Open Knowledge: Semantic Webs Through Peer-to-Peer Interaction

We present a manifesto for a new form of knowledge sharing that is based not on direct sharing of "true" statements about the world but, instead, is based on sharing descriptions of interactions. By making interaction specifications the currency of knowledge sharing we gain a context to interpreting knowledge that can be transmitted between peers. The narrower notion of semantic commitment we thus obtain requires peers only to commit to meanings of terms for the purposes and duration of the interactions in which they appear. This lightweight semantics allows networks of interaction to be formed between peers using comparatively simple means of tackling the perennial issues of query routing, service composition and ontology matching. Although the entire system described in this manifesto has not been built, all its components use established methods; many of these have been deployed in substantial applications; and we summarize a simple means of integration.