Discovery in the digital environment is primarily mediated by machines. Unfortunately, the machines don't speak our language. Therefore, we must find standard ways of representing and communicating our requests, and standards for embedding and exchanging knowledge about digital objects. With the rise of the machines, we need to consider what information encodings will allow them to most efficiently process and analyze the vast range of information that is available. We need to find ways to communicate human recommendations and preferences, and to enable people to successfully explore the new digital frontier.
