An Invention That Could Change The Internet Forever

[babylonsister]

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/42250

An Invention That Could Change The Internet Forever
Submitted by Chip on Sun, 2009-05-03 18:42.


An invention that could change the internet forever

Revolutionary new web software could put giants such as Google in the shade when it comes out later this month.
By Andrew Johnson | www.independent.co.uk

The real innovation, however, is in its ability to work things out "on the fly", according to its British inventor, Dr Stephen Wolfram. If you ask it to compare the height of Mount Everest to the length of the Golden Gate Bridge, it will tell you. Or ask what the weather was like in London on the day John F Kennedy was assassinated, it will cross-check and provide the answer. Ask it about D sharp major, it will play the scale. Type in "10 flips for four heads" and it will guess that you need to know the probability of coin-tossing. If you want to know when the next solar eclipse over Chicago is, or the exact current location of the International Space Station, it can work it out.

The biggest internet revolution for a generation will be unveiled this month with the launch of software that will understand questions and give specific, tailored answers in a way that the web has never managed before.

The new system, Wolfram Alpha, showcased at Harvard University in the US last week, takes the first step towards what many consider to be the internet's Holy Grail – a global store of information that understands and responds to ordinary language in the same way a person does.

Although the system is still new, it has already produced massive interest and excitement among technology pundits and internet watchers.

Computer experts believe the new search engine will be an evolutionary leap in the development of the internet. Nova Spivack, an internet and computer expert, said that Wolfram Alpha could prove just as important as Google. "It is really impressive and significant," he wrote. "In fact it may be as important for the web (and the world) as Google, but for a different purpose.

[ZombieHorde]

1. I hope it is as advertised, K&R. nt

[HopeHoops]

2. It isn't that great. I just tried it.

I asked "What is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything" and all it said was "42". Geeze.

[babylonsister]

4. That's three separate questions, and I didn't know it was out yet.

Maybe 42 means 'does not compute'. }(

[HopeHoops]

5. It isn't.

That was just a joke.

[tbyg52]

6. And a good one!

DON'T PANIC! :hi:

[HopeHoops]

7. I've got my towel

and my babelfish.

[Beam Me Up]

14. I could have sworn the answer was "22"!

As in "Catch".

[bushmeister0]

20. That's also Fox Mulder's apartment number. Coincidence?

[MilesColtrane]

3. other comments

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3859450

[konnichi wa]

8. If that guy had been an American, he'd be named Stephen

Tungsten.


:D

[BlooInBloo]

9. Been hearing it for a year or more. Given the galactic size of the inventor's ego....

I'll believe it when I see it.

[eridani]

11. Wolfram is the Mathematica designer

Therefore he has a right to be egotistical.

[BlooInBloo]

13. Yes, I know quite well who he is.

[bushmeister0]

21. But can it keep W. from falling off a Seguay?

[anigbrowl]

23. Well, you won't have to wait long. It's pretty damn good.

[Occulus]

25. Yes, but can I ask it 'why'?

:evilgrin:

[anigbrowl]

26. I hope so, and I hope you get the reply 'why what, fool?'

[pacalo]

10. Wonderful!

But, after 8 years of a secretive administration who liked to revise history, I hope this new search engine will be scrub-proof.

[jberryhill]

12. How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?

How can a loser ever win?

Why do birds suddenly appear, every time you are near?

Who wrote the Book of Love?

Who let the dogs out?

Oh, this thing is going to be fun.

[babylonsister]

19. LOL! The things you could learn! nt

[CTyankee]

30. Oh, tell me where is fancy bred?

In the heart or in the head? Reply, reply.

[DainBramaged]

15. This must be exciting, this is the third thread on this I've seen today.

[Richard Steele]

16. We all know how this is gonna end:

[whopis01]

29. That looks more like the Wolfram Beta - or maybe Wolfram Vista model n/t

[daleo]

17. I will believe it when I see it

Artificial intelligence is like controlled nuclear future. It has been just around the corner since the 1970's.

[Earth_First]

18. IPO anyone?

[DCKit]

22. Wolfram Alpha v. 6.6.6

See you in Hell biotches!

Obviously I'm just kidding. But I know people who are going to have that reaction.

[nilram]

24. I just want to know "Is the stock market going up or down tomorrow"

Should be simple, really.

[jazzjunkysue]

27. Catchy name. Not. I'm calling it Wolfie.

[jazzjunkysue]

28. Yes, but can it explain George Bush?

I didn't think so.

[rateyes]

31. What damn good is it? I asked it last week which horse would win the Kentucky Derby..

I lost my ass. It told me Seattle Slew. There wasn't even a fucking horse with that name in the race.

[rucky]

32. Ask Geeves?

[myrna minx]

33. I think it should be named: Ask Stephen Fry.

:D

[Uncle Joe]

34. This part seems to corporate mediaush in the narrow black and whiteness of truth.

"Dr Wolfram, an award-winning physicist who is based in America, added that the information is "curated", meaning it is assessed first by experts. This means that the weaknesses of sites such as Wikipedia, where doubts are cast on the information because anyone can contribute, are taken out. It is based on his best-selling Mathematica software, a standard tool for scientists, engineers and academics for crunching complex maths."

I can't help but think of all the "experts" hired by the corporate media whether military or financial as to the state of reality and how that's served humankind.

In short, I believe doubt is underrated, a distant cousin if not sibling of critical thinking.