Information Artifact Ontology Barry Smith http ontology buffalo

Information Artifact Ontology Barry Smith http: //ontology. buffalo. edu/smith 1

What is a credit card number? – 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 2

Blinding Flash of the Obvious Continuant Independent Continuant Dependent Continuant thing quality . . Occurrent process . . . . 3

Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) Continuant Independent Continuant Dependent Continuant cellular component molecular function . . Occurrent biological process . . . . 4

Blinding Flash of the Obvious Continuant Independent Continuant Dependent Continuant thing quality . . Occurrent process quality depends on bearer . . . . 5

Blinding Flash of the Obvious Continuant Independent Continuant Dependent Continuant thing quality, … . . Occurrent process depends on participant . . . . 6

Blinding Flash of the Obvious Continuant Independent Continuant Dependent Continuant thing quality . . Occurrent process is change in quality . . . . 7

Information vs. Information Artifact ‘information’ – mass noun (Shannon and Weaver) ‘information artifact’ – count noun (Information Artifact Ontology) 8

Information Artifacts in Science protocol database theory ontology gene list publication result. . . 9

Information Entity (labeling) serial number batch number grant number person number name address email address URL. . . 10

Information artifacts are tied to provenance and to processors in a way in which types are not 11

http: //code. google. com/p/ information-artifact-ontology/ 12

What is a datum? Continuant Independent Continuant laptop, book Dependent Continuant Occurrent process datum: a pattern in some quality medium with a certain kind of provenance . . . . 13

type or instance Continuant Independent Continuant human being, protocol document Dependent Continuant pattern of ink marks Occurrent (Process) Applying the protocol Side-Effect … . . 14

Continuant Independent Continuant Occurrent Dependent Continuant Information Entity . . Action creating a datum . . . . 15

types and instances Type: human being Instance: Leon Tolstoy Type: novel Instance: War and Peace Type: book Instance: this copy of War and Peace 16

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What is a trademark? 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 18

What is a database? Is Uni. Prot a type or an instance? If Uni. Prot were a type, and the copy of Uni. Prot on my laptop were an instance, then there would be many Uni. Prots and many War(s) and Peaces. Hence Uni. Prot is an instance. 19

What is a work of literature? 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. 20

There are not two Declarations of Independence There can be two copies of the Declaration of Independence There cannot be two Declarations of Independence 21

Rule for types Their names are pluralizable There can be three people There cannot be three Condoleezza Rices Information Entities = entities which can exist in many perfect copies 22

Specific dependence Continuant Occurrent process Independent Continuant Dependent Continuant thing quality . . headache depends on human being . . . . 23

Generically Dependent Continuants Generically Dependent Continuant 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 Information Entity Sequence 24

Generically dependent continuants are realized through being concretized in specifically dependent continuants (the plan in your head, the protocol being realized by your research team) 25

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 Clinton you can’t have a kind of The Constitution of the United States 26

Generically dependent continuants are distinct from types they have a different kind of provenance ◦ Aspirin as product of Bayer Gmb. H ◦ aspirin as molecular structure 27

Generically Dependent Continuants Generically Dependent Continuant Information Entity. pdf file Sequence . doc file instances 28

Generically dependent continuants are concretized in specifically dependent continuants Beethoven’s 9 th Symphony is concretized in the pattern of ink marks which make up this score in my hand 29

Generically dependent continuants do not require specific media (paper, silicon, neuron …) 30

Realizable Dependent Continuants Specifically Dependent Continuant Quality, Pattern inert Realizable Dependent Continuant ert Occurrent 31

Examples performance projection utterance application course increase Occurrent of a symphony of a film of a sentence of a therapy of a disease of temperature Realizable Dependent Continuant 32

Continuant Independent Continuant Occurrent Specifically Dependent Continuant Generically Dependent Continuant Realizable Dependent Continuant Quality Disposition Realization Role 33

Realizable Dependent Continuants are always specifically dependent A violinist reads the score of Beethoven’s 9 th 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 34

Realizable Dependent Continuants are always specifically dependent Nature Protocols vs. The protocol Mc. Doe has been following in this project since March 35

Realizable Dependent Continuants are always specifically dependent Mc. Doe 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 36

Roles 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) 37

Different kinds of roles fist last in queue patient FDA-approved drug Many roles come in reciprocally dependent pairs buyer/seller husband/wife 38

Continuant Independent Continuant Occurrent Specifically Dependent Continuant Generically Dependent Continuant Realizable Dependent Continuant Quality Disposition Realization Role 39

BFO Occurrent (Process) Continuant Independent Continuant Dependent Continuant (molecule, (quality, cell, organism) function, disease) Functioning Side-Effect, Stochastic Process, . . .