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I started this thread on the w3c list almost 20 years ago - https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/semantic-web/2005Dec/00...

Unfortunately, it is unlikely we will ever get something like a Semantic web. It seemed like a good idea in the beginning of 2000s but now there is honestly no need for it as it is quite cheap and easy to attach meaning to text due to the progress in LLMs and NLP.

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Exactly. Afaik, there are certain corners of the Web that benefit from some kind of markup. I think real estate is one, where you can generate searches of the MLS on sites like Redfin or Zillow (or any realtor's site, really) such that you can set parameters: between 1000 and 1500 square feet (or meters in Europe), with a garage and no basement. That's very helpful (although I don't know whether that searching is done over indexed web pages, or on the MLS itself). But most of the Web, afaict, have nothing like that---and don't need it, because NLP can distinguish different senses of 'bank' (financial vs. river), etc.

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