Semantic Technology Solutions For Recovery Gov And Data Gov With Transparency Openness And Collaboration

Semantic Technology Solutions for Gov 2.0: Citizen-Friendly Recovery.gov and Data.gov with

Transparency, Openness & Collaboration

Mills Davis, Project10X

May 13, 2009 7:00-7:45 pm

Washington Semantic Meet-upGeorge Mason University

Semantic Technology Solutions for Gov 2.0 | Introduction

[email protected]

1-202-667-6400

2

Mills DavisMills Davis is founder and managing director of Project10X — a Washington, DC based research consultancy specializing in next wave semantic technologies, solutions, and business models. The firmʼs clients include technology manufacturers, global 2000 corporations, government agencies, and web 3.0 start-ups. Mills serves as principal investigator for the Semantic Wave research program. A noted consultant and industry analyst, he has authored more than 100 reports, whitepapers, articles, and industry studies.

Mills is active in both government and industry-wide technology initiatives that are advancing semantic technologies. He co-chairs the Federal Semantic Interoperability Community of Practice (SICoP). Mills is a founding member of the AIIM interoperable enterprise content management (iECM) working group, and a founding member of the National Center for Ontology Research (NCOR). Also, he serves on the advisory board of several new ventures in the semantic space.

mailto:[email protected]




Semantic Technology Solutions for Gov 2.0 | Introduction 3

Semantic Wave Research

NEW

Semantic Technology Solutions for Gov 2.0 | Introduction 4

Topics

Where are semantic technologies and the next internet taking us?

What is the Obama administration’s directive for transparency, openness, and collaboration?

How can we exploit cloud computing, web 2.0, and web 3.0 semantic technologies to build citizen-friendly recovery.gov and data.gov?

Demo: Using Cambridge Semantics’ Anzio in support of recovery.gov

Call to action: demonstrate citizen-friendly semantic solutions for recovery.gov and data.gov, with transparency, openness & collaboration!

Where are web 3.0, semantic technologies, and the next internet taking us?

• What is the evolution of the internet to 2020?

• What are characteristics of the next internet?

• What technologies are shaping the next internet?

• What is cloud computing?

• What is Web 2.0?

• What are representative elements of Web 2.0?

• What key ideas motivate Web 2.0 services?


• What are semantic technologies?

• What is the value space of semantic technologies?

• How do semantic technologies tap new value?


• What is ubiquitous mobility?

Semantic Technology Solutions for Gov 2.0 | Where are web 3.0, semantic technologies, and the next internet tacking us? 6

The chart to the right depicts four stages of internet growth.

Web 1.0, was about connecting information and getting on the net.

Web 2.0 is about connecting people — putting the “I” in user interface, and the “we” into webs of social participation.

Web 3.0 is starting now. It’s about representing meanings, connecting knowledge, and putting these to work in ways that make our experience of internet more relevant, useful, and enjoyable.

Web 4.0 will come later. It is about connecting intelligences in a ubiquitous web where both people and things reason and communicate together.

Over the next decade, semantic technologies will spawn multi-billion dollar technology markets that will drive trillion dollar global economic expansions to transform industries as well as our experience of the internet.

What is the evolution of the internet to 2020?A tidal wave of four internet growth stages.


What are characteristics of the next internet?Internet of services, things, and 3D interactivity. Virtualized infrastructure & everything as a service.


What technologies are shaping the next internet?Cloud computing, Web 2.0, and Web 3.0 semantic technologies.

From analog media, to digital data, to social media, to concept-based networked knowledge computation.


What is cloud computing?Scalable, on-demand, click-and-run, pay-by-the-drink resources and services provisioned over the internet.


Web 2.0 is the social web that connects people. It is a web of participation. Putting the “I” in UI. And the “we” in web. Users consume & create. Sites are interactive, for example: blogs–keep a web-diary; Wikipedia — free encyclopedia, anyone edits; Del.icio.us — social bookmarking; mySpace, Facebook & openBC – cultivate social relations; Flickr — share photos; and YouTube–broadcast yourself.

According to Tim OʼReilly, several principles distinguish web 2.0, for example:

(1) the web as platform (2) harnessing collective intelligence (3) data is the next Intel inside(4) end of the software release cycle(5) lightweight programming models(6) software above the level of a single device, and (7) rich user experiences.

In addition Web 2.0 approaches embrace: remixing data and services; relation-orientation; the long tail; and bi-directional interaction. Web 2.0 social computing has both consumer and enterprise impacts.

What is Web 2.0?A web of participation.

Source: EbOY


What are representative elements of Web 2.0?User experience, rich media, social computing, and collaboration.

