start.csail.mit.eduThe START Natural Language Question Answering System

-- S TART Natural Language Question Answering System -- Ask Question START Natural Language Question Answering System Ask Question -- START , the world's first Web-based question answering system, has been on-line and continuously operating since December, 1993. It has been developed by Boris Katz and his associates of the InfoLab Group at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Unlike information retrieval systems (e.g., search engines), START aims to supply users with "just the right information," instead of merely providing a list of hits. Currently, the system can answer millions of English questions about places (e.g., cities, countries, lakes, coordinates, weather, maps, demographics, political and economic systems), movies (e.g., titles, actors, directors), people (e.g., birth dates, biographies), dictionary definitions, and much, much more. Below is a list of some of the things START knows about, with example questions. You can type your question above or select from the following examples. START , the world's first Web-based question answering system, has been on-line and continuously operating since December, 1993. It has been developed by Boris Katz and his associates of the InfoLab Group at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Unlike information retrieval systems (e.g., search engines), START aims to supply users with "just the right information," instead of merely providing a list of hits. Currently, the system can answer millions of English questions about places (e.g., cities, countries, lakes, coordinates, weather, maps, demographics, political and economic systems), movies (e.g., titles, actors, directors), people (e.g., birth dates, biographies), dictionary definitions, and much, much more. Below is a list of some of the things START knows about, with example questions. You can type your question above or select from the following examples. Geography What South-American country has the largest population? What's the largest city in Florida? Give me the states that border Colorado. What cities are within 250 miles of the capital of Italy? How many people live in Israel? Show me a map of Denmark. Which is deeper, the Baltic Sea or the North Sea? -- How far is Mount Kilimanjaro from Mount Everest? List some large cities in Argentina. Show the capital of the 2nd largest country in Asia. How much does it cost to study at MIT? More examples... Science and Reference What is Jupiter's atmosphere made of? Who first discovered radiocarbon dating? How far is Neptune from the sun? How long does a tiger live? -- Why is the sky blue? What planet has the smallest surface area? Who is responsible for E equals mc squared? -- How many feet are there in a kilometer? Convert 100 dollars into Euros. Show me a metro map of Moscow. How many lire are in a pound? -- How many languages are spoken in Afghanistan? Give me the GDP of Taiwan. How is the weather in Boston today? More examples... Arts and Entertainment Who directed Gone with the Wind? Show some paintings by Claude Monet. In what year did Isaac Bashevis Singer receive a Nobel Prize? -- When was Beethoven born? What is Alexander Pushkin famous for? Who composed the opera Semiramide? Give me the biography of Raoul Wallenberg. What movies has Dustin Hoffman been in? Who wrote the Gift of the Magi? More examples... History and Culture What countries speak Spanish? Who was president in 1881? Show me some poems by Robert Frost Who was the fifth president of the United States? Tell me about Sacagawea. When was the constitution adopted in the most populous country in Africa? How many ethnic groups exist in Nigeria? More examples... © Copyright 1993–2019. InfoLab Home People Publications How START works Add to Browser About Mars Server --...