Tables are crucial containers of information, but understanding their meaning may be challenging. Over the years, there has been a surge in interest in data-driven approaches based on deep learning that have increasingly been combined with heuristic-based ones. In the last period, the advent of Large Language Models (LLMs) has led to a new category of approaches for table annotation. However, these approaches have not been consistently evaluated on a common ground, making evaluation and comparison difficult. This work uniquely compares Semantic Table Interpretation (STI) approaches with generative and encoder-only LLMs on diverse datasets. In particular, we conduct an extensive evaluation of four STI state-of-the-art (SOTA) approaches — Alligator (formerly s-elBat ), TURL , TableLlama , and DAGOBAH (the latter with a partial evaluation due to its high computational demands); Alligator and DAGOBAH belong to the family of heuristic-based algorithms, while TURL and TableLlama are respectively encoder-only and decoder-only LLMs. We also include in the evaluation both GPT-4o and GPT-4o-mini , since they excel in various public benchmarks. The primary objective is to measure the ability of these approaches to solve the entity disambiguation task concerning both the performance achieved on a common-ground evaluation setting and the computational and cost requirements involved, either monetary or in terms of computational resources, with the ultimate aim of charting new research paths in the field.

The ubiquitous availability of datasets has spurred the utilization of Artificial Intelligence methods and models to extract valuable insights, unearth hidden patterns, and predict future trends. However, the current process of data collection and linking heavily relies on expert knowledge and domain-specific understanding, which engenders substantial costs in terms of both time and financial resources. Therefore, streamlining the data acquisition, harmonization, and enrichment procedures to deliver high-fidelity datasets readily usable for analytics is paramount. This paper explores the capabilities of SemTUI, a comprehensive framework designed to support the enrichment of tabular data by leveraging semantics and user interaction. Utilizing SemTUI, an iterative and interactive approach is proposed to enhance the flexibility, usability and efficiency of geospatial data enrichment. The approach is evaluated through a pilot case study focused on urban planning, with a particular emphasis on geocoding. Using a real-world scenario involving the analysis of kindergarten accessibility within walking distance, the study demonstrates the proficiency of SemTUI in generating precise and semantically enriched location data. The incorporation of human feedback in the enrichment process successfully enhances the quality of the resulting dataset, highlighting SemTUI’s potential for broader applications in geospatial analysis and its usability for users with limited expertise in manipulating geospatial data.

Recently, an increasing interest has been in extracting and annotating tables on the Web. This activity allows the transformation of textual data into machine-readable formats to enable the execution of various artificial intelligence tasks, e.g., semantic search and dataset extension. Semantic Table Interpretation (STI) is the process of annotating elements in a table. The paper explores Semantic Table Interpretation, addressing the challenges of Entity Retrieval and Entity Disambiguation in the context of Knowledge Graphs (KGs). It introduces LamAPI, an Information Retrieval system with string/type-based filtering and s-elBat, an Entity Disambiguation technique that combines heuristic and ML-based approaches. By applying the acquired know-how in the field and extracting algorithms, techniques and components from our previous STI approaches and the state of the art, we have created a new platform capable of annotating any tabular data, ensuring a high level of quality.

Data enrichment facilitates the creation of rich, expressive, and high-quality datasets, enabling valuable analytics and enhanced decision-making. The accurate geolocation of residential addresses and travel routes is crucial for determining the most appropriate locations of critical social infrastructure, such as educational and medical centres. This paper introduces an interactive semantic enrichment approach that enhances urban data by integrating high-quality geospatial information. The approach is supported by a modular and extensible data enrichment framework, which leverages existing geolocation services, enabling seamless data integration. Human-in-the-loop revision is employed to enhance the quality of geocoding results. A real-world pilot study conducted in Sofia, Bulgaria, was used to validate this approach, demonstrating its promising potential in addressing pressing issues in parametric urban planning.