Method to allow for question and answer system to dynamically return different responses based on roles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10754969-B2
Application number	US-201615273152-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 22, 2016
Priority date	Sep 22, 2016
Publication date	Aug 25, 2020
Grant date	Aug 25, 2020

Abstract

Embodiments are directed to a question and answer (QA) pipeline system that adjusts answers to input questions based on a user criteria, thus implementing a content-based determination of access permissions. The QA system allows for information to be retrieved based on permission granted to a user. Documents are ingested and assigned an access level based on a defined information access policy. The QA system is implemented with the defined information access policy, the ingested documents, and the inferred access levels. For the QA system implementation, a user enters a question; primary search and answer extraction stages are performed; candidate answer extraction is performed using only content the user is allowed to access; the candidate answers are scored, ranked, and merged; ranked answers based on user permissions are filtered; and answers are provided to the user.

First claim

We claim:

1. A computer implemented method for implementing a content-based determination of access permissions by an information handling system capable of answering questions, the system comprising a processor and a memory comprising instructions executed by the processor, the method comprising:
receiving data indicative of an information access policy;
performing document ingestion and extracting a plurality of features from ingested documents;
performing access level classification of the ingested documents based on the information access policy and the plurality of features;
receiving a question from a user with data indicative of a user permission level;
performing search and answer extraction to retrieve primary search retrieved content;
implementing a document lifecycle process to update the access level classification of one or more of the ingested documents as the documents are modified;
performing candidate answer extraction using content the user is allowed to access based on the access level classification of the ingested documents and the user permission level; and
providing to the user a notification comprising the content the user is allowed to access.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
utilizing all content or the content the user is allowed to access to score, rank, and merge candidate answers; and
filtering ranked answers based on the user permission level;
wherein the notification to the user further comprises the filtered, ranked answers.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the access level classification of the ingested documents comprises one or more of manually tagged, extracted based on natural language processing (NLP) and deep analytic analysis, based on a rules-based policy, or based on a classification-based policy.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein data indicative of a responsibility role is associated with the user, and wherein the candidate answer extraction is further based on the responsibility role.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising implementing a document lifecycle process to update the access level classification of one or more of the ingested documents.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the notification to the user further comprises an indication of access levels of the content the user is allowed to access.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the notification to the user further comprises one or more of an indication of areas where content is redacted and a portion of redacted content.

8. A computer program product for implementing a content-based determination of access permissions by an information handling system capable of answering questions, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to:
receive data indicative of an information access policy;
perform document ingestion and extract a plurality of features from ingested documents;
perform access level classification of the ingested documents based on the information access policy and the plurality of features;
receive a question from a user with data indicative of a user permission level;
perform search and answer extraction to retrieve primary search retrieved content;
implement a document lifecycle process to update the access level classification of one or more of the ingested documents as the documents are modified;
perform candidate answer extraction using content the user is allowed to access based on the access level classification of the ingested documents and the user permission level; and provide to the user a notification comprising the content the user is allowed to access.

9. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the program instructions further cause the processor to:
utilize all content or the content the user is allowed to access to score, rank, and merge candidate answers; and
filter ranked answers based on the user permission level;
wherein the notification to the user further comprises the filtered, ranked answers.

10. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the access level classification of the ingested documents comprises one or more of manually tagged, extracted based on natural language processing (NLP) and deep analytic analysis, based on a rules-based policy, or based on a classification-based policy.

11. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein data indicative of a responsibility role is associated with the user, and wherein the candidate answer extraction is further based on the responsibility role.

12. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the program instructions further cause the processor to:
implement a document lifecycle process to update the access level classification of one or more of the ingested documents.

13. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the notification to the user further comprises one or more of an indication of access levels of the content the user is allowed to access; an indication of areas where content is redacted; and a portion of redacted content.

14. A system for implementing a content-based determination of access permissions, the system comprising:
a memory comprising executable instructions; and
a processor configured to execute the executable instructions to:
receive data indicative of an information access policy;
perform document ingestion and extract a plurality of features from ingested documents;
performing access level classification of the ingested documents based on the information access policy and the plurality of features;
receive a question from a user with data indicative of a user permission level;
perform search and answer extraction to retrieve primary search retrieved content;
implementing a document lifecycle process to update the access level classification of one or more of the ingested documents as the documents are modified;
perform candidate answer extraction using content the user is allowed to access based on the access level classification of the ingested documents and the user permission level; and
provide to the user a notification comprising the content the user is allowed to access.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
utilize all content or the content the user is allowed to access to score, rank, and merge candidate answers; and
filter ranked answers based on the user permission level;
wherein the notification to the user further comprises the filtered, ranked answers.

16. The system of claim 14 , wherein the access level classification of the ingested documents comprises one or more of manually tagged, extracted based on natural language processing (NLP) and deep analytic analysis, based on a rules-based policy, or based on a classification-based policy.

17. The system of claim 14 , wherein data indicative of a responsibility role is associated with the user, and wherein the candidate answer extraction is further based on the responsibility role.

18. The system of claim 14 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
implement a document lifecycle process to update the access level classification of one or more of the ingested documents.

19. The system of claim 14 , wherein the notification to the user further comprises an indication of access levels of the content the user is allowed to access.

20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the notification to the user further comprises one or more of an indication

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Byron Donna K
• Feirouz Elie
• Jamrog Daniel M
• Witherspoon Kristin A

Classifications

• G06F16/90332

  Natural language query formulation or dialogue systems · CPC title

• G06F21/32

  using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints · CPC title

• G06F21/6218 Primary

  to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database · CPC title