Design a knowledge graph

Knowledge graphs empower AI capabilities like natural language search and recommendation systems, shaping our everyday encounters with digital information. They are massive, non-linear, dynamic systems used by the world’s largest platforms (Google, Facebook, and Microsoft) to make “meaning” out of multiple heterogeneous data sets. Yet because of their complex, black-boxed nature, little is known outside of computer science about what they are, how they work, and their epistemological power. We believe a variety of disciplines have a vital role to play in exploring their opportunities and consequences, but this requires meaningful collaboration across CAHSS and CSE.

Get involved with our workshops

Do you work with knowledge graphs, and want to learn more about their potential for addressing social problems? Have you heard of them, but want to know more about what they are and do? Do you know nothing about them, but urgently believe in the need for computer and social science to work together? Do you want to get involved in cross college funding bids?

Come join our knowledge graph design participatory workshops. 

In these workshops, colleagues across colleges will design a knowledge graph, modelling its schema while conducting a social and design study of how it is made, resulting in a ground-breaking interdisciplinary knowledge graph lab. 

The first workshop will “design” a knowledge graph, and the second will apply a new understanding of them to how they could address “wicked” social problems. The shared understanding generated will be used to explore the viability of maintaining a knowledge graph research lab between CAHSS and CSE to underpin major funding bids.

These workshops are open to all colleagues in CAHSS and CSE, but space is limited.

Email addie.mcgowan@ed.ac.uk to learn more and RSVP to our 2025 workshops. No technical or background experience with knowledge graphs is required. Space is limited and lunch will be provided!

More information

Our “Big Idea” is to build a radically interdisciplinary community of practice across informatics, design informatics, and social science by designing a knowledge graph as a model. Our first aim is to develop a shared understanding of these complex systems, building digital literacy and among social scientists and practice of reflexive sociotechnical critique among technical experts. Our second is to establish their capability to solve “wicked” social problems, such as embedded bias in AI or the housing crisis in Edinburgh.

Overall, the project will facilitate knowledge translation between social scientists developing an understanding of the components, processes, applications, and qualities of knowledge graphs and computer scientists developing sociological competence and expertise in how social biases and harms can be baked into these large systems.

Project team