Cyberspace and the Future of Memory. Vic e-week 2006. Prof. Pierre Lévy. Canada Research Chair in Collective Intelligence. Fellow of the Royal Society of ...
Canada Research Chair in Collective Intelligence Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada University of Ottawa
Evolution of Cultural Memory
Cybers ace 2000
Mass Media 1500
Alphabet -1000
Writing -3000
Orality -300000
Ubiquity, interconnection and activity of signs. Semantic numbers.
Technical self-reproduction and broadcasting of signs. Scientific notations.
Universal writing system using +/ 30 -signs: phonograms. Positional notation, 0.
n TNeucmhenricalasl.mMeemasourryeomfelnatugnuiatgs.e:ideograms.
Myths, rites, oral transmission. Icons.
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Limits of the Contemporary Web
Linguistic, cultural and disciplinary fragmentation. Search engines look for characters strings instead of looking for concepts or subjects (that are independent from words in natural languages). No automatic hyperlink generation between documents on same subjects. No automatic semantic distance calculus (even in relatively homogeneous corpuses). No transverse automatic inferences (across ontologies, terminologies or documentary languages).
Computer memory = bits addresses . Operating systems. Applications software Augmentation of logical and arithmetical processing.
Internet Protocol = information servers addresses. Routers. Personal computing. Virtual communities. Digitized media convergence.
Virtual Memory Architecture
Noos here 2015
< IEML> concepts addresses </IEML>. Semantic computing, multimedia exploration. Shared virtual semantic memory. Global collective intelligence. Augmentation of interpretation.
Internet 1980
Com uter 1950
Web 1995
URL = http://pages addresses. Search engines, browsers. Global multimedia hypertextual public sphere.
(1) Natural constraint: Natural languages (semantic adressing systems of human memory) are designed by biological evolution to be processed by brains, not by computers. (2) Cultural opportunity: Interconnected automatic symbol manipulators compose the global medium of human language and cultural signs. (1) AND (2) => Problem: what semantic addressing for the virtual memory of collective intelligence ? Response to the problem: A computable symbolic system able to address any concept. IEML semantic numbers. Result : Fully automatable exploitation of the semantic content of information across linguistic, cultural and disciplinary barriers.
The Five Laws of Computational Semantics
1. 2. 3.
4.
5.
No patent : Semantic numbers are public domain. No exclusion : Semantic numbers address a virtually infinite variety of concepts. No ontological hierarchy : Semantic numbers provide a peer to peer relation between concepts and ontologies.
No arbitrary authorithy : The IEML dictionary is built and discussed publicly by a multidisciplinary and multicultural community of ontology managers and metalaguage specialists. No mystery : The IEML community develops a rational methodology to connect semantic numbers to concepts in natural languages.
MATHEMATICAL SYSTEM FOR SEMANTIC ADRESSING SEMANTIC WEB IEML RDF - SPARKL -Information Economy Meta Language OWL - other norms -XML - UNICODE WWW : URL - HTTP - HTML
Internet : TCP-IP
DIGITAL MEMORY documents
INFORMATION FLUX
creation
création
aspiration
collective
intelligence
aspiration
creation
Collective intelligence dynamics
création
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Why current social sciences could be better at promoting human development
Sciences of nature since the scientific revolution – Universal physical space – High tech observation instruments – Formalized and consistent languages – High computability – High testability – Explicit shareable, cumulative knowledge => strong knowledge management
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Current Sciences of culture – Fragmentation among disciplines and paradigms. No integrated causal model of human development. – Low tech observation instruments – Non-formalized languages or different formalizations according to cultures, disciplines and paradigms – Low computability – Low testability – Tacit knowledge (non-shareable, non-cumulative) => weak knowledge management
Syntax – Combinations of elements – Multi-leveled articulation Semantic – Potentially infinite # of distinct representations – Hierarchically organized in sets and subsets Pragmatic – Ability to tie and untie a potentatially infinite # of human relationships, using syntax and semantic. ==> Reflexive consciousness ==> Culture ( human collective intelligence)