# Towards Ontology Construction with Language Models

**Authors:** Maurice Funk, Simon Hosemann, Jean Christoph Jung, Carsten Lutz  
**arXiv:** [2309.09898](https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.09898)  
**Date:** 2023-09-18  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/paper/2309.09898v1/

## Key points

- Method for automatically constructing a concept hierarchy using a large language model (LLM)
- Focus on utilizing OpenAI's GPT 3.5 for concept hierarchy construction
- LLMs significantly aid in the construction of concept hierarchies
- Existing methods assume predetermined ontology schema, which may not be ideal when working with LLMs
- LLMs can generate keywords and phrases for proposing concept and property names
- Initial focus on constructing a concept hierarchy based on subconcept/is-a relation only
- Algorithm starts with a seed concept to define the domain, all concepts are subconcepts of this seed concept
- LLMs make ontology construction more efficient and less reliant on predefined schemas
- More design decisions will be needed as ontology languages become more expressive
- Current approach lays foundation for future work in developing comprehensive ontologies using LLMs
- Language models automate concept hierarchy construction in specific domains with potential benefits in knowledge-based applications.

## Summary

In their paper titled "Towards Ontology Construction with Language Models," Maurice Funk, Simon Hosemann, Jean Christoph Jung, and Carsten Lutz present a method for automatically constructing a concept hierarchy for a given domain by querying a large language model (LLM). They specifically focus on utilizing OpenAI's GPT 3.5 for this purpose. The authors conducted experiments in various domains and found that LLMs can significantly aid in the construction of concept hierarchies. The existing methods for ontology construction assume that the schema of the ontology is predetermined and provided as input. However, when working with LLMs, this approach may not be ideal as designing a schema for an entire domain is complex and requires domain expertise. Additionally, the process of designing a schema and creating a concept hierarchy are closely intertwined. LLMs have the capability to generate keywords and phrases based on user-provided context, making them valuable tools for proposing concept and property names in a given domain. To simplify the ontological representation in this initial paper, the authors focus solely on constructing a concept hierarchy by considering only the subconcept/is-a relation without incorporating other relations. Their algorithm begins with a seed concept (e.g., Animals) to define the domain, and all concepts in the generated hierarchy are subconcepts of this seed concept. By leveraging LLMs which provide powerful contextual suggestions, ontology construction becomes more efficient and less reliant on predefined schemas. The authors acknowledge that as the expressiveness of ontology languages increases, more design decisions will need to be made during construction. However, their current approach lays the foundation for future work in developing more comprehensive ontologies using LLMs. Overall, this paper highlights how language models can be effectively utilized to automate concept hierarchy construction within specific domains offering significant potential benefits in various knowledge-based applications.