Thinking on the Web: Berners-Lee, Gödel and Turing

FOREWORD

The modern world is becoming networked at an amazing rate. At the core of this process of change is the revolutionary impact of information technology on society through the World Wide Web (WWW). What is next in the development of the WWW, an intelligent WWW? The authors of this enlightening book provide a forward-looking approach to the development of an intelligent “Semantic” Web, based on the classic works of Gödel, Turing, and Berners-Lee.

Gödel’s insights are essential in understanding the limits of logic applications through the discovery of decidability limits. Turing’s work defines the basis of machine intelligence. The fresh new look at Berners-Lee sets up the path for WWW evolution toward a new intelligent environment of the Semantic Web.

The synergy of the ideas of Gödel, Turing, and Berners-Lee illustrates the emergence of a coherent philosophy of machine intelligence and AI, which provides a focus for the well-written text of this book. This approach allows the authors to give insightful answers to critical questions concerning the capability of the Web to provide for machine intelligence and complex problem solving.

The creative use of interludes between the chapters as a parallel set of dialogs allows the authors to delve into some of the most important philosophical issues underlying the exciting advance toward a new ideal, a semantic web. This writing device not only provides insight, but is a delightfully enjoyable complementary approach to the technology ...