Of the three words in your book’s title, “Intelligent Wireless Web” the word “intelligent” really strikes me as adding a new and much deeper meaning to the wireless Web discussion. I was particularly intrigued by your exploration of the concept of Web intelligence, how the Web learns, where Web intelligence lies, and the push to formulate a Web IQ. Does your interest in this subject stem more from the challenges posed by the intelligence questions or the wireless ones?
Alesso: Intelligence is central to our thesis for the ‘Next Generation Web,’ which Dr. Smith and I foreshadow in our new book, “The Intelligent Wireless Web.” Our expectation is that intelligent programming will offer increasingly valuable Web transactions, while wireless connectivity will ‘stretch’ our computer access to keep us connected in a nearly continuous fashion. The result could be improving our efficiency and productivity as this process becomes more uniformly adopted.
Let me explain a little about what we mean by intelligent programming. Intelligence usually refers to the ability to reason, solve problems and learn new things. And notwithstanding the difficulty of defining intelligence, even among experts, it is worth recognizing that terms such as “artificial intelligence”, “intelligent agents”, “smart machines” refer to the performance of functions that mimic those associated with human intelligence. So, as we begin to add more intelligent agents, smart applications and Artificial Intelligence (AI) programs to Web sites, we will have to explore some uncharted territory and face some probing and provocative questions, such as:
- How smart are Web applications today?
- What is Web intelligence?
- How does the Web learn?
- Where does Web intelligence reside?
In our book, we discuss how to introduce intelligence to enlighten the optical pathways that inhabit the Web. But for now, let consider that the Web consists primarily as a huge number of data nodes (containing texts, pictures, movies, sounds). The data nodes are connected through hyperlinks to form `hyper-networks’ that collectively can represent complex ideas and concepts above the level of the individual data. However, the Web does not currently perform many sophisticated tasks with this data. The Web merely stores and retrieves information even after considering some of the “intelligent applications” in use today (including intelligent agents, Portals, and Web Services).
So far, the Web does not have some of the vital ingredients it needs, such as, a global database scheme, or a global error-correcting feedback mechanism, or a logic layer protocol, or a method of adopting Learning Algorithms systematically throughout its architecture or universally accepted knowledge bases with inference engines. As a result, we may say that the Web continues to grow and evolve, but it does not adapt. And adapting is an essential ingredient of learning. So the jury is still out on defining the Web as intelligent, but we can still consider ways to change the Web to give it the capabilities to adapt and therefore, sometime in the future, perhaps to learn.
Of the five emerging technology areas you identify as necessary to fulfill the vision of an intelligent wireless web, which do you believe will be the hardest to solve, and which do you expect to be the easiest?
Alesso: The development of the next generation of technologies will happen concurrently, for the most part, as each advance encourages progress in associated fields. I suspect, however, the intelligent programming will take the longest to develop simple because it will never be completed. The search for knowledge is often referred to as an insatiable appetite and I suspect this will be shown to be true for the Web. As we are able to produce Learning Algorithms that prove effective, we will experience positive feedback that encourages even more experimentation and progress. Just as there are always more questions than answers there is always more to learn.
Alternatively, there are some technologies that show a clear path to an important end-point for the Wireless Web. Wireless LAN and the WPAN for your Personal Space are becoming commonplace within our Internet infrastructure already. They bridge gaps for last mile delivery, where digging and laying of optical cable within inner cities is expensively prohibited. In addition, despite some stumbling about, broadband wireless handheld devices will make tremendous penetration within the next two years
On a 1-10 scale (with 10 being the furthest evolution we can now imagine, how far along are we on the journey to the intelligent wireless web? Corollary question: How would you describe the “science-fiction like end point”?
Alesso: There are a few distinct time markers by which you can measure our progress toward building the Intelligent Wireless Web. The first will be the integration of wired and wireless networks within just the next two years. As handheld devices become wide spread, demand for improved access and performance will grows. There should be distinct behavior changes in worker transactions and customer spending habits to illustrate this access. News reports and company stock prices should reflect this important trend.
