John Florian Sowa (born 1940) is an American
computer scientist
A computer scientist is a person who is trained in the academic study of computer science.
Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation, as opposed to the hardware side on which computer engineers mainly focus (al ...
, an expert in
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
and
computer design
In computer engineering, computer architecture is a description of the structure of a computer system made from component parts. It can sometimes be a high-level description that ignores details of the implementation. At a more detailed level, the ...
, and the inventor of
conceptual graph
A conceptual graph (CG) is a formalism for knowledge representation. In the first published paper on CGs, John F. Sowa used them to represent the conceptual schemas used in database systems. The first book on CGs applied them to a wide range of ...
s.
Biography
Sowa received a BS in mathematics from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
in 1962, an MA in applied mathematics from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in 1966, and a PhD in
computer science
Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...
from the
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) () is a Dutch and English-speaking research university located in Brussels, Belgium.The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is one of the five universities officially recognised by the Flemish Community, Flemish gov ...
in 1999 on a dissertation titled "Knowledge Representation: Logical, Philosophical, and Computational Foundations".
Sowa spent most of his professional career at
IBM, which started in 1962 at IBM's applied mathematics group. Over the decades he has researched and developed emerging fields of
computer science
Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...
from
compiler
In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs that ...
s,
programming language
A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Most programming languages are text-based formal languages, but they may also be graphical. They are a kind of computer language.
The description of a programming ...
s, and system architecture
[John F. Sowa and ]John Zachman
John A. Zachman (born December 16, 1934) is an American business and IT consultant,Elizabeth N. Fong and Alan H. Goldfine (1989) ''Information Management Directions: The Integration Challenge''. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NI ...
(1992)
"Extending and Formalizing the Framework for Information Systems Architecture"
In: ''IBM Systems Journal'', Vol 31, no.3, 1992. p. 590-616. to artificial intelligence and
knowledge representation
Knowledge representation and reasoning (KRR, KR&R, KR²) is the field of artificial intelligence (AI) dedicated to representing information about the world in a form that a computer system can use to solve complex tasks such as diagnosing a medic ...
. In the 1990s Sowa was associated with IBM Educational Center in New York. Over the years he taught courses at the IBM Systems Research Institute,
Binghamton University
The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university with campuses in Binghamton, New York, Binghamton, Vestal, New York, Vestal, and Johnson City, New Yor ...
,
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
, the
Linguistic Society of America
The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) is a learned society for the field of linguistics. Founded in New York City in 1924, the LSA works to promote the scientific study of language. The society publishes three scholarly journals: ''Language'', ...
and the
Université du Québec à Montréal
The Université du Québec à Montréal (English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Québe ...
. He is a fellow of the
Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence
The Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) is an international scientific society devoted to promote research in, and responsible use of, artificial intelligence. AAAI also aims to increase public understanding of artif ...
.
After early retirement at IBM Sowa in 2001 cofounded VivoMind Intelligence, Inc. with
Arun K. Majumdar. With this company he was developing data-mining and database technology, more specific high-level "
ontologies
In computer science and information science, an ontology encompasses a representation, formal naming, and definition of the categories, properties, and relations between the concepts, data, and entities that substantiate one, many, or all domains ...
" for
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
and automated
natural language understanding
Natural-language understanding (NLU) or natural-language interpretation (NLI) is a subtopic of natural-language processing in artificial intelligence that deals with machine reading comprehension. Natural-language understanding is considered an ...
. Currently Sowa is working with Kyndi Inc., also founded by Majumdar.
John Sowa is married to the philologist Cora Angier Sowa, and they live in
Croton-on-Hudson, New York
Croton-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 8,327 at the 2020 United States census over 8,070 at the 2010 census. It is located in the town of Cortlandt as part of New York City's northern subu ...
.
Work
Sowa's research interest since the 1970s were in the field of
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
,
expert systems
In artificial intelligence, an expert system is a computer system emulating the decision-making ability of a human expert.
Expert systems are designed to solve complex problems by reasoning through bodies of knowledge, represented mainly as if ...
and
database query
In computing, a database is an organized collection of Data (computing), data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The Databas ...
linked to natural languages.
In his work he combines ideas from numerous disciplines and eras modern and ancient, for example, applying ideas from
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
, the medieval
Scholastics
Scholasticism was a medieval school of philosophy that employed a critical organic method of philosophical analysis predicated upon the Aristotelian 10 Categories. Christian scholasticism emerged within the monastic schools that translate ...
to
Alfred North Whitehead
Alfred North Whitehead (15 February 1861 – 30 December 1947) was an English mathematician and philosopher. He is best known as the defining figure of the philosophical school known as process philosophy, which today has found applicat ...
and including
database schema
The database schema is the structure of a database described in a formal language supported by the database management system (DBMS). The term "schema" refers to the organization of data as a blueprint of how the database is constructed (divide ...
theory, and incorporating the model of analogy of Islamic scholar
Ibn Taymiyyah
Ibn Taymiyyah (January 22, 1263 – September 26, 1328; ar, ابن تيمية), birth name Taqī ad-Dīn ʾAḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm ibn ʿAbd al-Salām al-Numayrī al-Ḥarrānī ( ar, تقي الدين أحمد بن عبد الحليم ...
in his works.
