Abstract: Computer-executable instructions for identifying associations are described herein. By way of example, a method for facilitating developing a treatment can include employing computer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readable media to determine correlations and utilizing at least some of the determined correlations to develop a treatment.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described that facilitate predictive web-crawling in a computer environment. Aspects of the invention provide for predictive, utility-based, and decision theoretic probability assessments of changes in subsets of web pages, enhancing web-crawling ability and ensuring that web page information is maintained in a fresh state. Additionally, the invention facilitates selective crawling of pages with a high probability of change.

Abstract: A system and method are provided to learn and infer the time until a user will be available for communications, collaboration, or information access, given evidence about such observations as time of day, calendar, location, presence, and activity. The methods can be harnessed to coordinate communications between parties via particular modalities of interaction. The system includes a user state identifier that determines a user's state from background knowledge, the flow of time, or one or more context information sources. A data log can be employed to store information about user state changes and observational evidence to accumulate statistics and build inferential models of the availability and unavailability of users for different kinds of communication, collaboration, and information access.

Abstract: The present invention provides a unique system and method that can employ machine learning techniques to automatically fill one or more fields across a diverse array of web forms. In particular, one or more instrumented tools can collect input or entries of form fields. Machine learning can be used to learn what data corresponds to which fields or types of fields. The input can be sent to a central repository where other databases can be aggregated as well. This input can be provided to a machine learning system to learn how to predict the desired outputs. Alternatively or in addition, learning can be performed in part by observing entries and then adapting the autofill component accordingly. Furthermore, a number of features of database fields as well as constraints can be employed to facilitate assignments of database entries to form values—particularly when the web form has never been seen before by the autofill system.

Abstract: An architecture for a notification platform is disclosed. In one embodiment, the architecture includes a user mechanism, one or more notification sources and sinks, and a notification manager. The user mechanism stores information regarding notification parameters of a user, such as the user's default notification preferences, and may also contain, access, and/or infer contextual information. Each notification source generates notifications intended for the user, while each notification sink can provide the notifications to the user. Notification sources and sinks provide information via standardized notification schema. The notification manager is designed to appropriately convey the notifications generated by the sources to the sinks, based on information provided by the user mechanism, and by the sources and sinks. As disclosed, the architecture is applicable to entities other users as well.

Abstract: The invention relates to a system for filtering messages—the system includes a seed filter having associated therewith a false positive rate and a false negative rate. A new filter is also provided for filtering the messages, the new filter is evaluated according to the false positive rate and the false negative rate of the seed filter, the data used to determine the false positive rate and the false negative rate of the seed filter are utilized to determine a new false positive rate and a new false negative rate of the new filter as a function of threshold. The new filter is employed in lieu of the seed filter if a threshold exists for the new filter such that the new false positive rate and new false negative rate are together considered better than the false positive and the false negative rate of the seed filter.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a system (10) and methodology (170, 173, 180, 400, 600, 1000) to enable a variety of information associated with one or more notification sources (26-28) to be directed to one or more notification sinks (36-38) via a notification platform architecture (10). The architecture (10) includes a context analyzer (22) for determining a user's state such as location and attentional focus, wherein the user's state is employed by a notification manager (24) to make decisions regarding what, when and how information generated by the notification sources (26-28) should be forwarded to the notification sinks (36-38), for example. These decisions can include a cost benefit analysis wherein considerations are given as to whether the benefits of notifying the user are outweighed by the costs of disrupting the user.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and methodology to facilitate collaboration and communications between entities such as between automated applications, parties to a communication and/or combinations thereof. The systems and methods of the present invention include a service that supports collaboration and communication by learning predictive models that provide forecasts of one or more aspects of a users' presence and availability. Presence forecasts include a user's current or future locations at different levels of location precision and usage of different devices or applications. Availability assessments include inferences about the cost of interrupting a user in different ways and a user's current or future access to one or more communication channels. The predictive models are constructed from data collected by considering user activity and proximity from multiple devices, in addition to analysis of the content of users' calendars, the time of day, and day of week, for example.

