IKRAFT: Interactive knowledge representation and acquisition from text

Abstract

We propose a new approach to develop knowledge bases that captures at different levels of formality and specificity how each piece of knowledge in the system was derived from original sources, which are often Web sources. If a knowledge base contains a trace of information about how each piece of knowledge was defined, it will be easier to reuse, extend, and translate the contents of the knowledge base. We are investigating these issues with IKRAFT, an interactive tool to elicit from users the rationale for choices and decisions as they analyze information used in building a knowledge base. Starting from raw information sources, most of them originating on the Web, users are able to specify connections between selected portions of those sources. These connections are initially very high level and informal, and our ultimate goal is to develop a system that will help users to formalize them further.