A new way of searching is on the way, and will come under the label Wolfram Alpha. This is a “knowledge engine” built by Stephen Wolfram, which allows users to ask questions and receive a single definitive answer rather than a page of results pointing to pages that may or may not have the answers they are looking for.
Wolfram is a British physicist, mathematician and businessman known most for his computer algebra system Mathematica and his controversial book A New Kind of Science.
Unlike other answers sites, the answers from Wolfram Alpha will not be retrieved from a database, and unlike what search engines are trying to do, they will not be retrieved based on natural language. They will be retrieved through math and science. Wolfram explains on his blog:
Well, some people have thought the way forward must be to somehow automatically understand the natural language that exists on the web. Perhaps getting the web semantically tagged to make that easier.
But armed with Mathematica and NKS I realized there’s another way: explicitly implement methods and models, as algorithms, and explicitly curate all data so that it is immediately computable…
…I wasn’t at all sure it was going to work. But I’m happy to say that with a mixture of many clever algorithms and heuristics, lots of linguistic discovery and linguistic curation, and what probably amount to some serious theoretical breakthroughs, we’re actually managing to make it work.
Not exactly a Google-Killer…
Some present Wolfram Alpha as a possible Google-killer. Others don’t, but think its importance could equal that of Google, and suggest that Google could potentially be interested in acquiring it.
Personally, I have to wonder if this will affect Wikipedia use more than Google use. From the sound of it, it won’t eliminate the need for Wikipedia either, as that site will still be of use for collections of information, biographies, etc. But for those looking for direct facts, it could put a dent in Wikipedia’s queries – if it catches on.
Can Users Trust Computers for Accuracy?
As with Wikipedia, the trust factor comes into play. Most people know they can’t trust everything they read on the Internet, and if Wolfram Alpha presents users with a single definitive answer to their question, there is a good chance many will still turn to Google to doublecheck accuracy. At least with a list of results, you can check different sources and make your own conclusion as to what information is accurate.
Another reason that this won’t kill Google is that Google and other major search engines are already moving toward intent-based search results. Plus, searchers are using longer queries and revising them to find the answers they are looking for (this is one reason why FAQ pages are encouraged for sites). Even searching for answers to questions, I believe people will be reluctant to part with the familiarity of the Google brand, which dominates so much of the search market share.
Wolfram says the project will never be finished, but he’s almost ready to launch the first part of it. Wolfram Alpha will go live in May. Then we can see what the hype’s really all about.
