Knowledge engineering: from people to machines and back

Knowledge engineering is about building and maintaining knowledge-based systems. As a field, it occupies a unique niche between software engineering, which involves crafting software that represents knowledge computationally, and AI, where software can reason upon knowledge representations to emulate human thought. During this talk, I shall delve into my personal journey within the realm of knowledge engineering. This journey afforded me insights into various methodologies and techniques across disciplines. Initially centred on attempts to reuse medical knowledge bases, it broadened my scope to contemplate principles, approaches, and tools for enhancing data and knowledge reuse across diverse applications. It taught me the importance of fostering inclusivity and participation to ensure that, amidst the rise of large language models as an alternative knowledge representation, knowledge graphs persist in their pivotal role in upholding the truth infrastructure of the Internet.