USER INTERESTS FACILITATED BY A KNOWLEDGE BASE

In one implementation, a computer-implemented method for determining user interests includes receiving user activity data that describes an interaction between a user and digital content. The method further includes generating first interest-level data that quantifies a first level of interest between the user and an entity that is a topic of the digital content, where the entity is of a plurality of entities included within a knowledge base. The knowledge base includes an ontology that indicates relationships between the plurality of entities. The method further includes identifying a candidate entity based on the candidate entity having one of the relationships to the entity within the knowledge base. Additionally, the method includes generating second interest-level data that quantifies a second level of interest between the user and the candidate entity based on an analysis of the one of the relationships of the candidate entity to the entity within the knowledge base.