AskWiki Natural Language Search, 11-22-2007
Expert System, the leading provider of semantic intelligence software that discovers, classifies and interprets text information, today announced the successful initial roll-out of AskWiki, the first public natural language search into the world’s largest user-generated repository of information: Wikipedia.
AskWiki, designed in partnership between AskMeNow and the Wikimedia Foundation, is based on Expert System semantic technology Cogito® and is now in the early stage development beta period. Over the next few months, it is anticipated that the accuracy rate will dramatically increase as greater user input helps mature the system. Additionally, the natural language search tool will continue to index more data within Wikipedia and focus more time on the linguistic analysis of questions, both of which are part of the expected process to deliver a successful product.
The current natural language search portal provides answers to a wide range of basic queries and the system is built in a manner that allows the AskWiki engine to improve based on user feedback and collaboration.
“The response to AskWiki has been overwhelmingly positive,” said AskMeNow CEO Darryl Cohen. “We’re hopeful AskWiki will become a blueprint for the power of natural language search to fundamentally alter how mobile and desktop users access information on the Internet.”
Correctly answered questions ranged from the specific to the general and include:
What is the capital of France?
What is the population of Paris?
Where does brie cheese come from?
and even
Do mice eat cheese?
AskWiki offers a smart new search experience through natural language search that enables users to simply ask a query and receive the specific answer directly from Wikipedia’s analyzed and indexed knowledgebase.
The semantic index created by Cogito during the analysis is a real conceptual map. It contains the concepts with their relative meanings and the relationships between these concepts inside each Wikipedia article. When a user enters a question in the website, the system “reads” the question, identifies which piece of info the user is requesting and extracts it from the conceptual map created. All this happens even if the content in Wikipedia is not stored in a database but is just available in a free natural language based format.
Expert System’s Cogito semantic technology was selected by AskMeNow as the semantic web partner for its capability to automatically “understand” the meaning of each concept expressed in natural language and to identify the relationships between the concepts expressed. Semantics recognize the content of a document or a query in a way that is similar to what people do when they read a text.
“AskWiki shows the maturity of our patent pending semantic technology,” said Luca Scagliarini, VP Strategy & Business Development, Expert System. “We believe that Cogito’s capability to understand the nuances of natural language and its speed of analysis are critical factors in implementing complex solutions like Askwiki. We are looking forward to continue working with our partner AskMeNow to further improve the beta version of the system.”
About AskMeNow
AskMeNow is the easiest, most convenient way to access information on the Internet or from local content from your cell phone or mobile PDA device. The first mobile lifestyle network, AskMeNow utilizes its proprietary technology to offer a natural language based interaction and dynamic content provision platform designed for simple and quick information retrieval. The Company generates revenues through per usage fees and one to one contextual mobile advertising sponsorships. AskMeNow launched officially in November 2005. The Company is based in Irvine, California. Please visit www.askmenow.com for more information.
