With the internet at nearly everyone’s fingertips, data has never been more accessible. If all you have is a vast assortment of data with no way to use it, though, it’ll merely take up space on your hard drives and get you no closer to your goals.
Today, let’s look at a type of program that can take that data and transform it into accessible, useable information: knowledge graph software. What is a knowledge graph, and how can you use it in your business? Keep reading to find out.
What is a Knowledge Graph?
Knowledge graphs have various definitions, but in their essence, they are a visual representation of data points and their connections to each other. They create or make visible layers of intertwining relationships, no matter whether the situations in question have obvious links or not.
What are the Abilities of Knowledge Graphs?
Knowledge graphs have four main functions that make them useful to anyone trying to analyze data. These functions are:
- Storing meaning in each data point so that the connections make sense based on the available information
- Adjusting data over time to allow for new and varied information to enter the graph
- Calculating and using inductive reasoning to determine relationships between two points, especially dependency
- Creating a model for inspection to evaluate what is findable and knowable.
People use knowledge graphs for a variety of things based on these four points. Any enterprise, from tracking an inventory to creating a fictitious universe, can benefit from a knowledge graph.
Why Use Knowledge Graphs?
Knowledge graphs originally developed to allow the use of a piece of information within its context rather than treat each data point as a self-existent entity. Looking at the extent of available knowledge lets you see each relationship, enabling you to serve your consumers better.
With software that allows your computer to use knowledge graphs, they can learn how to reuse previous information and correlate it to new situations. Look at a few examples to see how this works.
- Any time you look something up online, the search engine must seek out websites with the same terminology as each word you used. A knowledge graph software enables it to find additional listings that may not have matching words but relate to the query you put forth.
- Depending on their training, doctors used to designate the same set of symptoms with different names, causing confusion and difficulty in coding. With the use of knowledge graphs, they could standardize vocabulary, definitions, and diagnoses in the medical field, making their results and codes consistent.
- Social media sites build off your connections to other people, so they’ll use knowledge graph software to determine where those correlations may exist. If someone went to the same school, grew up in the same town, or attends the same place of worship, the site can use that data to connect you with them.
As time goes on and A.I. continues to grow, knowledge graphs can become more sophisticated and allow for further connection than anyone may have thought possible.