Knowledge Graph Re-engineering Along the Ontological Continuum (extended version)

2026-05-21

AI Summary

This work addresses the high integration and reuse costs, as well as limited adaptability, of current knowledge graph modeling practices—ranging from lightweight vocabularies to axiom-rich ontologies—particularly in the context of neuro-symbolic AI where flexibility to evolving requirements is crucial. To unify these diverse approaches, the paper proposes a novel “ontology continuum” framework, systematically characterizing existing modeling paradigms along two orthogonal dimensions: semantic–pragmatic and attributive–functional. The continuum is formally modeled using Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) and empirically validated through real-world engineering cases and provenance analysis. This study provides the first experience-driven conceptual foundation for knowledge graph re-engineering, identifies five key open challenges, and advances the synergistic application of knowledge graphs in neuro-symbolic and generative AI systems.

Abstract

Knowledge graphs have become the primary vehicle for data integration and are critical to the success of modern AI, but the diversity of KG modelling practices, from lightweight vocabularies to richly axiomatised ontologies, makes integration and reuse expensive and brittle. This challenge is particularly acute in neuro-symbolic AI, where bridging neural and symbolic components depends on the ability to reengineer KGs to fit new requirements; GenAI now offers unprecedented automation capability, but without a principled understanding of the KG space, such automation remains conceptually ungrounded. We introduce the ontological continuum as that missing conceptualisation, a theoretical construct a theoretical construct whose characterisation framework is defined by two orthogonal distinctions: semantics vs pragmatics, and properties vs affordances; together these define a vocabulary to describe, compare, navigate, and transform KGs across the full range of modelling practices. The methodological stance is empirical: rather than prescribing how KGs should be modelled, the continuum aims to define a theory of the existent, derived from observation of real-world KG engineering practices and whose structure can be made formally explicit, for example, through Formal Concept Analysis (FCA). We ground the vision through a case study on provenance knowledge, showing how a single concern manifests differently across the continuum. We articulate five open research challenges and invite the community to develop the ontological continuum as a shared research agenda.

Problem

• Knowledge Graph
• Ontological Continuum
• Neuro-symbolic AI
• Data Integration
• GenAI

Innovation

• ontological continuum
• knowledge graph re-engineering
• neuro-symbolic AI
• formal concept analysis
• semantic-pragmatic distinction