[agi] WordNet and NARS

[kevinc]

A while back, I took the WordNet database and parsed it into a relational database so that I could access it with VB.  My purpose was to use it a dictionary resource for chatterbots.  Then I found it could be used for other interesting things that a conventional paper dictionary cannot do very well.  For example, “what are the types of citrus fruit?”    Grouping words according to synonym sets (synsets) seems an effective means of organization, in that synsets are linked to more specific and more general sets.  The synsets also include a brief definition or gloss.  This type of organization gets around the problem of a word having multiple meanings; it’s just listed in multiple synsets. I include a couple examples of hypernym chains WordNet can produce as a postscript.   It occurred to me that WordNet could be used as an ontology in which various types of information could be stored and accessed.  Things as varied as concepts or individuals have a place.  My hunch was that when data are organized and accessible, they could be used for a range of purposes.    Another issue I have considered is how best to handle meta-data about data such as poems, books, images, and so on.  At EllaZ Systems we refer to these types of data as Convuns (conversational units).  Convuns tend to have a lot of properties in common, such as creator, date, type, summary, etc.  When a conversation is about the Moon, for example, a number of different Convuns and types of Convuns may make appropriate fuel for conversation and interaction.   In taking a closer look at NARS, it seems it could be used in a way similar to WordNet for categorizing words, concepts, and instances of information.  Of course, NARS has the ability to do much more than merely categorize and store information.    It should be straightforward to move the 70,000 or so synsets in WordNet into a NARS system.  Perhaps this could serve as an initial “grounding” of a new NARS entity.  For instances of information, Project Gutenberg contains thousands of public domain texts, many photos are available from public sources, and so on.  Perhaps meta-data (in the form of NARS statements) about Convuns could ground them enough that a NARS (or other system) could think about them and look for patterns and understanding.  Meta-data certainly helps me understand and enjoy information more!   Accessible, organized information would be useful to both humans and emerging AI.  It’s easy to envision NARS being a big improvement over other cataloging methods, while being a part of AI development.  There is certainly an appeal to the merging of data and intelligence, where the two become one.   Kevin Copple   P.S. A couple hypernym chains of “pony” are:   Sense 1 (pony) A range horse of the western United States. . . . is a type of:  horse, Equus caballus . . . is a type of:  equine, equid . . . is a type of:  odd-toed ungulate, perissodactyl, perissodactyl mammal . . . is a type of:  ungulate, hoofed mammal . . . is a type of:  placental, placental mammal, eutherian, eutherian mammal . . . is a type of:  mammal . . . is a type of:  vertebrate, craniate . . . is a type of:  chordate . . . is a type of:  animal, animate being, beast, brute, creature, fauna . . . is a type of:  life form, organism, being, living thing . . . is a type of:  entity, something   For another sense of “pony” in another synset:   Sense 3 (pony, trot, crib) A literal translation used in studying a foreign language (often used illicitly). . . . is a type of:  translation, interlingual rendition, rendering, version . . . is a type of:  written record, written account . . . is a type of:  record . . . is a type of:  evidence . . . is a type of:  indication . . . is a type of:  signal, signaling, sign . . . is a type of:  communication . . . is a type of:  social relation . . . is a type of:  relation . . . is a type of:  abstraction       To unsubscribe, change your address, or temporarily deactivate your subscription, please go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/[EMAIL PROTECTED]