Ontologies Are So Back: Why AI Agents Are Reviving the Semantic Web
Source
Richard MacManus
Author
Richard MacManus
Date
Terms in this piece · Glossary
guardrails — The checks around a model that block bad inputs and outputs — filters, validators, and permission rules the model itself can't override.
LLM — A large language model — the neural network behind tools like Claude and ChatGPT, trained on huge amounts of text to predict what comes next.
AI agent — An AI system that doesn't just answer once but works toward a goal in a loop — taking actions, reading the results, and deciding what to do next.
Why it matters
If you're fighting AI agentAn AI system that doesn't just answer once but works toward a goal in a loop — taking actions, reading the results, and deciding what to do next.Full definition → drift and hallucinated relationships, this lays out the case for putting an ontology/knowledge-graph layer between your LLMA large language model — the neural network behind tools like Claude and ChatGPT, trained on huge amounts of text to predict what comes next.Full definition → and your data — with concrete framings from Neo4j's semantic layer and OpenLink's RDF-based agent memory — instead of piling on more prompt constraints.
