CIF is a compact, language-independent representation for conceptual knowledge using typed triples and stable identifiers. Stable IDs, auditable inference, reproducible derivations.
Early release. The specification is stable; the reference engine and geometric retrieval are reproducible and deterministic — a reference implementation, not a hardened production system. The NL→CIF translation pipeline is under active development. Roadmap ↓
CIF defines how to represent concepts, relations, and metadata. 22 typed operators cover identity, hierarchy and mereology, spatial and temporal anchoring, causation, attribution, and comparison. The specification is the single source of truth.
TYPE transitivity, PART_OF weakest-link, causal chains, and temporal reasoning fire by default; cross-scope SAME_AS bridges are honoured on demand under the deployment's federation policy. Every inferred triple carries the rule that produced it and a computable confidence score.
The Geometric Concept Engine answers subsumption and nearest-region
queries from an exact interval tiling computed directly from the type
DAG — zero trainable parameters, deterministic. A trained hyperbolic
embedding is retained as an alternate backing; the WN18RR link-prediction
eval is reproducible from experiments/.
These profiles are working examples, not limits. CIF is domain-agnostic — you can build your own ontology from scratch, define your own concepts and operators, and load it as a profile.
Switch domains without code changes. Each profile loads a different knowledge base and activates the relevant operators.
| Profile | Operators | Data | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
wordnet |
TYPE, INSTANCE, PART_OF, MEMBER_OF, HAS_ATTR | Princeton WordNet | ~117K concepts |
geo |
AT + OFFSET + UNIT (geographic KNN), TYPE, INSTANCE | GeoNames | ~167K places |
stars |
TYPE, INSTANCE, VALUE | Stellar catalog | Demo |
A formally specified conceptual language with reproducible scripts. Cite the RFC, run the included benchmarks, extend the operator vocabulary through the documented adoption surface.
A REST API with 25 endpoints. NL queries, closed-world inference, concept lookup, abductive reasoning. Plug in your own knowledge base.
Deterministic knowledge infrastructure with no training-data dependency and a full audit trail on every inference. Suitable for settings where reasoning steps must be inspectable and reproducible. Commercial license available.
| Component | Status | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| RFC-CIF-0001 | v1.0 Final | 22 typed operators, inference rules, metadata — stable |
| Inference engine | Reference | TYPE, PART_OF, causal, temporal — deterministic; SAME_AS bridges via federation policy |
| GCE | Reference | Exact interval tiling — zero trainable parameters, deterministic; trained hyperbolic embedding as alternate backing |
| REST API | Reference | 25 endpoints — query, infer, compare, search, reason |
| NL→CIF translation | In development | Querying existing KBs works; generating triples from free text is being reworked |
| Domain profiles | Coming | Healthcare, legal, industrial — curated knowledge bases |
| Concept registry | Planned | Global C-ID assignment — DNS for concepts |
CIF is designed to be a public standard, not a product owned by any single entity. The CIF-Core Foundation is being established to maintain the specification, the ID registry, and the reference implementation as public infrastructure.
The standard does not belong to any government, corporation, or superpower. Governance follows the W3C model: open process, consensus-driven.
Binding ethical principles are written into the foundation's charter. CIF must serve humanity, not extract from it.
The RFC, papers, and reference implementation are permanently open. The foundation guarantees they cannot be locked down.
CIF is domain-agnostic. Define your ontology in YAML, generate a JSON knowledge base, and load it as a profile. Medical, legal, industrial, educational — any domain works.
Add new inference rules, implement a translator backend, or connect CIF to your existing knowledge graph. The architecture is modular by design.
We are looking for researchers, developers, and organizations who share the vision of open conceptual infrastructure. Reach out.