International Business Machines Corporation

Laura Janet Rodriguez

Corville O Allen

Stephanie Huston

Robert E Loredo

Joseph N Kozhaya

Jonathan Frederick Brunn

Hemant Kumar Sivaswamy

Amy D Travis

Brent Alan Miller

John Morgan Lance

Jennifer E Heins

Sara Beth Weber

Marshall Allen Lamb

Trenton J Johnson

Alissa J Hartenbaum

Ram Krishnamurthy

Smriti Talwar

Michael Celedonia

Lincoln A Alexander

Luis A Benitez

Jaclyn Wakin

Robert Koplowitz

Brittany Bogle

Systems, methods, and computer programming products for alleviating ambiguity amongst the terms and language displayed by the user interface of software products and services. The disclosed solutions catalog terms displayed by the UI of software and services and identify where overlapping terms with the same or substantially similar term names are presented by the UI but have different meanings than the software most familiar to the user. Natural language processing is leveraged to derive meanings of software terms using the context of the surrounding words and text elements within the UI, as well as product documentation, error messages, sentiment and other textual clues. Ambiguity among overlapping terms is alleviated by modifying the UI, highlighting differences in term definitions from the software or services a user is most familiar with using, and updating the UI in a manner that differentiates the overlapping terms displayed by accessed products or services.

User interface disambiguation

A computer-implemented method, a computer system and a computer program product enhance user interaction with a virtual or augmented environment. The method includes obtaining a user profile. The user profile includes a constraint of a user. The method also includes identifying a plurality of objects in the augmented reality environment. In addition, the method includes determining an intent of the user with respect to navigating the augmented reality environment. The method further includes calculating a probability of interaction between the user and an identified object based on the intent. Lastly, the method includes generating an enhancement threshold for each of the identified objects based on the probability of interaction and the constraint of the user.

Enhancements to virtual or augmented reality environments

Techniques for content augmentation and assist are provided. A textual conversation between a first user and a plurality of recipients is analyzed to determine a first intent of the first user. A set of relationships is determined between the first user and the plurality of recipients, and a set of historical intents corresponding to each of the plurality of recipients is evaluated to identify similar intents to the first intent. A plurality of predefined messages is identified based on one or more similar intents that overlap between two or more of the plurality of recipients. A first predefined message is selected, from the plurality of predefined messages, based on the first intent and the determined set of relationships, and suggested content is provided based on the first predefined message.

Context-aware dynamic content assist

Formation of connected interest groups in communication threads is described. According to the computer-implemented method, a number of communications within a communication thread that reflect a similar sentiment related to a topic are detected. A level of connectedness of authors of a set of the number of communications is determined and a connected interest group is formed. The connected interest group includes authors with a level of connectedness greater than a predetermined threshold. An indication of the connected interest group is then provided.

Connected interest group formation

A method, system and computer program product for storing and retrieving meeting and presentation effectiveness data. The effectiveness data for material associated with the meeting or presentation is collected, and the effectiveness data is stored as feedback metadata in a file with the material. The feedback metadata comprises an updateable and searchable record of the effectiveness data for the material, thereby allowing a user to search the material based on the effectiveness data as well as its content.

System and method for storing and retrieving meeting and presentation effectiveness data

In automatically modifying message signatures, a system extract message content from the message text from a sender to a recipient. Using at least the message content, the system determines: a relationship context capturing a nature of the relationship between the sender and the recipient, a temporal context capturing temporal features of the message content, a historical context capturing a nature of electronic interactions between the sender and the recipient over time, and a tone category capturing a primary tone and strength of the primary tone of the message content. The system selects a signature template associated with contextual data that includes the relationship, temporal, and historical contexts and the tone category. The signature template includes a set of sections where a signature is modified by inserting section values associated with the contextual data into the set of sections. The modified signature is inserted into the message text.

