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Greetings! This is a CyberEye broadcast updating you
on the latest and greatest developments in the world of science and technology.
One of Google’s stated goals is to index all of the world’s information, which includes
things like academic research of global significance, as well as blog posts about ‘cat breading’.
But in such a wealth of information it is important to isolate what is relevant to a
specific inquiry. So now, this index is getting some context, with billions of attributes
and connections linking millions of individual nouns. This type of context-informed dataset
is frequently known as the semantic web, but Google is avoiding that term and calling it
Knowledge Graph. Human conversation is built on context, explained
Jack Menzel, product management director of search at Google. But for a computer, it doesn’t
exist. Google’s new search algorithm seeks to disambiguate your results, much like a
person would in a conversation, said Menzel. “Understanding is part of being a human.
For computers, it would be like if we suddenly pick a language that neither of us can speak.
It’s just a collection of sounds,” he said. “What search engines have lacked so
far, until today, was the notion that those words refer to a thing. If we maintain a representation
of a thing, we can use that to better understand both what you are asking for and what the
web itself is talking about.” Typing in a search term, and instead of listing
what you might be interested in, the search will provide you a set of options. Menzel
uses “Andromeda” as an example. You could choose between the galaxy, the Greek myth,
the Swedish metal band, and so on. To do this, Google set about indexing universal
definitions, using every public database from Wikipedia to the CIA World Factbook to Google’s
own products. The result is a new set of 500 million people, places and things, with 3.5
billion connections among them. Along with allowing you to narrow your context, search
results now contain little connections and suggestions to augment an initial search term.
Google will also make some determinations based on your search profile and especially
your location. He used an example of place near Google’s Mountain View, California
offices — when he searches “Great Bear,” Google brings up a northern California recreation
area and a coffee shop in Santa Cruz. In your location, it will probably bring up something
else. But personalization is still incomplete, he said.
The ultimate goal is a smarter search that thinks like a person would, taking your individuality
and context into account. It’s not just about knowing that a thing is a thing, Menzel
said — “it’s what’s important about that thing, what’s relatable about that
thing, and the connections about that thing.” Update complete.