Conceptual graph
Sowa invented conceptual graphs, a graphic notation for logic and natural language, based on the structures in
semantic network
A semantic network, or frame network is a knowledge base that represents semantic relations between concepts in a network. This is often used as a form of knowledge representation. It is a directed or undirected graph consisting of vertices, ...
s and on the
existential graph
An existential graph is a type of diagrammatic or visual notation for logical expressions, proposed by Charles Sanders Peirce, who wrote on logical graph, graphical logic as early as 1882,Peirce, C. S., "n Junctures and Fractures in Logic
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
(ed ...
s of
Charles S. Peirce
Charles Sanders Peirce ( ; September 10, 1839 – April 19, 1914) was an American philosopher, logician, mathematician and scientist who is sometimes known as "the father of pragmatism".
Educated as a chemist and employed as a scientist for t ...
. He published the concept in the 1976 article "Conceptual graphs for a data base interface" in the ''IBM Journal of Research and Development''. He further explained in the 1983 book ''Conceptual structures: information processing in mind and machine''.
In the 1980s, this theory had "been adopted by a number of research and development groups throughout the world.
International conferences on conceptual structures (ICCS) have been held since 1993, following a series of conceptual graph workshops that began in 1986.
Sowa's law of standards
In 1991, Sowa first stated his ''Law of Standards'':
: "Whenever a major organization develops a new system as an official
standard Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object th ...
for X, the primary result is the widespread adoption of some simpler system as a
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
standard for X."
Like
Gall's law, The Law of Standards is essentially an argument in favour of underspecification. Examples include:
*The introduction of
PL/I
PL/I (Programming Language One, pronounced and sometimes written PL/1) is a procedural, imperative computer programming language developed and published by IBM. It is designed for scientific, engineering, business and system programming. I ...
resulting in
COBOL
COBOL (; an acronym for "common business-oriented language") is a compiled English-like computer programming language designed for business use. It is an imperative, procedural and, since 2002, object-oriented language. COBOL is primarily us ...
and
FORTRAN becoming the de facto standards for business and scientific programming respectively
*The introduction of
Algol-68
ALGOL 68 (short for ''Algorithmic Language 1968'') is an imperative programming language that was conceived as a successor to the ALGOL 60 programming language, designed with the goal of a much wider scope of application and more rigorously de ...
resulting in
Pascal
Pascal, Pascal's or PASCAL may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Pascal (given name), including a list of people with the name
* Pascal (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
** Blaise Pascal, Fren ...
becoming the de facto standard for academic programming
*The introduction of the
Ada language resulting in
C becoming the de facto standard for
DoD programming
*The introduction of
OS/2
OS/2 (Operating System/2) is a series of computer operating systems, initially created by Microsoft and IBM under the leadership of IBM software designer Ed Iacobucci. As a result of a feud between the two companies over how to position OS/2 ...
resulting in
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
becoming the de facto standard for
desktop OS
*The introduction of
X.400
X.400 is a suite of ITU-T Recommendations that defines the ITU-T Message Handling System (MHS).
At one time, the designers of X.400 were expecting it to be the predominant form of email, but this role has been taken by the SMTP-based Internet e-m ...
resulting in
SMTP
The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is an Internet standard communication protocol for electronic mail transmission. Mail servers and other message transfer agents use SMTP to send and receive mail messages. User-level email clients typical ...
becoming the de facto standard for
electronic mail
Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronics, electronic (digital media, digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, ...
*The introduction of
X.500
X.500 is a series of computer networking standards covering electronic directory services. The X.500 series was developed by the ITU-T, Telecommunication Standardization Sector of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T). ITU-T was former ...
resulting in
LDAP
The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP ) is an open, vendor-neutral, industry standard application protocol for accessing and maintaining distributed directory information services over an Internet Protocol (IP) network. Directory servi ...
becoming the de facto standard for
directory services
In computing, a directory service or name service maps the names of network resources to their respective network addresses. It is a shared information infrastructure for locating, managing, administering and organizing everyday items and network r ...
Publications
* 1984. ''Conceptual Structures - Information Processing in Mind and Machine''. The Systems Programming Series, Addison-Wesley
* 1991. ''Principles of Semantic Networks''. Morgan Kaufmann.
*
* 1994. ''International Conference on Conceptual Structures (2nd : 1994 : College Park, Md.) Conceptual structures, current practices : Second International Conference on Conceptual Structures, ICCS'94, College Park, Maryland, USA, August 16–20, 1994 : proceedings''. William M. Tepfenhart, Judith P. Dick, John F. Sowa, eds.
*
*
* 2000. ''Knowledge representation : logical, philosophical, and computational foundations'', Brooks Cole Publishing Co., Pacific Grove
;Articles, a selection
*
*
* 1992.
Conceptual Graph Summary; In: T.E. Nagle et al. (Eds.). ''Conceptual Structures: Current Research and Practice''. Chichester: Ellis Horwood.
* 1995. "Top-level ontological categories." in: ''International journal of human-computer studies''. Vol. 43, Iss. 5–6, Nov. 1995, pp. 669–685
* 2006. "Semantic Networks". In: ''Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science.''. John Wiley & Sons.
In popular culture
John Sowa is claimed to be a protagonist of the fantasy novel
Great Works: A tale of logic and magic. The epic of John Sowa, but according to a comment that book is not related to him.
Amazon page
References
External links
John F. Sowa
homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sowa, John
1940 births
Artificial intelligence researchers
Knowledge representation
Living people
People from Croton-on-Hudson, New York
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences alumni
Binghamton University faculty
Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni
Vrije Universiteit Brussel alumni