Computers understanding the meaning of words

The Internet got smarter this week with the release of a semantic map that teaches computers the meanings behind words -- and gives the machines a vocabulary far larger than that of a typical US college graduate.

Cognition Technologies began licensing the map Tuesday to software creators interested in having programs "understand" words based on tenses and sentence context -- in much the same way as the human brain does.

"We have taught the computer virtually all the meanings of words and phrases in the English language," Cognition chief executive Scott Jarus told AFP.

Read full story at The Sydney Morning Herald.