Semantic web meets UI: context-adaptive interaction with semantic data

While the Semantic Web and its underlying technologies since their inception have been mainly focused on processing Web information by machines, it is increasingly recognized that users could also benefit more directly from semantic techniques. Users must be provided with suitable means to interact with the immensely growing Web of Data, to satisfy their information needs in a more targeted and efficient manner, to explore unknown concepts or relationships, and to obtain personalized and context-adaptive access to relevant resources and services. In this talk, we will address visual search and exploration of semantic data, discuss the role of ontologies in modeling users and context, and highlight some research directions that might make semantic data and techniques more beneficial for human users.