Rich MediaUser Experience


What key ideas motivate web 2.0 services?Web-as-platform. Provide a sandbox. Data and users are king.


Web 3.0 is the third stage of internet evolution that is starting now. It is a web of meanings. It connects knowledge. It represents meanings and knowledge about things so both computers and people can work with them. It adds new levels of intelligence to the user interface, social collaboration, applications, and the infrastructure of the web.

Web 3.0 is not about re-inventing the internet; itʼs about making the internet more useful, and our experience of it better. Web 3.0 makes the internet more connected, open, and intelligent. Users are served by systems that present personalized information, are context-aware, can link and share information in relevant ways, connect with relevant people, better organize the digital life, combine and integrate processes, arrange dates and tasks, give meaningful answers instead of data in bulk.

Semantic technologies tap new value by modeling knowledge, adding intelligence, and enabling learning.

What is Web 3.0?A web of meanings and connected knowledge.

Source: Mills Davis, Project10X

Web 3.0 gives us architectures of learning and knowing over and above architectures of social participation and “perpetual beta” that emerged during web 2.0. Web 3.0 systems will gain new knowledge and get better with use and with scale of adoption.


What are semantic technologies?Semantic technologies are tools and methods that represent knowledge separately from documents, data, and program code.

• All programming methods represent knowledge some way in order to compute using it.

• Knowledge structures that represent meanings, associations, theories, and know-how about the uses of things are called ontologies.

• Fixed ontologies are relatively static. A general ledger is an example. Dynamic ontologies have evolving requirements. Linking and making sense of diverse information sources across the web, and presenting results multiple ways in differing contexts is an example.

• Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 technologies both can process fixed ontologies that describe resources, services, information, and computing infrastructure. Semantic technologies are required when solutions involve knowledge structures that are changing and dynamic. Use the right tool for the job.

• Recovery.gov and data.gov require both Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 semantic technology approaches.

Semantic Technology Solutions for Gov 2.0 | Where are web 3.0, semantic technologies, and the next internet tacking us?

The value space of semantic technologies has four dimensions or axes: capability, performance, user experience, and life cycle economics.

Capabilities — Semantic technologies and solution patterns tap new value by modeling knowledge, adding intelligence, and enabling learning.

User experience — Adding intelligence to the UI increases relevance, helpfulness, utility, and pleasure as experienced by the user: both individually and as groups.

Performance — Semantic solutions drive gains in efficiency and effectiveness, and provide strategic edge.

Life cycle economics — Semantic solutions improve the ratio of benefits to cost and risk over the life of the investment: development, operations, and evolution.

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What is the value space of semantic technologies?Four dimensions that matter include: capability, performance, user experience, and life cycle economics.

Capability

UserExperience

Life CycleEconomics

Performance


How do semantic technologies tap new value?By modeling knowledge, adding intelligence, and enabling learning.

2007, 2008 Copyright MILLS•DAVIS. All rights reserved


Does semantic computing at web scale in the cloud apply to more than government?Absolutely.

blackbook2

Source: BlackBook2, Scott Streit Source: LarKC


What is the path from search to knowing?More expressive knowledge representation enables more powerful reasoning: from recovery, to discovery, to intelligence, to question answering, to smart behaviors.



What is next generation semantic collaboration?Combining wikis, semantic content tools, semantic search, ontology-driven applications, and intelligent user interfaces.

SMW+SemanticMediaWiki+

Desktop importOntology mgmtSemantic searchSemantic apps

FutureSemantic Wikis

Natural languageTransemioticsMachine learningMulti-agent apps

SemanticMediaWiki

DbpediaLinked Data

MediaWiki

WikipediaRead/Write


What are next generation STM semantic applications?Ontology-driven, active, immersive, adaptive, dynamic, and smarter.


Web 4.0 is the ubiquitous web. Everything is connected. Everything has some intelligence, memory, a lifecycle, and agency. It is a web of semantic agents. Both people and things contribute to co-evolving social dialog.

The emerging pervasive/ubiquitous computing landscape is a network of connected “things,” agents, and services with invisible processors, lightweight, small, cheap, low/no power in almost all everyday objects, wirelessly interconnected, continuously "online.” Seamless services across all contexts.

This is a post-PC, post-IP era. Object-orientation and stack architectures get jettisoned as “trainer wheels.” Interaction, coordination, security, and integrity cannot be organized centrally. The most granular societal artifacts have skills for orientation, planning, scheduling, and acting. Intellectual property is autonomic. Whether we are speaking of a content paragraph, picture, a model, a software service, a sensor, a product or other physical entity — all are self-organizing, context-aware, self-describing, self-configuring, autonomic, pervasively adaptive, and communicating autonomously.

