Information Artifact Ontology Barry Smith 1

Information Artifact Ontology

Barry Smith

http://ontology.buffalo.edu/smith

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– not a mathematical object– not a contingent object with physical properties, taking part in causal relations– but a historical object, with a very special provenance, relations analogous to those of ownership, existing only within a nexus of working financial institutions of specific kinds

What is a credit card number?

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Blinding Flash of the Obvious

Continuant Occurrent

processIndependentContinuant

thing

DependentContinuant

quality

.... ..... .......3

Basic Formal Ontology (BFO)

Continuant Occurrent

biological processIndependent

Continuant

cellular component

DependentContinuant

molecular function

..... ..... ........4

Blinding Flash of the Obvious

Continuant Occurrent

processIndependentContinuant

thing

DependentContinuant

quality

.... ..... .......quality dependson bearer

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Blinding Flash of the Obvious

Continuant Occurrent

processIndependentContinuant

thing

DependentContinuant

quality, …

.... ..... .......process dependson participant

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Blinding Flash of the Obvious

Continuant Occurrent

processIndependentContinuant

thing

DependentContinuant

quality

.... ..... .......process is change in quality

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Information vs. Information Artifact

‘information’ – mass noun (Shannon and Weaver)

‘information artifact’ – count noun (Information Artifact Ontology)

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Information Artifacts in Scienceprotocoldatabasetheoryontology gene listpublicationresult...

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Information Entity (labeling)serial numberbatch numbergrant numberperson numbernameaddressemail addressURL...

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Information artifacts are tied to provenance and to processors in

a way in which types are not

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http://code.google.com/p/information-artifact-ontology/

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What is a datum?

Continuant Occurrent

processIndependentContinuant

laptop, book

DependentContinuant

quality

.... ..... .......datum: a pattern in some medium with a certain kind of provenance

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type or instance

Continuant Occurrent(Process)

IndependentContinuant

human being,protocol document

DependentContinuant

pattern of ink marks

Applying the protocol Side-Effect …

... .. ..... .... .....14

Continuant Occurrent

IndependentContinuant

DependentContinuant

.... ..... .......Information

EntityAction

creating a datum

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Type: human beingInstance: Leon Tolstoy

Type: novelInstance: War and Peace

Type: bookInstance: this copy of War and Peace

types and instances

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Is the Classic Coca Cola trademark a type or an instance?If the Classic Coca Cola trademark were a type, and the copies on my laptop and on your laptop instances, then there would be many Classic Coca Cola trademarks

Hence the Classic Coca Cola trademark is an instance

What is a trademark?

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Is UniProt a type or an instance?If UniProt were a type, and the copy of UniProt on my laptop were an instance, thenthere would be many UniProts and many War(s) and Peaces.

Hence UniProt is an instance.

What is a database?

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Is War and Peace a type or an instance?If War and Peace were a type, and the copies of War and Peace in my library and in your library were instances, then

• there would be many War(s) and Peaces.Hence War and Peace is an instance.

What is a work of literature?

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There can be two copies of the Declaration of Independence

There cannot be two Declarations of Independence

There are not two Declarations of Independence

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Rule for types

Their names are pluralizable

There can be three peopleThere cannot be three Condoleezza Rices

Information Entities = entities which can exist in many perfect copies

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Specific dependence

Continuant Occurrent

process

IndependentContinuant

thing

DependentContinuant

quality

.... ..... .......headache dependson human being

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Generically Dependent Continuants

GenericallyDependentContinuant

Information Entity Sequence

if one bearer ceases to exist, then the entity can survive, because there are other bearers (copyability)

the pdf file on my laptop

the DNA (sequence) in this chromosome

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are realized through being concretized in specifically dependent continuants(the plan in your head, the protocol being realized by your research team)

Generically dependent continuants

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Types vs. generically dependent continuants

types have subtypes (kinds): if you can have a kind of something, then it’s a type

you can’t have a kind of Bill Clintonyou can’t have a kind of The

Constitution of the United States

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they have a different kind of provenance

◦Aspirin as product of Bayer GmbH◦aspirin as molecular structure

Generically dependent continuants are distinct from types

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Generically Dependent Continuants

GenericallyDependentContinuant

Information Entity

Sequence

.pdf file .doc file

instances 28

are concretized in specifically dependent continuants

Beethoven’s 9th Symphony is concretized in the pattern of ink marks which make up this score in my hand

Generically dependent continuants

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do not require specific media (paper, silicon, neuron …)

Generically dependent continuants

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Realizable Dependent Continuants

SpecificallyDependentContinuant

Quality, PatternRealizable Dependent Continuant

inert ert

Occurrent

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Examplesperformance of a symphonyprojection of a filmutterance of a sentenceapplication of a therapycourse of a diseaseincrease of temperature

OccurrentRealizable Dependent Continuant

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ContinuantOccurrent

IndependentContinuant

Specifically DependentContinuant

Quality Disposition

Realization

Role

Realizable DependentContinuant

GenericallyDependentContinuant

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A violinist reads the score of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and a concretization of the Symphony is created in his mind (something like a plan)

In playing he realizes this plan, thereby generating a performance of the Symphony

Realizable Dependent Continuants are always specifically dependent

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Nature Protocols

vs.

The protocol McDoe has been following in this project since March

Realizable Dependent Continuants are always specifically dependent

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McDoe reads the protocol as published and a concretization of the protocol is created in his mind (something like a plan)

In his laboratory work he realizes this plan, thereby generating an experiment

Realizable Dependent Continuants are always specifically dependent

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standard examples: nurse, student, patient

that a person plays a role holds in virtue of some (social) decision

the role is optional (someone else assigns it, the entity acquires it by moving it into a specific context)

Roles

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Different kinds of rolesfistlast in queuepatientFDA-approved drug

Many roles come in reciprocally dependent pairsbuyer/seller husband/wife

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ContinuantOccurrent

IndependentContinuant

Specifically DependentContinuant

Quality Disposition

Realization

Role

Realizable DependentContinuant

GenericallyDependentContinuant

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BFO

Continuant Occurrent(Process)

IndependentContinuant

(molecule, cell, organ,organism)

DependentContinuant

(quality, function,disease)

Functioning Side-Effect, Stochastic Process, ...

..... ..... .... ...

..