An interesting insider look, by Brendan O’Connor, at Powerset, a failed natural language search startup:
There’s a lot to say about Powerset, the short-lived natural language search company (2005-2008) where I worked after college. AI overhype, flying too close to the sun, the psychology of tech journalism and venture capitalism, etc. A year or two ago I wrote the following bit about Powerset’s technology in response to a question on Quora. I’m posting a revised version here.