What is Web 4.0?A web of connected intelligences.

Semantic Technology Solutions for Gov 2.0 | Where are web 3.0, semantic technologies, and the next internet tacking us?

The focus of mobile services to present has been to listen, watch, command, surf, play, and record your life with a box. The future of mobility is sensing, communications and computing where physical and digital worlds fuse. The intelligent physical world communicates with us. We have wearable personal trusted devices that augment human senses and enhance human capabilities. Behind the scenes there is seamless access to (intelligent) services, wherever, whenever. Also, weʼll have robust, feature-rich web servers on mobile phones, accessible by anyone, with any browser, from anywhere.

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What is ubiquitous mobility?Easy to create, self-describing, context-aware services. The intelligent physical world communicates with us.

The Obama administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government to strengthen our democracy and promote its efficiency and effectiveness.

• Government should be transparent. Transparency promotes accountability and provides information for citizens about what their Government is doing. Information maintained by the Federal Government is a national asset. My Administration will take appropriate action, consistent with law and policy, to disclose information rapidly in forms that the public can readily find and use. Executive departments and agencies should harness new technologies to put information about their operations and decisions online and readily available to the public. Executive departments and agencies should also solicit public feedback to identify information of greatest use to the public.

• Government should be participatory. Public engagement enhances the Government's effectiveness and improves the quality of its decisions. Knowledge is widely dispersed in

society, and public officials benefit from having access to that dispersed knowledge. Executive departments and agencies should offer Americans increased opportunities to participate in policy-making and to provide their Government with the benefits of their collective expertise and information. Executive departments and agencies should also solicit public input on how we can increase and improve opportunities for public participation in Government.

• Government should be collaborative. Collaboration actively engages Americans in the work of their Government. Executive departments and agencies should use innovative tools, methods, and systems to cooperate among themselves, across all levels of Government, and with nonprofit organizations, businesses, and individuals in the private sector. Executive departments and agencies should solicit public feedback to assess and improve their level of collaboration and to identify new opportunities for cooperation.

What is the Obama administrationʼs directive for transparency, openness & collaboration in government?

Source: White House Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government, January 29, 2009

Semantic Technology Solutions for Gov 2.0 | What is the Obama administrationʼs directive for transparent open government? 25

What is digital age democracy?A new era of connected governance.

Source: Don Tapscott


Whatʼs different about connected governance?New models and ecosystems for engagement, interaction, decision-making, and service delivery.

Policy-Making,Governance,

Transparency &Management

Connection, Engagement &

Resourcing

Collaboration, Innovation &

Problem-Solving

Communication, Interaction &

Service Delivery

Next Internet, Web 2.0/3.0 Semantic Web

& Cloud Computing

1

4

2

5

3


1. Complete — All public data is made available. Public data is data that is not subject to valid privacy, security or privilege limitations.

2. Primary — Data is as collected at the source, with the highest possible level of granularity, not in aggregate or modified forms.

3. Timely — Data is made available as quickly as necessary to preserve the value of the data.

4. Accessible — Data is available to the widest range of users for the widest range of purposes.

5. Machine processable — Data is reasonably structured to allow automated processing.

6. Non-discriminatory — Data is available to anyone, with no requirement of registration.

7. Non-proprietary — Data is available in a format over which no entity has exclusive control.

8. License-free — Data is not subject to any copyright, patent, trademark or trade secret regulation. Reasonable privacy, security and privilege restrictions may be allowed.

What are some principles of open government data?Itʼs open if itʼs complete, primary, timely, accessible, machine processable, non-discriminatory, non-proprietary, and license-free.

Source: Resource.org

http://wiki.opengovdata.org/index.php/Talk:OpenDataPrinciples/complete

http://wiki.opengovdata.org/index.php/Talk:OpenDataPrinciples/complete

http://wiki.opengovdata.org/index.php/Talk:OpenDataPrinciples/primary

http://wiki.opengovdata.org/index.php/Talk:OpenDataPrinciples/primary

http://wiki.opengovdata.org/index.php/Talk:OpenDataPrinciples/timely

http://wiki.opengovdata.org/index.php/Talk:OpenDataPrinciples/timely

http://wiki.opengovdata.org/index.php/Talk:OpenDataPrinciples/accessible

http://wiki.opengovdata.org/index.php/Talk:OpenDataPrinciples/accessible

http://wiki.opengovdata.org/index.php/Talk:OpenDataPrinciples/machine_processable