Automatic modification of message signatures using contextual data

Mechanisms, in a Question and Answer (QA) system comprising a processor and a memory are provided for generating an answer to a question. A question is received for which an answer is sought as part of a communication exchange. The question is processed to generate candidate answers and corresponding confidence scores and perform a context based selection of a final answer from the candidate answers. The selected final answer is output as a final answer to the question via a computing device. The context based selection involves determining a context of the input question and selecting a final answer from the one or more candidate answers based on the context of the input question. The selected final answer is an answer previously provided in association with the context of the question.

Tailoring question answer results to personality traits

Disclosed aspects relate to message management utilizing a social networking environment. A message which pertains to an anticipated activity may be detected in the social networking environment. A relevant actionable portion of the message which corresponds with the anticipated activity may be identified by analyzing the message. Using the relevant actionable portion of the message, an activity management operation for utilization to manage the anticipated activity may be determined. The activity management operation may be executed in the social networking environment for utilization to manage the anticipated activity.

Message management in a social networking environment

Mechanisms, in a natural language processing (NLP) system are provided. The NLP system receives a plurality of communications associated with a communication system, over a predetermined time period, from a plurality of end user devices. The NLP system identifies, for each communication in the plurality of communications, a user submitting the communication to thereby generate a set of users comprising a plurality of users associated with the plurality of communications. The NLP system retrieves a user model for each user in the set of users, which specifies at least one attribute of a corresponding user. The NLP system generates an aggregate user model that aggregates the at least one attribute of each user in the set of users together to generate an aggregate representation of the attributes of the plurality of users in the set of users. The NLP system performs a cognitive operation based on the aggregate user model.

Performing cognitive operations based on an aggregate user model of personality traits of users

Mechanisms, in a natural language processing (NLP) system comprising a processor and a memory are provided. The NLP system receives a plurality of communications from a plurality of devices associated with audience members of a real-time presentation by a presenter of the presentation while the presentation is being presented. The NLP system analyzes the plurality of communications using natural language processing techniques, to identify attributes of the audience members and generates an aggregate audience model based on the identified attributes of the audience members. The aggregate audience model specifies an aggregate of attributes of the audience. Moreover, the NLP system outputs, to the presenter via a device associated with the presenter, a suggestion output identifying one or more portions of the presentation that are currently of interest to the audience members based on the aggregate audience model.

Performance modification based on aggregation of audience traits and natural language feedback

Mechanisms, in a natural language processing (NLP) system are provided. The NLP system receives performance data for a performance to be provided by a human performer. The performance data comprises an objective to be achieved by the performance. The NLP system monitors channels of communication to identify natural language statements exchanged over the channels directed to the performance while the performance is being presented. The NLP system extracts feedback information from the natural language statements and generates aggregate feedback information. The NLP system evaluates an alignment of the aggregate feedback information with the objective and outputs a guidance output based on results of the evaluation. The guidance output guides the performer to modify presentation of the performance to more likely achieve the at least one objective based on the aggregate feedback information.

Determining relevant feedback based on alignment of feedback with performance objectives

Mechanisms for generating a cognitive traits avatar are provided. The mechanisms analyze a portion of content submitted by a user to extract features of the portion of content. The mechanisms map the extracted features to one or more cognitive traits and select an image corresponding to the one or more cognitive traits. The mechanisms further generate a cognitive traits avatar comprising the selected image and cognitive traits data defining a graphical representation of the one or more cognitive traits for output in association with the selected image. The cognitive traits avatar is output as part of an interaction of the user with another entity, or representation of another entity, via a computing device.

Cognitive traits avatar for similarity matching

Mechanisms, in a natural language processing (NLP) system comprising a processor and a memory, are provided. The NLP system receives information for identifying a plurality of audience members of an audience for an upcoming performance and retrieves personality trait information for the plurality of audience members from one or more personality trait information sources. The NLP system generates an aggregate audience model based on the personality trait information for the plurality of audience members. The aggregate audience model specifies an aggregate personality trait of the audience. The NLP system modifies a portion of the performance to tailor the performance to the aggregate personality trait of the audience as specified in the aggregate audience model.

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Durham, NC, United States of America

Laura Janet Rodriguez