Just the facts, ma’am. That’s the premise behind the new Wolfram Alpha Internet engine, which is evidently able to answer factual questions better than Google is able to.
Developer and scientist Stephen Wolfram says, "It’s going to be a website: WolframAlpha.com. With one simple input field that gives access to a huge system, with trillions of pieces of curated data and millions of lines of algorithms."
One of the challenges others have seen with this is the type of knowledge associated with controversial issues like global warming, which large numbers of people don’t consider factual yet.
Wolfram claims he has those types of problems solved by being able to offer up a variety of answers to what many consider dubious "scientific evidence."
Another challenge Wolfram faces is to bring the factual answers into the language of everyday people, as it seems those testing it have said many of the answers that emerge from the engine assume you have the type of knowledge the developers have.
That’s a nice way of saying it’s over the heads of most people at this time, which would limit its general value. Once that’s fixed, it does have a lot of potential, which has been a search engine shortcoming for some time.
Fact-Based Search Engines
Wolfram Alpha Can Compute Answers Like an Electronic Brain
Trend Themes
1. Fact-based Search Engines - The trend of fact-based search engines like Wolfram Alpha presents disruptive innovation opportunities for improving the accuracy and reliability of search results.
2. Curated Data - The trend of using curated data in search engines, as demonstrated by Wolfram Alpha, opens up opportunities for organizing and providing accurate and comprehensive information.
3. Complex Algorithms - The trend of utilizing complex algorithms in search engines, exemplified by Wolfram Alpha, offers opportunities to enhance search capabilities and deliver more robust and nuanced answers.
Industry Implications
1. Information Technology - Fact-based search engines like Wolfram Alpha have disruptive innovation potential in the information technology industry, as they can revolutionize how people access and interact with information.
2. Education - The education industry can benefit from the trend of fact-based search engines, as they provide students with reliable and accurate information for learning and research purposes.
3. Data Analysis and Research - The data analysis and research industry can leverage the trend of curated data and complex algorithms used in fact-based search engines to streamline data processing and extract meaningful insights.