International Business Machines Corporation

Elemental Cognition LLC

Elmental Cognition LLC

David W Buchanan

David Angelo Ferrucci

Aditya Anand Kalyanpur

Jennifer Chu-Carroll

Chang Wang

Adam Lally

Stefano Pacifico

Mike Barborak

Greg Burnham

Aaron K Baughman

Robert G Farrell

James W Murdock, Iv

Branimir Konstantinov Boguraev

Adam P Lally

Siddharth A Patwardhan

Thomas Breloff

Or Biran

A dynamic reasoning system may include a symbolic reasoning engine that iteratively calls a dynamic rule generator to answer an input query. The symbolic reasoning engine may determine a primary goal and/or secondary goals to generate proofs for the answer. The symbolic reasoning engine may call a rules component to provide rules to prove a current input goal. The rules component may use a static rule knowledge base and/or the dynamic rule generator to retrieve and rank rules relevant to the current input goal. The dynamic rule generator may generate new rules that lead to the current input goal. The dynamic rule generator may include a statistical model that generates unstructured or structured probabilistic rules based on context related to the input query. The symbolic reasoning engine may return a list of rules with confidence for explaining the answer to the input goal.

Knowledge representation and reasoning system and method using dynamic rule generator

A method for generating inference graphs over content to answer input inquiries. First, independent factors are produced from the inquiry, and these factors are converted to questions. The questions are then input to a probabilistic question answering system (PQA) that discovers relations which are used to iteratively expand an inference graph starting from the factors and ending with possible answers. A probabilistic reasoning system is used to infer the confidence in each answer by, for example, propagating confidences across relations and nodes in the inference graph as it is expanded. The inference graph generator system can be used to simultaneously bi-directionally generate forward and backward inference graphs that uses a depth controller component to limit the generation of both paths if they do not meet. Otherwise, a joiner process forces the discovery of relations that join the answers to factors in the inquiry.

Text-based inference chaining

An architecture and processes enable computer learning and developing an understanding of arbitrary natural language text through collaboration with humans in the context of joint problem solving. The architecture ingests the text and then syntactically and semantically processes the text to infer an initial understanding of the text. The initial understanding is captured in a story model of semantic and frame structures. The story model is then tested through computer generated questions that are posed to humans through interactive dialog sessions. The knowledge gleaned from the humans is used to update the story model as well as the computing system's current world model of understanding. The process is repeated for multiple stories over time, enabling the computing system to grow in knowledge and thereby understand stories of increasingly higher reading comprehension levels.

Architecture and processes for computer learning and understanding

A method of generating secondary questions in a question-answer system. Missing information is identified from a corpus of data using a computerized device. The missing information comprises any information that improves confidence scores for candidate answers to a question. The computerized device automatically generates a plurality of hypotheses concerning the missing information. The computerized device automatically generates at least one secondary question based on each of the plurality of hypotheses. The hypotheses are ranked based on relative utility to determine an order in which the computerized device outputs the at least one secondary question to external sources to obtain responses.

Generating secondary questions in an introspective question answering system

A method, system and computer program product for generating inference graphs over content to answer input inquiries. First, independent factors are produced from the inquiry, and these factors are converted to questions. The questions are then input to a probabilistic question answering system (PQA) that discovers relations which are used to iteratively expand an inference graph starting from the factors and ending with possible answers. A probabilistic reasoning system is used to infer the confidence in each answer by, for example, propagating confidences across relations and nodes in the inference graph as it is expanded. The inference graph generator system can be used to simultaneously bi-directionally generate forward and backward inference graphs that uses a depth controller component to limit the generation of both paths if they do not meet. Otherwise, a joiner process forces the discovery of relations that may join the answers to factors in the inquiry.

A method for automatic detection of user preferences for alternate user interface model includes operating a digital device with an active user interface model and receiving one or more input signals from a user of the digital device. The method includes comparing the one or more input signals with one or more latent user interface models and determining if one of the latent user interface models has a higher likelihood given the one or more input signals than the active user interface models. The method also includes responsively substituting the latent user interface with the highest likelihood given the one or more input signals for the active user interface model.

Automatic detection of user preferences for alternate user interface model

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David W Buchanan