True Knowledge is a semantic search engine currently in closed beta. We have some invites to spare, so if you want to have a look for yourself, send us an email.

True Knowledge is not a regular search engine. It answers questions based on an index of 129,498,414 facts about 5,112,422 things. An example of how True Knowledge works is the question “Is the koala bear a bear?”. The answer to this question is no.

Here is how True Knowledge reasoned to understand the question and provide the answer:

“Is an unspecified member of koala (a thickset arboreal marsupial herbivore native to Australia) a bear (any of various usually omnivorous mammals of the family Ursidae that have a shaggy coat and a short tail and walk with the entire lower surface of the foot touching the ground)?”

When you use True Knowledge, you also get a list of the assumptions behind the conclusion. You can also choose to agree with some or all of the assumptions if you find that True Knowledge has made a mistake.

Here are the assumptions that underlie the decision that koalas are not bears:

• koala is a subclass of marsupial - agree / disagree
• marsupial is a subclass of metatherian - agree / disagree
• bear is a subclass of Carnivora - agree / disagree
• Carnivora is a subclass of placental mammal - agree / disagree
• metatherian is a distinct class from placental mammal - agree / disagree

If you find it interesting to follow the reasoning of a machine, there is even a detailed explanation available.

True Knowledge does not have this kind of detailed answer in store for all kinds of questions. In fact, most of my test queries were not answered at all. But True Knowledge is in beta and it keeps learning from all the questions posed. In time, it might be an excellent tool for learning and understanding.

See also:
Top 5 semantic search engines