Chemisk

Chemisk is a fictional standardized framework for representing chemical information and processes. Used in theoretical discussions of chemical informatics, it illustrates how data about substances, reactions, properties, and hazards might be integrated across laboratories, industry, and educational settings.

At its core, Chemisk proposes an ontology and data model for chemical entities, reactions, conditions, measurements, and outcomes in machine-readable form. It envisions a registry of entities, a controlled vocabulary, and an API for exchanging data between tools and databases, with persistent identifiers extending existing schemes.

Chemisk originated in 2020s thought experiments about data silos and reproducibility. Various speculative projects explored variants of the framework, emphasizing openness, versioning, and alignment with FAIR data principles rather than commercial deployment.

Imagined applications include data management, hazard assessment, lifecycle analysis, and regulatory compliance, enabling consistent representation of substances, exposure routes, and ecological effects. It could also support education and computational chemistry workflows.

Governance in the concept is community-driven, with attempts to map Chemisk to existing standards for chemical identifiers, hazard statements, and regulatory data. The aim is to improve interoperability while remaining adaptable to evolving science and policy.

Critics warn of complexity, slow consensus, and variable data quality. Without concrete adoption and tooling, a universal framework may risk fragmentation or misaligned incentives among institutions.