| The fledgling program, Wolfram Alpha, revealed at | | | | Dr. Wolfram, an award-winning physicist who is |
| Harvard University in the US last week, takes the | | | | equations. |
| first step towards that many believe to be the | | | | "I\'ve wanted to make the knowledge we\'ve |
| Holy Grail of the Internet – a massive | | | | accumulated in our civilization computable," he said |
| accumulation of data that comprehends and | | | | last week. "I was not sure it was possible. I\'m a |
| replies to ordinary language in the same way a | | | | little surprised it worked out so well." |
| person does. | | | | Dr. Wolfram, 49, who was educated at Eton and |
| Even though the system is still new, it has already | | | | had completed his PhD in particle physics by the |
| generated massive interest and excitement with | | | | time he was 20, added that the premier of |
| technology pundits and internet aficionados. | | | | Wolfram Alpha later this month would be only the |
| Computer professionals believe that the new | | | | beginning of the project. |
| search engine will an evolutionary leap in the | | | | "It will understand what you are talking about," he |
| evolution of the internet. Nova Spivack, an | | | | said. "We are just at the beginning. I think we\'ve |
| internet and computer expert, advised that | | | | got a reasonable start on 90 per cent of the |
| Wolfram Alpha could become just as significant as | | | | shelves in a typical reference library." |
| Google. "It is really impressive and significant," he | | | | The engine, which will be free to use, works by |
| wrote. "In fact it may be as important for the | | | | drawing on the knowledge of the internet, as well |
| web (and the world) as Google, but for a | | | | as non-public databases. Dr. Wolfram said he |
| different purpose." | | | | expected that about 1,000 people would be |
| Tom Simpson, of the blog said: "What are the | | | | needed to keep its databases current with the |
| wider implications exactly? A new paradigm for | | | | latest discoveries and information. |
| using computers and the web? Probably. Emerging | | | | Wolfram Alpha has been designed with experts |
| artificial intelligence and a step towards a | | | | and academics in mind, so its knowledge of |
| self-organizing internet? Possibly... I think this could | | | | popular culture is, at the moment, comparatively |
| be big." | | | | poor. The term "50 Cent" caused "absolute |
| Wolfram Alpha will not only give a straight answer | | | | horror" in tests, for example, because it confused |
| to queries like "how high is Mount Everest?", but it | | | | a discussion on currency with the American rap |
| will additionally create a organized page of related | | | | artist. For this reason alone it is unlikely to provide |
| information – all properly sourced – such | | | | an immediate threat to Google, which is working |
| as geographical location and nearby towns, and | | | | on a similar type of search engine, a version of |
| other mountains, complete with graphs and charts. | | | | which it launched last week. |
| The real ingenuity, however, is in its ability to sort | | | | "We have a lot number of popular culture |
| things out "on the fly", according to its British | | | | information," Dr Wolfram said. "In some cases |
| inventor, Dr Stephen Wolfram. If you ask it to | | | | popular culture information is much more easily |
| compare the height of Mount Everest to the | | | | computable, so we can figure out who\'s related |
| length of the Golden Gate Bridge, it will tell you. Or | | | | to who and how tall people are. I certainly predict |
| ask what the weather was like in London on the | | | | we will have lots of popular culture information. |
| day John F. Kennedy was assassinated, it will | | | | These are linguistic horrors because if you put in |
| cross-check and provide the answer. Ask it about | | | | books and music a lot of the names collide with |
| D sharp major, it will play the scale. Type in "10 | | | | other ideas." |
| flips for four heads" and it will guess that you | | | | He added that to help with that Wolfram Alpha |
| need to get the probability of coin-tossing. If you | | | | would be using Wikipedia\'s popularity index to |
| want to know when the next solar eclipse over | | | | determine what users were likely to be interested |
| Chicago is, or the exact current location of the | | | | in. |
| International Space Station, it can work it out. | | | | |