Combining different type coercion components for deferred type evaluation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10108904-B2
Application number	US-201514959069-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 4, 2015
Priority date	Mar 15, 2013
Publication date	Oct 23, 2018
Grant date	Oct 23, 2018

Abstract

In a method of answering questions, a question is received, a question LAT is determined, and a candidate answer to the question is identified. Preliminary types for the candidate answer are determined using first components to produce the preliminary types. Each of the first components produces a preliminary type using different methods. A first type-score representing a degree of match between the preliminary type and the question LAT is produced. Each preliminary type and each first type-score is evaluated using second components. Each of the second components produces a second score based on a combination of the first type-score and a measure of degree that the preliminary type matches the question LAT. The second components use different methods to produce the second score. A final score representing a degree of confidence that the candidate answer matches the question LAT is calculated based on the second score.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
receiving a question into a computerized device;
determining a lexical answer type associated with said question, using said computerized device;
identifying candidate answers to said question, using said computerized device;
using a first plurality of first type coercion components of said computerized device, determining preliminary types for each of said candidate answers, each first type coercion component of said first plurality of first type coercion components using different resources and different processes to determine a preliminary type for each of said candidate answers;
comparing said preliminary types for each of said candidate answers to said lexical answer type associated with said question and producing a plurality of first type-scores for each of said candidate answers, using said first plurality of first type coercion components of said computerized device, each first type coercion component of said first plurality of first type coercion components producing a first type-score for each of said candidate answers, each first type-score of said plurality of first type-scores representing the degree of match between said preliminary types for each of said candidate answers and said lexical answer type associated with said question based on different methods particular to each first type coercion component of said first plurality of first type coercion components, each said first type-score of said plurality of first type-scores being differentiated based on which first type coercion component of said first plurality of first type coercion components produced said first type-score;
inputting said preliminary types for each of said candidate answers from each first type coercion component of said first plurality of first type coercion components and each first type-score of said plurality of first type-scores from each first type coercion component of said first plurality of first type coercion components into second type coercion components of a second plurality of second type coercion components of said computerized device;
evaluating said preliminary types for each of said candidate answers from each first type coercion component of said first plurality of first type coercion components and each first type-score of said plurality of first type-scores from each first type coercion component of said first plurality of first type coercion components using each second type coercion component of said second plurality of second type coercion components and producing a plurality of second scores using said second plurality of second type coercion components of said computerized device, each second type coercion component of said second plurality of second type coercion components separately determining a type for each of said candidate answers and producing a separate measure of the degree of match between said type for each of said candidate answers and said lexical answer type associated with said question, each second type coercion component of said second plurality of second type coercion components evaluating each said preliminary type, each said first type-score from each first type coercion component of said first plurality of first type coercion components, and the separate measure of the degree of match between said type for each of said candidate answers and said lexical answer type associated with said question, each second score of said plurality of second scores representing a combination of said first type-scores from each first type coercion component of said first plurality of first type coercion components and the separate measure of the degree of match between said type for each of said candidate answers and said lexical answer type associated with said question determined by each second type coercion component of said second plurality of second type coercion components based on different methods particular to each second type coercion component of said second plurality of second type coercion components;
inputting said second scores for each of said candidate answers from each second type coercion component of said second plurality of second type coercion components of said computerized device into a classifier of said computerized device;
calculating a final score based on said second scores for each of said candidate answers by aggregating the second score from each second type coercion component of said second plurality of second type coercion components, using said classifier of said computerized device; and
outputting said final score representing a degree of confidence that each of said candidate answers is a type that matches said lexical answer type associated with said question, using said computerized device.

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
performing automated query analysis to determine said lexical answer type associated with said question, using said computerized device.

3. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
matching said candidate answers against instances in a corpus of data, using said computerized device;
retrieving preliminary types from said corpus of data, using said computerized device, said preliminary types being associated with said instances;
matching said lexical answer type associated with said question with said preliminary types retrieved from said corpus of data, using said computerized device; and
producing scores representing a degree of match between said lexical answer type associated with said question and said preliminary types for said candidate answers, using said computerized device.

4. The method according to claim 1 , said producing first type-scores comprising using said first type coercion components of said computerized device, each of said first type coercion components having different resource-specific type classification methodologies determining preliminary types for each of said candidate answers and scoring a measure of degree that said preliminary types match said lexical answer type associated with said question, each of said first type coercion components producing a preliminary type and a first type-score.

5. The method according to claim 1 , said producing second scores comprising using said second type coercion components of said computerized device, each of said second type coercion components having different resource-specific type classification methodologies determining types for each of said candidate answers and scoring a measure of degree that said types match said lexical answer type associated with said question, each of said second type coercion components producing a second score.

6. The method according to claim 1 , said calculating a final score based on said second scores comprising using an aggregation function resolving said second scores from each second type coercion component of said second plurality of second type coercion components to a single final score, using said computerized device.

7. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising determining whether any of said preliminary types are subtypes of said lexical answer type associated with said question, using said computerized device.

8. A method comprising:
identifying a question lexical answer type (LAT) for a question in a question-answering system, using a computerized device;
generating candidate answers to said question, using said computerized device;
determining preliminary types for each of said candidate answers using different resources of said computerized device to produce said preliminary types, each of said different resources using different processes to determine a preliminary type for each of said candidate answers;
comparing said preliminary types for each of said candidate answers

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Bagchi Sugato
• Fan James J
• Ferrucci David A
• Kalyanpur Aditya A
• Murdock Iv James W
• Welty Christopher A

Classifications

• G09B7/02 Primary

  of the type wherein the student is expected to construct an answer to the question which is presented or wherein the machine gives an answer to the question presented by a student · CPC title

• G06N5/00 Primary

  Computing arrangements using knowledge-based models · CPC title