person by Mr. Wolfram, and had the opportunity to ask questions during the call. Subsequently, I received an invitation-only access to use the Wolfram|Alpha test application. The following is based on my notes during the presentation, as well as my own experiences test-driving Wolfram|Alpha.

As he started the call, Mr. Wolfram boldly exposed his ambition and the vision driving the Wolfram|Alpha project. To paraphrase (I took detailed notes!), he stated that this work will provide us the capability to take all the knowledge that exists in the world, and allow us to compute it. He also suggested that, like NKS and Mathematica, Wolfam|Alpha is a long term project. Mr. Wolfram noted that the project actually Read more …

Based on his previous groundbreaking successes in the fields of computational science and mathematics, my expectations are high for Wolfram|Alpha, a new venture by Stephen “Mathematica” Wolfram, also author of 2002′s soaring 1280-page book entitled A New Kind of Science. Mr. Wolfram’s blog entry states:

It’s going to be a website: WolframAlpha.com. With one simple input field that gives access to a huge system, with trillions of pieces of curated data and millions of lines of algorithms.

Wolfram|Alpha is billed as a web-based “Computational Knowledge Engine”, and is built upon the knowledgebase and foundational principles established with Mathematica and A New Kind of Science (referred to by Mr. Wolfram and his team as project NKS). It is planned for release to the general public on May 18. It’s in private, limited release now; I’ve been Read more …