Enterprise Wide Search Enterprise Wide Search 25: Frédéric Verhelst - From Data Chaos to Meaning: The Rise of Ontologies in AI
In this episode, co-hosts Emma McGrattan and Ole Olesen-Bagneux sit down with Frédéric Verhelst — a leading voice in semantic technologies and agentic AI, and longtime semantic web advocate — for a practical dive into ontologies, knowledge graphs, and why they matter more than ever in an AI-first world.
From his early work with TotalEnergies to today’s experiments in integrating AI into digital service platforms, Frédéric brings clarity and historical depth to a topic many still find intimidating.
Together, they explore:
What an ontology actually is, and why it’s not as scary as it sounds.
The difference between a knowledge graph and a graph database, and why that difference matters.
Why LLMs need structured knowledge, and why hallucinations were a necessary wake-up call.
What Google, Netflix, and AstraZeneca all get right about semantics.
Why there’s a global shortage of knowledge graph talent, and how philosophy grads might help.
🎧 Tune in for a conversation that moves from data modeling to AI safety, and shows why the most innovative organizations are investing in semantics — not just models.
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