http://wiki.opengovdata.org/index.php/Talk:OpenDataPrinciples/machine_processable

http://wiki.opengovdata.org/index.php/Talk:OpenDataPrinciples/non-discriminatory

http://wiki.opengovdata.org/index.php/Talk:OpenDataPrinciples/non-discriminatory

http://wiki.opengovdata.org/index.php/Talk:OpenDataPrinciples/non-proprietary

http://wiki.opengovdata.org/index.php/Talk:OpenDataPrinciples/non-proprietary

http://wiki.opengovdata.org/index.php/Talk:OpenDataPrinciples/license-free

http://wiki.opengovdata.org/index.php/Talk:OpenDataPrinciples/license-free

How can we exploit cloud computing, Web 2.0, and Web 3.0 semantic technologies to build citizen-friendly recovery.gov and data.gov?

• What do we mean by citizen-friendly?

• What sort of computing environment will deliver citizen-friendly recovery.gov and data.gov?

• How do we combine Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 semantic technologies?

• Who is partnering to build demonstrations?

Semantic Technology Solutions for Gov 2.0 | How do we build citizen-friendly recovery.gov and data.gov? 29

What do we mean by “citizen-friendly”?Recovery.gov & data.gov provide timely, simple, open access to relevant information that citizens can easily consume, contribute to, and mash-up with other data sources.

Search, Navigate, Discover

Explore, Download

“Apps”

Read Content (Wiki)

Write Comments

(Wiki)

Consumer

Content(Wiki)

VisualizationFabric “Apps

DataAnalysis, Mash-ups

ContributorCitizen


What sort of semantic computing environment will deliver citizen-friendly recovery.gov and data.gov?A RESTful, combination of cloud, Web 2 and Web 3 technologies. Use the right tools for the job.

Tools & ServicesCitizen

Co

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Co

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Clo

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, W

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2, W

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3

Sem

antic C

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puting

Enviro

nm

ent

• Desktop tools (e.g. Excel)

• Wiki read, write, upload, versioning, web services

• Fabric tools expose, edit: – data semantics, access, provenance – process semantics of services, tools & apps – External K-models

• Semantic search, query, navigation, discovery, etc.

• Semantic tools to: – filter, merge, extract, – mash-up w/other data – visualize using lenses

• Package & publish “apps”

– discover, use download – rights, e-commerce

Evo

ling

Sem

antic F

ab

ric

Lin

kin

g D

ata

So

urc

es

Recovery.gov

Data.gov

Public Data

Private Data

Media &Social Media


Security Navigation Search, Query

Templates Author, Edit, Comment

Attachments Extensions,Scripts

Apps Publish

Web 3.0 • Ontology- based security models can enable flexible and very granular security.

• Faceted navigation using wiki knowledge model(s)

• SPARQL queries on semantics of fabric—data, templates, attachments, extensions & apps

• Semantic NLP search & discovery

• Semantic question answering

Semantic tools to:

• Expose, edit semantics of templates to fabric

• Present templates in different ways using semantic lenses

Semantic tools to:

• Expose, edit semantics of page content to fabric

• Filter, extract, mash-up w/other data, & visualize using lenses

• Semantic desktop tools and plug-ins

Semantic tools to:

• Expose, edit semantics of attachments including access & provenance to fabric


Semantic tools to:

• Expose, edit semantics of extensions to fabric

• Register extensions for search, discovery, rights, &e-commerce

Semantic tools to:

• Expose, edit semantics of apps to fabric

• Package semantic apps

• Register “apps” for search, discovery, rights, &e-commerce

Semantic tools to:

• Expose, edit semantics of published “apps” to fabric

• Search, discover, try out, download, &set rights for e-commerce in “apps”

Web 2.0 • Registry of users with authorized access by:

- Person

- Role

- Page

• Navigation sidebar based on page names

• Keyword search of wiki tags, content, attachments, plus content included by extension or script.

• Templates to author pages

• Presentation by themes & CSS styling

• Pages w/ text, lists, tables, graphics (svg), images

• Int/ext links

• Embedded, connectors, extensions, scripts

• Desktop connectors

• Documents, presentations, spreadsheets, images, audio, video,& other files

• Metadata, tags

• Version control

• Scripting language

• Registry of widgets, extensions & connectors.

• Extension management

• Package pages, extensions, scripts, etc as an “app”

• Registry of published “apps”

• Service to provide citizen access to “apps” and data

How do we combine the Web 2.0 and Web 3.0? Separate the semantics from the data, the context from the presentation, and the “know from the flow.”





