Scientific Computing Seminar

Date:

Monday, November 21, 2005

Time:

1:00pm-2:00pm

Location:

50F-1647

Seminar Speaker:

Shashi Kant
MIT
skant (at) mit (dot) edu

Title:

Reasoning with Uncertainty over the Semantic Web

Abstract:

There has been considerable debate as to the merits and the applicability of probabilistic or statistical reasoning to Semantic Web. Much of this debate seems to have centered on the applicability of statistical methods in a supposedly deterministic setting. In this talk, I argue that statistical reasoning ("reasoning with uncertainty") need not be mutually exclusive to traditional Description Logic (DL) / First-Order Logic (FOL) reasoning. Instead, statistical methods can serve as a complement to logic-based reasoning systems in two ways:
(i) Offer a meta-reasoning (or audit) mechanism to validate logical reasoning, and
(ii) Act as a "filler" where ontological information either does not exist, or is insufficient to reason conclusively.
Biography:

Shashi is interested in reasoning systems for the Semantic Web - especially combining ontological with statistical reasoning mechanisms. His research includes machine learning information retrieval and social networking techniques to enable the field of emergent semantics. He holds Masters degrees in Engineering and Management awarded by MIT School of Engineering and the MIT Sloan School of Management. He also holds an undergraduate degree in engineering, was an ASP Fellow at MIT, and has a total of 8 years' work experience in software engineering.

Sponsors of Seminar:

Bruce Bargmeyer and Frank Olken

Scientific Computing

Contact Esmond G. Ng EGNg@lbl.gov