| The new program, Wolfram Alpha, showcased at | | | | This means that the weaknesses of sites such as |
| Harvard University in the US last week, takes the | | | | Wikipedia, where doubts are cast on the information |
| first step towards that many consider to be the | | | | because anyone can contribute, are removed. It is |
| Internet\'s Holy Grail – a global accumulation of | | | | based on his best-selling Mathematica software, a |
| data that comprehends and replies to regular | | | | standard tool for scientists, engineers and academics |
| language in the same manner a person does. | | | | for deciphering complex maths. |
| Although the system is still new, it has already | | | | "I\'ve wanted to make the knowledge we\'ve |
| generated massive interest and excitement among | | | | accumulated in our civilization computable," he said |
| technology pundits and internet watchers. | | | | last week. "I was not sure it was possible. I\'m a little |
| Computer professionals think that the new search | | | | surprised it worked out so well." |
| engine could be an extraordinary jump in the | | | | Dr. Wolfram, 49, who was educated at Eton and had |
| evolution of the internet. Nova Spivack, an internet | | | | completed his PhD in particle physics by the time he |
| and computer expert, advised that Wolfram Alpha | | | | was 20, added that the launch of Wolfram Alpha |
| could prove equally as popular as Google. "It is really | | | | later this month would be just the beginning of the |
| impressive and significant," he wrote. "In fact it may | | | | project. |
| be as important for the web (and the world) as | | | | "It will understand what you are talking about," he |
| Google, but for a different purpose." | | | | said. "We are just at the beginning. I think we\'ve got |
| Tom Simpson, of the blog said: "What are the wider | | | | a reasonable start on 90 per cent of the shelves in a |
| implications exactly? A new paradigm for using | | | | typical reference library." |
| computers and the web? Probably. Emerging artificial | | | | The engine, which will be free to use, computes by |
| intelligence and a step towards a self-organizing | | | | drawing on the knowledge of the internet, as well as |
| internet? Possibly... I think this could be big." | | | | non-public databases. Dr. Wolfram said he expected |
| Wolfram Alpha will not only provide a direct answer | | | | that about 1,000 employees would be required to |
| to questions such as "how high is Mount Everest?", | | | | maintain its databases current with the most recent |
| but it will additionally create a organized page of | | | | discoveries and information. |
| related information – all properly annotated – | | | | Wolfram Alpha has been created with professionals |
| such as geographical location and nearby towns, and | | | | and intellectuals in mind, so its grasp of popular |
| other mountains, complete with charts and charts. | | | | culture is, at the moment, comparatively poor. The |
| The real innovation, however, is in its ability to figure | | | | term "50 Cent" caused "absolute horror" in tests, for |
| information out "on the fly", according to its British | | | | example, because it confused a discussion on money |
| inventor, Dr Stephen Wolfram. If you ask it to | | | | with the American rap artist. For this reason alone it |
| compare the height of Mount Everest to the length | | | | is unlikely to provide an immediate threat to Google, |
| of the Golden Gate Bridge, it will tell you. Or ask | | | | which is working on a similar type of search engine, a |
| what the weather was like in London on the day | | | | version of which it launched last week. |
| John F. Kennedy was assassinated, it will cross-check | | | | "We have a lot amount of popular culture facts," Dr |
| and provide the answer. Ask it about D sharp major, | | | | Wolfram said. "In some senses popular culture |
| it will play the scale. Type in "10 flips for four heads" | | | | information is much more shallowly computable, so |
| and it will determine that you need to know the | | | | we can figure out who\'s related to who and how tall |
| probability of coin-tossing. If you want to know when | | | | people are. I fully expect we will have masses of |
| the next solar eclipse over Chicago is, or the precise | | | | popular culture information. These are linguistic horrors |
| current location of the International Space Station, it | | | | because if you put in books and music a lot of the |
| can work it out. | | | | names collide with other ideas." |
| Dr. Wolfram, an award-winning physicist who is | | | | He added that to assist with that Wolfram Alpha |
| based) in America, added that the information is | | | | would be using Wikipedia\'s popularity index to decide |
| "curated", meaning it is assessed first by experts. | | | | what users were likely to be interested in. |