Problem
Research questions and friction points this paper is trying to address.
knowledge interoperability
document-centric systems
decentralisable knowledge commons
knowledge representation
information systems
The MMM Data Model -- A Normative Specification for Knowledge Interoperability in a Decentralisable Knowledge Commons
🤖 AI Summary
Traditional document-centric structures hinder the structuring, updating, and reuse of knowledge, while existing formal methods struggle to gain widespread adoption due to their neglect of human–machine usability. This work proposes the MMM data model, which combines lightweight normative constraints with free-text tags to enable cross-disciplinary and cross-application knowledge interoperability without enforcing rigid semantic uniformity. By introducing a decentralized knowledge architecture that preserves expressive freedom, the model balances human readability with system interoperability. A reference implementation and pilot deployments across multiple disciplines demonstrate the approach’s feasibility and preliminary effectiveness, offering a novel paradigm for building interoperable, decentralized knowledge communities.
📝 Abstract
Many information systems are built around documents: self-contained units optimised for print production and linear reading. While effective for large-scale dissemination, the document-centric organisation constrains how knowledge can be structured, updated, shared, and reused. Formal approaches address some of these limitations but struggle to achieve widespread contribution and adoption due to their prioritisation of formal structure over other system properties such as human usability and scope. AI systems are reshaping document production, but without providing a unified portable alternative to traditional documents for humans' expression and exchange of knowledge. This paper presents MMM, a data model for knowledge documentation that emerged from the practical needs of interdisciplinary collaborative research, and positioned here within a comparative analysis of the design space of information systems. MMM combines a small set of normative constraints with the expressive freedom of free-text labels. It is designed for interoperability across disciplines, applications and deployments without requiring semantic convergence. A reference implementation and pilot deployment data demonstrate implementability and early usability.
Innovation
Methods, ideas, or system contributions that make the work stand out.
knowledge interoperability
decentralisable knowledge commons
data model
normative constraints
free-text labels
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