The Human Semantic Web: Shifting from Knowledge Push to Knowledge Pull

Abstract

This chapter introduces the human Semantic Web (HSW) as a conceptual interface, providing human-understandable semantics in addition to the ordinary (machine) Semantic Web, which provides machine-processable semantics based on RDF. The HSW is structured in the form of a knowledge manifold and makes use of uni-fied language modeling (based on the unified modeling language) combined with conceptual browsing to present its information to the user in a way that creates substantial benefits in terms of overview, clarity, and flexibility. The HSW browser Conzilla combines the semantics of RDF with the human-understandable semantics of UML in order to enable more powerful forms of human-computer interaction, such as querying the Semantic Web through Edutella and supporting the conceptin-context methodology. The Semantic Web is discussed in terms of three levels of semantic interoperability: isolation, coexistence, and collaboration. Collaboration, as the highest goal, can be achieved by conceptual calibration, which builds bridges between different ontologies in a bottom-up way, describing their similarities as well as their differences. An example is presented in Conzilla of conceptual calibration between systems for e-commerce. In the closing section, the Nonaka-Takeuchi theory of knowledge creation is discussed, and the HSW is described as a “space for interaction,” where the SECI spiral of knowledge creation can be elevated to the global level. Three possible scenarios are presented: open research, enriching the economy by expanding the value ontology, and negotiating a sustainable future for all.