Information Artifact Ontology Barry Smith 1

– not a mathematical object – not a contingent object with physical properties, taking part in causal relations – but a historical object, with a very special provenance, relations analogous to those of ownership, existing only within a nexus of working financial institutions of specific kinds What is a credit card number? 2

Blinding Flash of the Obvious Continuant Occurrent process Independent Continuant thing Dependent Continuant quality

Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) Continuant Occurrent biological process Independent Continuant cellular component Dependent Continuant molecular function

Blinding Flash of the Obvious Continuant Occurrent process Independent Continuant thing Dependent Continuant quality quality depends on bearer 5

Blinding Flash of the Obvious Continuant Occurrent process Independent Continuant thing Dependent Continuant quality, … process depends on participant 6

Blinding Flash of the Obvious Continuant Occurrent process Independent Continuant thing Dependent Continuant quality process is change in quality 7

Information vs. Information Artifact ‘information’ – mass noun (Shannon and Weaver) ‘information artifact’ – count noun (Information Artifact Ontology) 8

Information Artifacts in Science protocol database theory ontology gene list publication result... 9

Information Entity (labeling) serial number batch number grant number person number name address address URL... 10

Information artifacts are tied to provenance and to processors in a way in which types are not 11

information-artifact-ontology/ 12

What is a datum? Continuant Occurrent process Independent Continuant laptop, book Dependent Continuant quality datum: a pattern in some medium with a certain kind of provenance 13

type or instance Continuant Occurrent (Process) Independent Continuant human being, protocol document Dependent Continuant pattern of ink marks Applying the protocol Side-Effect …

Continuant Occurrent Independent Continuant Dependent Continuant Information Entity Action creating a datum 15

Type: human being Instance: Leon Tolstoy Type: novel Instance: War and Peace Type: book Instance: this copy of War and Peace types and instances 16

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Is the Classic Coca Cola trademark a type or an instance? If the Classic Coca Cola trademark were a type, and the copies on my laptop and on your laptop instances, then there would be many Classic Coca Cola trademarks Hence the Classic Coca Cola trademark is an instance What is a trademark? 18

Is UniProt a type or an instance? If UniProt were a type, and the copy of UniProt on my laptop were an instance, then there would be many UniProts and many War(s) and Peaces. Hence UniProt is an instance. What is a database? 19

Is War and Peace a type or an instance? If War and Peace were a type, and the copies of War and Peace in my library and in your library were instances, then there would be many War(s) and Peaces. Hence War and Peace is an instance. What is a work of literature? 20

There can be two copies of the Declaration of Independence There cannot be two Declarations of Independence There are not two Declarations of Independence 21

Rule for types Their names are pluralizable There can be three people There cannot be three Condoleezza Rices Information Entities = entities which can exist in many perfect copies 22

Specific dependence Continuant Occurrent process Independent Continuant thing Dependent Continuant quality headache depends on human being 23

Generically Dependent Continuants Generically Dependent Continuant Information Entity Sequence if one bearer ceases to exist, then the entity can survive, because there are other bearers (copyability) the pdf file on my laptop the DNA (sequence) in this chromosome 24

are realized through being concretized in specifically dependent continuants (the plan in your head, the protocol being realized by your research team) Generically dependent continuants 25

Types vs. generically dependent continuants types have subtypes (kinds): if you can have a kind of something, then it’s a type you can’t have a kind of Bill Clinton you can’t have a kind of The Constitution of the United States 26

they have a different kind of provenance ◦ Aspirin as product of Bayer GmbH ◦ aspirin as molecular structure Generically dependent continuants are distinct from types 27

Generically Dependent Continuants Generically Dependent Continuant Information Entity Sequence.pdf file.doc file instances 28

are concretized in specifically dependent continuants Beethoven’s 9th Symphony is concretized in the pattern of ink marks which make up this score in my hand Generically dependent continuants 29

do not require specific media (paper, silicon, neuron …) Generically dependent continuants 30

Realizable Dependent Continuants Specifically Dependent Continuant Quality, Pattern Realizable Dependent Continuant inert ert Occurrent 31

Examples performance of a symphony projection of a film utterance of a sentence application of a therapy course of a disease increase of temperature Occurrent Realizable Dependent Continuant 32

Continuant Occurrent Independent Continuant Specifically Dependent Continuant QualityDisposition Realization Role Realizable Dependent Continuant Generically Dependent Continuant 33

A violinist reads the score of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and a concretization of the Symphony is created in his mind (something like a plan) In playing he realizes this plan, thereby generating a performance of the Symphony Realizable Dependent Continuants are always specifically dependent 34

Nature Protocols vs. The protocol McDoe has been following in this project since March Realizable Dependent Continuants are always specifically dependent 35

McDoe reads the protocol as published and a concretization of the protocol is created in his mind (something like a plan) In his laboratory work he realizes this plan, thereby generating an experiment Realizable Dependent Continuants are always specifically dependent 36

standard examples: nurse, student, patient that a person plays a role holds in virtue of some (social) decision the role is optional (someone else assigns it, the entity acquires it by moving it into a specific context) Roles 37

Different kinds of roles fist last in queue patient FDA-approved drug Many roles come in reciprocally dependent pairs buyer/seller husband/wife 38

Continuant Occurrent Independent Continuant Specifically Dependent Continuant QualityDisposition Realization Role Realizable Dependent Continuant Generically Dependent Continuant 39

BFO Continuant Occurrent (Process) Independent Continuant (molecule, cell, organ, organism) Dependent Continuant (quality, function, disease) Functioning Side-Effect, Stochastic Process,