ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Commonsense knowledge bases

Commonsense knowledge bases are like big boxes full of things that people know and understand about the world. These boxes are called knowledge bases because they contain a lot of knowledge, or things that people have learned and know about.

When we say "commonsense" knowledge, we mean things that most people know because they're so basic and simple. Like the fact that water is wet, or that dogs have four legs. These are things that we don't really think about because they're so obvious.

Imagine that you have a toy box at home that's full of all your toys. You have your favorite stuffed animals, blocks to build with, and toy cars to play with. Your toy box is like a knowledge base, but instead of toys, it's full of information and knowledge.

Now, imagine that you and your friends want to play with your toys together. But, you can't find your favorite stuffed animal anywhere! It's not on top of the toy box, and it's not under your bed. What do you do? You ask your friends if they've seen it or if they have any ideas about where it might be.

This is kind of like how people use commonsense knowledge bases. If someone doesn't know something or can't find an answer, they can look up information in a commonsense knowledge base to see if it's there. Just like you asked your friends about your missing stuffed animal, people can ask a knowledge base for information they don't know.

Commonsense knowledge bases can be really helpful for things like artificial intelligence and computer programs. They use these knowledge bases to help them understand and react to situations in the world around us. With the help of a commonsense knowledge base, a computer program can recognize things like chairs, trees, and people, and respond in a way that makes sense.

So, to sum it up, commonsense knowledge bases are like big boxes full of information and knowledge about basic things in the world that most people know. They're helpful for things like computer programs and artificial intelligence, and can be used to answer questions or help people and machines understand the world around them.