new blog post: A practical approach to translate OWL to SKOS
The data model in PyOBO closely resembles the Web Ontology Language (OWL) and macros in the OBO Flat File format. However, some communities prefer the simplified nature of the SKOS data model compared to the highly precise (and sometimes burdensome) nature of OWL semantics. This post describes the workflow I implemented to downscale OWL to SKOS.
Grounding AI the webby way — Taxonomy Boot Camp London 2026 takeaways
There was a heavy focus on artificial intelligence. But what really struck me was that the semantic approaches that are preparing us for our AI future are well-established web standards that have been around for decades.https://duncanstephen.net/grounding-ai-the-webby-way-taxonomy-boot-camp-london-2026-takeaways/
I made Super Finto - a novel way of exploring and visualizing a SKOS vocabulary.
Try it out: https://osma.github.io/super-finto
Code & info: https://github.com/osma/super-finto
Finally got around to rebuilding my personal website: https://naturzukunft.de
It explains what I'm working on: open, federated infrastructure so small initiatives — repair cafés, community gardens, food co-ops — become visible to AI systems. Not another platform. Open rails.
Skosmos 3.1. has been released!
This is a minor release that takes the first steps towards implementing the new Skosmos in finto.fi . Among the improvements, this adds support for some SKOS features like better handling of collections, ordered property values, and deprecated concepts. It also improves the search result page, and makes it easier to deploy Skosmos with Docker.
More information on the recent changes on GitHub https://github.com/NatLibFi/Skosmos/releases/tag/v3.1
@w3c
The RDF version of SKOS [1] does not contain a licensing information, other than e.g. SSN [2] or DCAT3 [3]. Is it permitted to distribute (parts of) it and under which conditions? Does the W3C Software license [4] or the W3C Document license [5] apply to it, and if yes, which version? Could a licensing statement be added?
1. https://www.w3.org/2009/08/skos-reference/skos.rdf
2. https://www.w3.org/ns/ssn/ssn.rdf
3. https://www.w3.org/ns/dcat3.ttl
4. https://www.w3.org/copyright/software-license-2023/
5. https://www.w3.org/copyright/document-license-2023/
Tomorrow, 29th January at 12 noon CET, I will participate in an online panel discussion titled "Artificial Intelligence in Knowledge Organisation", organised by Linnaeus University (Sweden).
"This two-hour panel brings together leading experts to explore how AI transforms knowledge organization in libraries and related cultural heritage institutions as well as research data services."
More info and Zoom link:
i wrote about some of the challenges with semantic mappings 🗺️
https://cthoyt.com/2026/01/20/semantic-mapping-challenges.html
#ontology #owl #rdf #sssom #semanticweb #knowledgegraphs #skos
There are many challenges associated with the curation, publication, acquisition, and usage of semantic mappings. This post examines their philosophical, technical, and practical implications, highlights existing solutions, and describes opportunities for next steps for the community of curators, semantic engineers, software developers, and data scientists who make and use semantic mappings.
i've written a few blog posts lately on semantic mappings, SSSOM, JSKOS, and automated assembly of data and knowledge. i'm also always very proud to do this by hand, without AI
1. SSSOM and Wikidata: https://cthoyt.com/2026/01/08/sssom-to-wikidata.html
2. SSSOM and JSKOS: https://cthoyt.com/2026/01/15/sssom-to-jskos.html
3. SSSOM and BioPortal: https://cthoyt.com/2025/11/23/sssom-from-bioportal.html
4. semantic mappings enable automated assembly of data and knowledge: https://cthoyt.com/2026/01/16/mappings-for-automated-assembly.html
At the 4th Ontologies4Chem Workshop in Limburg an der Lahn, I proposed an initial crosswalk between the Simple Standard for Sharing Ontological Mappings (SSSOM) and the Wikidata semantic mapping data model. This post describes the motivation for this proposal and the concrete implementation I’ve developed in sssom-pydantic.
Charles Tapley Hoyt
Duncan Stephen
d'aïeux et d'ailleurs
Osma Suominen
naturzukunft
Finto-palvelu
Jan Martin Keil