Clarifying natural language input using targeted questions
First Claim
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1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
- receiving, by a computing device, input, wherein the input is associated with an interaction with the computing device, and wherein the input includes dialog input, application input, or sensor input;
determining an interaction history, wherein determining includes adding the input to the interaction history, wherein adding includes using an artificial intelligence-based model to combine the input with prior interaction history;
determining a current context, wherein the current context is associated with an interaction with the computing device, and wherein the interaction includes dialog input, application input, or sensor input;
receiving verbal input, wherein the verbal input includes natural language, and wherein the verbal input includes a plurality of words;
interpreting the verbal input, wherein interpreting the verbal input includes assigning one or more attributes to the plurality of words;
identifying an attribute from the one or more attributes, wherein the identified attribute is associated with one or more words from the plurality of words, wherein the identified attribute indicates that the one or more words are unclear, and wherein a word is unclear when the computing system cannot recognize the word;
determining that the current context and the interaction history do not clarify the one or more words;
determining a type of information needed to recognize the one or more words, wherein determining includes using the one or more attributes assigned to the one or more words to identify missing information;
determining a clarification question for the one or more words, wherein determining includes using the type of information, the current context, and the interaction history, wherein the clarification question is formatted to request the missing information, and wherein the format is customized using the current context and the interaction history; and
outputting the clarification question.
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Abstract
A dialog assistant embodied in a computing system can present a clarification question based on a machine-readable version of human-generated conversational natural language input. Some versions of the dialog assistant identify a clarification target in the machine-readable version, determine a clarification type relating to the clarification target, present the clarification question in a conversational natural language manner, and process a human-generated conversational natural language response to the clarification question.
105 Citations
39 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
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receiving, by a computing device, input, wherein the input is associated with an interaction with the computing device, and wherein the input includes dialog input, application input, or sensor input; determining an interaction history, wherein determining includes adding the input to the interaction history, wherein adding includes using an artificial intelligence-based model to combine the input with prior interaction history; determining a current context, wherein the current context is associated with an interaction with the computing device, and wherein the interaction includes dialog input, application input, or sensor input; receiving verbal input, wherein the verbal input includes natural language, and wherein the verbal input includes a plurality of words; interpreting the verbal input, wherein interpreting the verbal input includes assigning one or more attributes to the plurality of words; identifying an attribute from the one or more attributes, wherein the identified attribute is associated with one or more words from the plurality of words, wherein the identified attribute indicates that the one or more words are unclear, and wherein a word is unclear when the computing system cannot recognize the word; determining that the current context and the interaction history do not clarify the one or more words; determining a type of information needed to recognize the one or more words, wherein determining includes using the one or more attributes assigned to the one or more words to identify missing information; determining a clarification question for the one or more words, wherein determining includes using the type of information, the current context, and the interaction history, wherein the clarification question is formatted to request the missing information, and wherein the format is customized using the current context and the interaction history; and outputting the clarification question. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A computing device, comprising:
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one or more processors; and a non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including; receiving input, wherein the input is associated with an interaction with the computing device, and wherein the input includes dialog input, application input, or sensor input; determining an interaction history, wherein determining includes adding the input to the interaction history, wherein adding includes using an artificial intelligence-based model to combine the input with prior interaction history; determining a current context, wherein the current context is associated with an interaction with the computing device, and wherein the interaction includes dialog input, application input, or sensor input; receiving verbal input, wherein the verbal input includes natural language, and wherein the verbal input includes a plurality of words; interpreting the verbal input, wherein interpreting the verbal input includes assigning one or more attributes to the plurality of words; identifying an attribute from the one or more attributes, wherein the identified attribute is associated with one or more words from the plurality of words, wherein the identified attribute indicates that the one or more words are unclear, and wherein a word is unclear when the computing system cannot recognize the word; determining that the current context and the interaction history do not clarify the one or more words; determining a type of information needed to recognize the one or more words, wherein determining includes using the one or more attributes assigned to the one or more words to identify missing information; determining a clarification question for the one or more words, wherein determining includes using the type of information, the current context, and the interaction history, wherein the clarification question is formatted to request the missing information, and wherein the format is customized using the current context and the interaction history; and outputting the clarification question. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A computer-program product tangibly embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
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receive input, wherein the input is associated with an interaction with a computing device, and wherein the input includes dialog input, application input, or sensor input; determine an interaction history, wherein determining includes adding the input to the interaction history, wherein adding includes using an artificial intelligence-based model to combine the input with prior interaction history; determine a current context, wherein the current context is associated with an interaction with the computing device, and wherein the interaction includes dialog input, application input, or sensor input; receive verbal input, wherein the verbal input includes natural language, and wherein the verbal input includes a plurality of words; interpret the verbal input, wherein interpreting the verbal input includes assigning one or more attributes to the plurality of words; identify an attribute from the one or more attributes, wherein the identified attribute is associated with one or more words from the plurality of words, wherein the identified attribute indicates that the one or more words are unclear, and wherein a word is unclear when the computing system cannot recognize the word; determine that the current context and the interaction history do not clarify the one or more words; determine a type of information needed to recognize the one or more words, wherein determining includes using the one or more attributes assigned to the one or more words to identify missing information; determine a clarification question for the one or more words, wherein determining includes using the type of information, the current context, and the interaction history, wherein the clarification question is formatted to request the missing information, and wherein the format is customized using the current context and the interaction history; and output the clarification question. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification