WolframAlpha

WolframAlpha (/ˈwʊlf.rəm-/ WUULf-rəm-) is an answer engine developed by Wolfram Research.[3] It answers factual queries by computing answers from externally sourced data.[4][5]

WolframAlpha
Type of site
Answer engine
OwnerWolframAlpha LLC
Created byWolfram Research
URLwww.wolframalpha.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
LaunchedMay 18, 2009 (2009-05-18)[1] (official launch)
May 15, 2009 (2009-05-15)[2] (public launch)
Current statusActive
Written inWolfram Language

WolframAlpha was released on May 18, 2009, and is based on Wolfram's earlier product Wolfram Mathematica, a technical computing platform.[1] WolframAlpha gathers data from academic and commercial websites such as the CIA's The World Factbook, the United States Geological Survey, a Cornell University Library publication called All About Birds, Chambers Biographical Dictionary, Dow Jones, the Catalogue of Life,[3] CrunchBase,[6] Best Buy,[7] and the FAA to answer queries.[8] A Spanish language version was launched in 2022.[9]

Technology

Overview

Users submit queries and computation requests via a text field. WolframAlpha then computes answers and relevant visualizations from a knowledge base of curated, structured data that come from other sites and books. It can respond to particularly phrased natural language fact-based questions. It displays its "Input interpretation" of such a question, using standardized phrases. It can also parse mathematical symbolism and respond with numerical and statistical results.

Development

WolframAlpha is written in the Wolfram Language, a general multi-paradigm programming language, and implemented in Mathematica. Wolfram language is proprietary and is not commonly used by developers.[10]

Usage

WolframAlpha was used to power some searches in the Microsoft Bing and DuckDuckGo search engines but is no longer used to provide search results.[11][12] For factual question answering, WolframAlpha was used by Apple's Siri and Amazon Alexa for math and science queries but is no longer operational within those services.[13][14] WolframAlpha data types became available in July 2020 within Microsoft Excel, but the Microsoft-Wolfram partnership ended nearly two years later, in 2022, in favor of Microsoft Power Query data types.[15] WolframAlpha functionality in Microsoft Excel ended in June 2023.[16][17]

History

Launch preparations for WolframAlpha began on May 15, 2009 at 7 p.m. CDT and were broadcast live on Justin.tv. The plan was to publicly launch the service a few hours later. However, there were issues due to extreme load. The service officially launched on May 18, 2009,[18] receiving mixed reviews.[19][20] In 2009, WolframAlpha advocates pointed to its potential, some stating that how it determines results is more important than current usefulness.[19] WolframAlpha was free at launch, but later Wolfram Research attempted to monetize the service by launching an iOS application with a cost of $50, while the website itself was free.[21] That plan was abandoned after criticism.[21]

On February 8, 2012, WolframAlpha Pro was released,[22] offering users additional features for a monthly subscription fee.[22][23]

Some high-school and college students use WolframAlpha to cheat on math homework, though Wolfram Research says the service helps students understand math with its problem-solving capabilities.[24]

InfoWorld published an article warning readers of the potential implications of giving an automated website proprietary rights to the data it generates.[25] Free software advocate Richard Stallman also opposes recognizing the site as a copyright holder and suspects that Wolfram Research would not be able to make this case under existing copyright law.[26]

See also

References
  1. The Wolfram|Alpha Launch Team (May 8, 2009). "So Much for A Quiet Launch". Wolfram|Alpha Blog. Wolfram Alpha. Retrieved February 9, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. The Wolfram|Alpha Launch Team (May 12, 2009). "Going Live—and Webcasting It". Wolfram|Alpha Blog. Wolfram Alpha. Retrieved February 9, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. Bobbie Johnson (May 21, 2009). "Where does Wolfram Alpha get its information?". The Guardian. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  4. "About Wolfram|Alpha: Making the World's Knowledge Computable". wolframalpha.com. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  5. Johnson, Bobbie (March 9, 2009). "British search engine 'could rival Google'". The Guardian. UK: Guardian News and Media. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  6. Dillet, Romain (September 7, 2012). "Wolfram Alpha Makes CrunchBase Data Computable Just In Time For Disrupt SF". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  7. Golson, Jordan (December 16, 2011). "Wolfram Delivers Siri-Enabled Shopping Results From Best Buy". MacRumors. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  8. Barylick, Chris (November 19, 2011). "Wolfram Alpha search engine now tracks flight paths, trajectory information". Engadget. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  9. "Wolfram Alpha Spanish Announcement". Wolfram Alpha. Wolfram Research. July 22, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  10. "TIOBE Index". TIOBE. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  11. Krazit, Tom (August 21, 2009). "Bing strikes licensing deal with Wolfram Alpha". CNET. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  12. The Wolfram|Alpha Team (April 18, 2011). "Wolfram|Alpha and DuckDuckGo Partner on API Binding and Search Integration". Wolfram|Alpha Blog. Wolfram Alpha. Retrieved February 9, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. "Alexa gets access to Wolfram Alpha's knowledge engine". TechCrunch. December 20, 2018. Archived from the original on December 18, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  14. "Alexa Can Now Answer Those Tricky Math Questions". News18. December 26, 2018.
  15. "Excel Data Types with Wolfram End of Support FAQ". support.microsoft.com. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  16. "Microsoft is killing Money in Excel along with Wolfram Alpha data types". XDA. May 31, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  17. "Three Microsoft 365 features have disappeared". July 13, 2023. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  18. "Wolfram 'search engine' goes live". BBC News. May 18, 2009. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  19. Spivack, Nova (March 7, 2009). "Wolfram Alpha is Coming – and It Could be as Important as Google". Nova Spivack – Minding the Planet. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  20. Singel, Ryan (May 18, 2009). "Wolfram|Alpha Fails the Cool Test". Wired. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  21. "Nice Try, Wolfram Alpha. Still Not Paying $50 For Your App". TechCrunch. December 3, 2009. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  22. Wolfram, Stephen (February 8, 2012). "Announcing Wolfram|Alpha Pro". Wolfram|Alpha Blog. Wolfram Alpha. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  23. "Step-by-Step Math".
  24. Biddle, Pippa. "AI Is Making It Extremely Easy for Students to Cheat | Backchannel". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  25. Stallman, Richard (August 4, 2009). "How Wolfram Alpha's Copyright Claims Could Change Software". Access 2 Knowledge (Mailing list). Archived from the original on April 28, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
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