This is new technology that can understand and respond to ordinary language the way real people do. The technology is called, Wolfram Alpha, and is being showcased at places like Harvard University. Why? Wolfram Alpha will not only give a straight answer to questions such as “how high is Mount Everest?”, but it will also produce a page of related information – all properly sourced – such as geographical location and nearby towns, and other mountains, complete with graphs and charts..
Here is an excerpt from an article in The Independent where British inventor Dr. Stephen Wolfram explains:
“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.”
Imagine an internet search capability that not only delivered what you asked for, but could actually display the results in a way that we can all easily understand. The technology is in it’s infancy, and appears to be a cross between search technology and real people constantly updating its database.
One thing for sure, it is getting a lot of attention. And many think that a new paradigm of of internet search is emerging.
