The START Natural Language Question Answering System

Welcome to the START Natural Language Question Answering Information Retreival System...

The START server answers questions in English about the MIT AI Laboratory, geography, and assorted other topics. The Server is based on the START natural language system developed by Boris Katz and his associates in the Infolab Group. START has been available to World Wide Web users since December 1993. 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.

MIT AI Laboratory	Geography
What is artificial intelligence? What are the goals of the AI Lab? How can I get in touch with Boris Katz? Who currently works on natural language? Show me a picture of Cog. More examples...	What country in Africa has the largest population? What's the largest city in Florida? Give me the states that border Colorado. What cities are within 200 miles of Rome? Show me a map of Turkey. More examples...
Arts and Entertainment	Science and Nature
Who directed Gone with the Wind? What music did Beethoven compose? Who starred in the Matrix? Give me the biography of Sean Connery. Please name all movies with Kevin Spacey. More examples...	What is Jupiter's atmosphere made of? Who first discovered radiocarbon dating? How long does a tiger live? Why is the sky blue? Who is responsible for E equals mc squared? More examples...
History and Culture	Reference
What countries speak Spanish? Who was president in 1881? When was MIT founded? Who was the fifth president of the United States? Tell me about Sacagawea. More examples...	How many feet are there in a kilometer? How much does it cost to go to MIT? How many lire are in a pound? Give me the GDP of Taiwan. How is the weather in Boston today? More examples...

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The START Natural Language Question Answering Information Retrieval System was developed by the InfoLab Group at the MIT AI Lab. The Natural Language System answer questions posed in plain English.