Guiding a conversation based on cognitive analytics

• US 9,697,198 B2
• Filed: 10/05/2015
• Issued: 07/04/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Davis Jones, Dale K., Dhondse, Amol A., Sivakumar, Gandhi, Jones, Bruce A., Pikle, Anand
• Primary Examiner(s): GUERRA-ERAZO, EDGAR X
• Application Number:
  US14/875,660
• Publication Number:
  US 20170097928A1
• Time in Patent Office: 638 Days
• Field of Search: 704 1- 10
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/30 Semantic analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

To guide a conversation based on cognitive analytics, data of the conversation up to a time in the conversation is received from a conversation interface while the conversation is continuing. Current data is received from a data source. The current data relates to a remote participant in the conversation and a topic in the conversation. A sentiment value of the remote participant during the conversation is determined from the current data and the conversation data. While the conversation is continuing, data of a prompt is introduced into the conversation. The data of the prompt is configured to cause the conversation to increase the sentiment value of the remote participant. A profile of the remote participant is updated with the sentiment value, to form an updated profile. The updated profile is used as a second data source in a later portion of the conversation.

Claims

1. A method for guiding a conversation based on cognitive analytics, the method comprising:

receiving, from a conversation interface, while the conversation is continuing, data of the conversation up to a time in the conversation;

receiving while the conversation is continuing, current data from a data source, the current data relating to a remote participant in the conversation and a topic in the conversation;

computing, as a part of the cognitive analytics, using a processor and a memory, from the current data and the conversation data, a measurement of a sentiment value of the remote participant during the conversation;

introducing, while the conversation is continuing, data of a prompt into the conversation, wherein the data of the prompt is configured to cause the conversation to increase the sentiment value of the remote participant; and

updating a profile of the remote participant with the sentiment value, to form an updated profile; and

using the updated profile as a second data source in a later portion of the conversation.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

processing the current data and the conversation data to create cognitive information; and

configuring the data of the prompt using information associated with the sentiment value and extracted from the cognitive information.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

making, as a part of the introducing, the data of the prompt accessible to a second participant in the conversation but inaccessible to the remote participant in the conversation.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

constructing the prompt in a natural language, wherein the conversation is occurring in the natural language.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

processing the current data and the conversation data to create cognitive information; and

requesting, as a part of the determining, an answer to a question, wherein the answer comprises an inference from the cognitive information.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the question is a natural language question and the answer is a natural language answer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the sentiment value represents a dislike of the remote participant towards an aspect of the conversation.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

processing the current data and the conversation data to create cognitive information, wherein the aspect of the conversation is derived from the cognitive information.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

processing the current data and the conversation data to create cognitive information; and

selecting an information of interest from the cognitive information, wherein the information of interest corresponds to the sentiment value.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the sentiment value is valid during the conversation, and wherein the sentiment value is a different value before the conversation.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

further updating the profile with the data of the prompt.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

pre-processing the current data, wherein the pre-processing comprises filtering the current data to extract a portion of the current data, wherein the portion of the current data comprises a data interaction of the remote participant with the data source.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

performing, as a part of the processing, Natural Language Processing (NLP) on the conversation data.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a remote participant in the conversation; and

identifying a topic in the conversation.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the data source comprises a social media source, and wherein the current data comprises a data interaction of the remote participant with the social media source.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting that the conversation has started in the conversation interface, and wherein the data of the conversation is from a time of a beginning of the conversation up to the time in the conversation.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is embodied in a computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable storage devices and computer-readable program instructions which are stored on the one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices and executed by one or more processors.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is embodied in a computer system comprising one or more processors, one or more computer-readable memories, one or more computer-readable storage devices and program instructions which are stored on the one or more computer-readable storage devices for execution by the one or more processors via the one or more memories and executed by the one or more processors.

19. A computer program product for guiding a conversation based on cognitive analytics, the computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable storage devices, and program instructions stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, the stored program instructions comprising:

program instructions to receive, from a conversation interface, while the conversation is continuing, data of the conversation up to a time in the conversation;

program instructions to receive while the conversation is continuing, current data from a data source, the current data relating to a remote participant in the conversation and a topic in the conversation;

program instructions to compute as a part of the cognitive analytics, using a processor and a memory, from the current data and the conversation data, a measurement of a sentiment value of the remote participant during the conversation;

program instructions to introduce, while the conversation is continuing, data of a prompt into the conversation, wherein the data of the prompt is configured to cause the conversation to increase the sentiment value of the remote participant; and

program instructions to a profile of the remote participant with the sentiment value, to form an updated profile; and

program instructions to use the updated profile as a second data source in a later portion of the conversation.

20. A computer system for guiding a conversation based on cognitive analytics, the computer system comprising one or more processors, one or more computer-readable memories, and one or more computer-readable storage devices, and program instructions stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, the stored program instructions comprising:

program instructions to receive, from a conversation interface, while the conversation is continuing, data of the conversation up to a time in the conversation;

program instructions to receive while the conversation is continuing, current data from a data source, the current data relating to a remote participant in the conversation and a topic in the conversation;

program instructions to compute as a part of the cognitive analytics, using a processor and a memory, from the current data and the conversation data, a measurement of a sentiment value of the remote participant during the conversation;

program instructions to introduce, while the conversation is continuing, data of a prompt into the conversation, wherein the data of the prompt is configured to cause the conversation to increase the sentiment value of the remote participant; and

program instructions to update a profile of the remote participant with the sentiment value, to form an updated profile; and

program instructions to use the updated profile as a second data source in a later portion of the conversation.