Apps Publish






Semantic tools to:



Semantic tools to:




Semantic tools to:



Semantic tools to:



Semantic tools to:




Semantic tools to:




- Person

- Role

- Page






• Int/ext links




• Metadata, tags

• Version control






• Service to provide citizen access to “apps” and dataMINDTOUCH

http://www.mindtouch.com/

Whoʼs partnering to build demonstrations? So far, itʼs MindTouch, Cambridge Semantics, zAgile, and Expert Systems. Weʼre open to other players joining.







Apps Publish






Semantic tools to:



Semantic tools to:




Semantic tools to:



Semantic tools to:



Semantic tools to:




Semantic tools to:




- Person

- Role

- Page






• Int/ext links




• Metadata, tags

• Version control







CAMBRIDGE SEMANTICShttp://www.cambridgesemantics.com/


http://www.cambridgesemantics.com/






Apps Publish






Semantic tools to:



Semantic tools to:




Semantic tools to:



Semantic tools to:



Semantic tools to:




Semantic tools to:




- Person

- Role

- Page






• Int/ext links




• Metadata, tags

• Version control







ZAGILEhttp://zagile.com/


http://zagile.com

http://zagile.com





Apps Publish






Semantic tools to:



Semantic tools to:




Semantic tools to:



Semantic tools to:



Semantic tools to:




Semantic tools to:




- Person

- Role

- Page






• Int/ext links




• Metadata, tags

• Version control







EXPERTSYSTEM


http://www.expertsystem.net/

http://www.expertsystem.net

http://www.expertsystem.net





Apps Publish






Semantic tools to:



Semantic tools to:




Semantic tools to:



Semantic tools to:



Semantic tools to:




Semantic tools to:




- Person

- Role

- Page






• Int/ext links




• Metadata, tags

• Version control









What is a semantic scenario for citizen-friendly recovery.gov and data.gov?Author, expose, weave, mash-up, visualize, publish, and use.

1Author, Collect, Report

2Expose Data to Fabric

3Link Data,

WeaveFabric

4Edit, Filter,

Extract, Mash-up

5Visualize, Present Result

6Package

App & Publish

7Discover,

Download, Use App


DEMO: Using Cambridge Semanticsʼ Anzio in support of Recovery.gov

Practical Semantics Applied to Recovery.gov

Jordi Albornoz MulliganMills Davis

Brand Niemann

May 2009

Recovery.gov = Opportunity & Challenge

The data is helpful with more coming daily, all for openness & transparency

But it has limits, especially when:• Data is in multiple sources• Answers require data from outside of Recovery.gov• Request volume outstrips Recovery.gov (people) resourcesSemantic Technology can enable citizens to help themselves (and

the government) provide answers to more citizens • Link data sources to a semantic fabric• Provide access and tools so information can be:• Combined• Manipulated• Viewed by…

Virtually anyone regardless of technical capability

Simple Questions, Hard to Answer

Example:•Is there a correlation between geographic

distribution of recovery dollars, population and new jobs created?

To get the answer, you need to know:•Recovery spending by state•Population by state•New jobs by state

Recovery.gov alone cannot answer this question

The Answers Live in Three Sources

Show the answer graphically…

Like This…

Or this…

How it’s Done:Leave Data Where it Lives and…

3. Fill the picture with the appropriate data

2. Let the user “draw” a picture of what they want

Anzo Data Collaboration Server

1. Link Source Data to the Anzo Data Collaboration Server

RDBMS

Linking Source Data is SimpleAnzo for Excel

Plug-in

Link data (columns in the spreadsheet) to classes and properties in an ontology exposed in the plug in

Linking Source Data is Simple

Different Source, Same Process

Select a Data Set

Select a description

Repeat the Process

Repeat the Process

Now that the data is linked…

Anzo on the Web Can Work With It

Select from Linked Data Sets

Choose a Lens

Lenses Allow Various Views

Combined Data Displayed Graphically

In a Variety of Ways

In a Variety of Ways

Notice multiple sources (agencies)

Another Option…Combining and Filtering Data

Click to sort and filter the data to on-the-fly

Manipulate As Desired

Check the desired filter

Apply a Finer Filter

The ontology guides usersas they explore relationships

Add More Data to Your View

The New Data is Immediately Avaialble

Add Filters on the FlyThe system Guides the UserJust click and add

The new filterappears here

The Filter is Added

The view is narrowed further

…and Works Immediately

The Possibilities are Endless…


Call to action: Let’s demonstrate citizen-friendly semantic solutions

for recovery.gov and data.gov, with transparency, openness & collaboration!

Mills Davis

Project10X

202-667-6400

www.project10x.com

http://www.project10x.com

http://www.project10x.com