Apparatus and methods for generating and accessing arguments
First Claim
1. A method for accessing or generating an argument supporting a conclusion for a given situation, the method comprising:
- using a processor, performing steps comprising;
presenting to a user a plurality of searchable templates, wherein a subset of the plurality of searchable templates is relevant to the given situation;
receiving from said user a selection of one of said plurality of searchable templates from said subset that is relevant to the given situation, said one of said plurality of searchable templates being a relevant template most related to the given situation and including a plurality of queries;
displaying said plurality of queries to said user, wherein each of said plurality of queries has a categorical scale of likelihood regarding whether the given situation will likely have a negative or positive result and a plurality of potential responses corresponding to the categorical scale of likelihood, wherein the plurality of queries is formed in a hierarchical structure such that at least some of the plurality of queries are children queries of one or more parent queries;
receiving from said user one or more user responses to said plurality of queries including at least one user response corresponding to at least one of the children queries, where each of said one or more user responses is selected by the user from the plurality of potential responses such that each of the one or more user responses indicates a likelihood of a negative or positive result for an associated one of the plurality of queries;
receiving from said user supporting evidence in response to said plurality of queries, the supporting evidence being relied on by the user to form at least one of the one or more user responses;
evaluating said one or more user responses, in accordance with the likelihood of a negative or positive result indicated by each of said one or more user responses, such that said one or more user responses collectively support a conclusion indicating whether the given situation will likely have a positive or negative result, wherein the evaluating comprises;
automatically propagating a subset of the at least one user response to form an inferred response to at least one of the one or more parent queries;
forming an argument supporting the conclusion of the evaluating, the argument comprising the relevant template, the one or more user responses, the inferred response, the supporting evidence, and the conclusion; and
publishing said argument, including said relevant template, said one or more user responses, said inferred response, said supporting evidence, and said conclusion, for review.
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Abstract
In one embodiment, an analytical system for generating and accessing arguments is disclosed. Each argument is associated with a conclusion indicating whether a particular situation will likely have a negative or positive result. One embodiment of the analytical system includes a database for storing a plurality of templates, each template including a plurality of questions which may be answered to generate a particular argument having an associated conclusion that is based on those answers. The analytical system also includes an argument server that includes means for a user to select a template that is most relevant to a particular situation, means for receiving answers to one or more of the selected template'"'"'s questions such that a new argument is generated having a conclusion based on those answers, and means for associating supporting evidence provided by the user with each answer.
32 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method for accessing or generating an argument supporting a conclusion for a given situation, the method comprising:
using a processor, performing steps comprising; presenting to a user a plurality of searchable templates, wherein a subset of the plurality of searchable templates is relevant to the given situation; receiving from said user a selection of one of said plurality of searchable templates from said subset that is relevant to the given situation, said one of said plurality of searchable templates being a relevant template most related to the given situation and including a plurality of queries; displaying said plurality of queries to said user, wherein each of said plurality of queries has a categorical scale of likelihood regarding whether the given situation will likely have a negative or positive result and a plurality of potential responses corresponding to the categorical scale of likelihood, wherein the plurality of queries is formed in a hierarchical structure such that at least some of the plurality of queries are children queries of one or more parent queries; receiving from said user one or more user responses to said plurality of queries including at least one user response corresponding to at least one of the children queries, where each of said one or more user responses is selected by the user from the plurality of potential responses such that each of the one or more user responses indicates a likelihood of a negative or positive result for an associated one of the plurality of queries; receiving from said user supporting evidence in response to said plurality of queries, the supporting evidence being relied on by the user to form at least one of the one or more user responses; evaluating said one or more user responses, in accordance with the likelihood of a negative or positive result indicated by each of said one or more user responses, such that said one or more user responses collectively support a conclusion indicating whether the given situation will likely have a positive or negative result, wherein the evaluating comprises; automatically propagating a subset of the at least one user response to form an inferred response to at least one of the one or more parent queries; forming an argument supporting the conclusion of the evaluating, the argument comprising the relevant template, the one or more user responses, the inferred response, the supporting evidence, and the conclusion; and publishing said argument, including said relevant template, said one or more user responses, said inferred response, said supporting evidence, and said conclusion, for review. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium containing executable program instructions for accessing or generating an argument supporting a conclusion for a given situation, the instructions causing a processor to perform steps comprising:
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presenting to a user a plurality of searchable templates, wherein a subset of the plurality of searchable templates is relevant to the given situation; receiving from said user a selection of one of said plurality of searchable templates from said subset that is relevant to the given situation, said one of said plurality of searchable templates being a relevant template most related to the given situation and including a plurality of queries; displaying said plurality of queries to said user, wherein each of said plurality of queries has a categorical scale of likelihood regarding whether the given situation will likely have a negative or positive result and a plurality of potential responses corresponding to the categorical scale of likelihood, wherein the plurality of queries is formed in a hierarchical structure such that at least some of the plurality of queries are children queries of one or more parent queries; receiving from said user one or more user responses to said plurality of queries including at least one user response corresponding to at least one of the children queries, where each of said one or more user responses is selected by the user from the plurality of potential responses such that each of the one or more user responses indicates a likelihood of a negative or positive result for an associated one of the plurality of queries; receiving from said user supporting evidence in response to said plurality of queries, the supporting evidence being relied on by the user to form at least one of the one or more user responses; evaluating said one or more user responses, in accordance with the likelihood of a negative or positive result indicated by each of said one or more user responses, such that said one or more user responses collectively support a conclusion indicating whether the given situation will likely have a positive or negative result, wherein the evaluating comprises; automatically propagating a subset of the at least one user response to form an inferred response to at least one of the one or more parent queries; forming an argument supporting the conclusion of the evaluating, the argument comprising the relevant template, the one or more user responses, the inferred response, the supporting evidence, and the conclusion; and publishing said argument, including said relevant template, said one or more user responses, said inferred response, said supporting evidence, and said conclusion, for review. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification