INBAST 2012 PC co-chairs message

Abstract

The Semantic Web was planned as a web of data that enables machines to understand the meaning of information on the WWW. Many of the Semantic Web technologies proposed by the W3C already exist and are used in various contexts where sharing data is a common necessity, such as scientific research or data exchange among businesses. However, the Semantic Web as originally envisioned, a system that enables machines to understand and respond to complex human requests based on their meaning, has remained largely unrealized and its critics have questioned its feasibility. Semantic Web technologies have found a greater degree of practical adoption among specialized communities and organizations for intra-company projects. The practical constraints toward adoption have appeared less challenging where domain and scope is more limited than that of the general public and the WWW. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.