Digital Intelligent World: From Data-Driven AI to Knowledge-Enabled Intelligent Agents

Although the latest artificial intelligence technologies can greatly improve work efficiency by automatically generating feasible solutions in the digital world (DW), they are incapable of discovering or creating new knowledge, i.e., lack of human intelligence or creativity. To break this limitation, this article describes and elaborates the masterplan of the digital intelligent world (DIW), wherein everyone has an intelligent agent (IA) for searching, exchanging, and processing information and knowledge autonomously. First, a data-information-knowledge-intelligence (DIKI) model is proposed to illustrate the challenges of creating intelligence from raw data, and of realizing the DIW from the DW. Specifically, the DIW adopts knowledge-driven approaches and could achieve huge productivity enhancement through cross-domain innovations and deep intelligentization with broader creativity. Second, at the individual level, a knowledge processing architecture of IA is defined to support knowledge-centric operations and services. Third, at the system level, a framework of knowledge market (KM) is established for fair, effective, and autonomous collaborations among massive IAs. Inspired by basic laws in statistical thermodynamics, information sciences, and economics, three fundamental principles are developed and discussed for guaranteeing a prosperous KM and the sustainable DIW.