Aristotle, the ancient Greek teacher, scientist and philosopher, had an extraordinary command of all the scientific disciplines of his day, as well as an ability to teach that knowledge to his students in a way they could understand. Today, the sheer volume of knowledge existing in the world precludes a modern-day human Aristotle, but current knowledge systems and technologies may one day fulfill this role.
Project Halo is an effort by Vulcan Inc. towards the development of a “Digital Aristotle”—a staged, long-term research and development initiative that aims to develop an application capable of answering novel questions and solving advanced problems in a broad range of scientific disciplines. The Digital Aristotle is being developed with a focus on two primary functions: as a tutor capable of instructing and assessing students in the sciences, and as a research assistant with broad, interdisciplinary skills to help scientists in their work.