Then, in 2005, the prototype of MIT’s Project Oxygen should be complete and reporting results. Without a doubt, the scientific community should be buzzing about whether it demonstrates success or failure. If it shows successful progress in many of the technologies necessary for the Intelligent Wireless Web, then I expect it will have a ‘cyclone effect’ of drawing technology research and development into its sphere of influence, as research laboratories rush to get on board the ‘discovery express.’
Progress on user interfaces, such as, touch, writing and speech recognition is continuing and will expand. However, several reports have found that the error rate of these technologies make them unattractive to consumers. We will have to wait until trustworthy applications are available before we will see wholesale replacement of small handheld device’s keyboards. Never the less, the time scale for this progress should be closer to 5 years than 10 years.
Again the final laggard will prove to be intelligent programming. As we have already discussed, it will never be completely finished.
So how far are we on this path? Actually, we have already seen nearly every technological necessity already demonstrated in the laboratory. It is more a matter of power, efficiency and cost to produce an equivalent outcome for the masses. So let’s say, in answer to your original question, that we are at 5 on the evolutionary ladder and that we will be at an 8 within another five years. We should expect the results to be sporadic, however. That is, the technology will not be uniformly distributed around the globe. Pockets, such as, Universities and large enterprises will most likely have a disproportional amount of the technological progress, while rural less populated areas will have to wait.
But the science fiction end-point of the Intelligent Wireless Web is not just possible, it is very highly likely outcome within the next decade.
You say how fast we communicate is becoming as important as what we have to say. Do you think our communication will become more intelligent the faster we communicate with each other?
Alesso: Fast-talking has never been seriously confused with intelligent conversation. Never the less, you should not doubt that a speedy answer is sometime your only chance for any answer.
There is a humorous commercial being run on television these days that perfectly illustrates this point. The commercial shows a young couple enjoying a romantic dinner at a fancy restaurant when the lady says, ”I love you, John.” The young man sits stone-faced, as several uncomfortable seconds go by. The young lady flushes and leaves. Then, the young man leans forward and says, “I love you too.” Alas, it is too late. She is gone.
For businessmen and engineers alike, rapidly solving a critical problem may be their only opportunity to solve that particular problem. Once missed, you may be faced with a brand new situation requiring greater effort to resolve.
The point is, that a timely answer is sometimes the only chance you get. You had better be well connected, well informed and ready to deliver.
What are the unique challenges of writing for the technology market?
Alesso: Proprietary competition is the most difficult and unique challenge because competing vendors are deliberately secretive to protect their product’s advantages. In addition competitors will put out a product with a great deal of hype, sometimes as vaporware. As a result, a technology writer must gain first hand knowledge of products to gage actual performance and capability. In addition, when exploring a complex integration of various converging technologies the problem becomes complicated by system compatibilities and interactions.
Eventually as standards develop these problems disappear, but it is just in this period of chaos when the technology writer is most needed. He can offer others a change to side-step all the proprietary pitfalls between rival systems.
In my books, I try to particularly draw comparisons between rival products and identify their advantages and disadvantages. In addition, I look at existing standards and explore possibilities of future convergence.
You were an engineer before you began your writing career, what made you decide to start writing?
Alesso: I was an engineer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for over twenty years. Half of that time, I was a Group Leader over computational physicists and engineers. I led a variety of advanced research programs; including efforts involving developing state-of-the-art parallel processing physics computations.
Throughout my time as an engineer, I have written computer code in over a dozen different languages for many different operating systems, designed experiments, and written papers, journal articles and reports.
So, actually I was doing various forms of writing throughout my career. Only now I have found a great deal of satisfaction in writing books. I guess it is because I have always been a “Big Picture” thinker and a book gives me both the latitude and length to explore a subject to a depth I can enjoy.