Abstract: The present invention leverages machine learning techniques to provide automatic generation of conditioning variables for constructing a data perspective for a given target variable. The present invention determines and analyzes the best target variable predictors for a given target variable, employing them to facilitate the conveying of information about the target variable to a user. It automatically discretizes continuous and discrete variables utilized as target variable predictors to establish their granularity. In other instances of the present invention, a complexity and/or utility parameter can be specified to facilitate generation of the data perspective via analyzing a best target variable predictor versus the complexity of the conditioning variable(s) and/or utility. The present invention can also adjust the conditioning variables (i.e.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and methodology to facilitate multiattribute adjustments and control associated with messages and other communications and informational items that are directed to a user via automated systems. An interface, specification language, and controls are provided for defining a plurality of variously configured groups that may attempt to communicate respective items. Controls include the specification of priorities and preferences as well as the modification of priorities and preferences that have been learned from training sets via machine learning methods. The system provides both a means for assessing parameters used in the control of messaging and communications and for the inspection and modification of parameters that have been learned autonomously.

Abstract: A system and method is provided for personalizing and refining policies within a general notification platform. The system includes a profile definition and selection system that receives contextual information relating to a user state. The profile definition and selection system generates and/or relays a set of control parameters based at least partially upon the contextual information, and a notification manager selectively sends a user notification and/or communication based upon the set of control parameters. Methods are provided for tuning the notification platform. This may include defining one or more context profiles, assigning values to parameters employed in one or more context profiles, determining a current user context, determining which of the one or more user profiles is consistent with the current user context, and utilizing the parameter value associated with the one or more context profiles consistent with the current user context to adjust the notification system.

Abstract: The present invention is related to a system and method of caching data employing probabilistic predictive techniques. The system and method has particular application to multimedia systems for providing local storage of a subset of available viewing selections by assigning a value to a selection and retaining selections in the cache depending on the value and size of the selection. The value assigned to an item can represent the time-independent likelihood that a user will review an item at some time in the future. An initial value of an item can be based on the user's viewing habits, the user's viewing habit over particular time segment (e.g., early morning, late morning, early afternoon, late afternoon, primetime, late night) and/or viewing habits of a group of user's during a particular time segment.

Abstract: The present invention provides collaborative filtering systems and methods employing statistical smoothing to provide quickly creatable models that can efficiently predict probability that a user likes an item and/or similarities between items. Smoothing is accomplished by utilizing statistical methods such as support cutoff, single and multiple prior on counts, and prior on measure of association and the like. By improving model-based collaborative filtering with such techniques, performance is increased with regard to product-to-product recommendations. The present invention also provides improvements over systems based on dependency nets (DN) in both areas of quality of recommendations and speed of model creation. It can also be complementary to DN to improve the value of an existing collaborative filtering system's overall efficiency. It is also employable with low frequency user preference data.

Abstract: The invention relates to a system for filtering messages—the system includes a seed filter having associated therewith a false positive rate and a false negative rate. A new filter is also provided for filtering the messages, the new filter is evaluated according to the false positive rate and the false negative rate of the seed filter, the data used to determine the false positive rate and the false negative rate of the seed filter are utilized to determine a new false positive rate and a new false negative rate of the new filter as a function of threshold. The new filter is employed in lieu of the seed filter if a threshold exists for the new filter such that the new false positive rate and new false negative rate are together considered better than the false positive and the false negative rate of the seed filter.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a system (10, 200) and methodology (74) to enable a plurality of information associated with electronic messages, for example, to be automatically prioritized by a priorities system (12, 230) for transmittal to a user or system. The priorities system (12,230) can employ classifiers (20) that can be explicitly and/or implicitly trained to prioritize one or more received messages (14) according to a learned importance to the user. As an example, messages (14) can be classified as high, medium, low or other degrees of importance via a training set of examples (30) or types of messages having similar degrees of importance. A background monitor (34) can be provided to monitor a user's activities regarding message processing to further refine or tune the classifier (20) according to the user's personal decisions relating to message importance.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a system (10) and methodology (170, 173, 180, 400, 600, 1000) to enable a variety of information associated with one or more notification sources (26-28) to be directed to one or more notification sinks (36-38) via a notification platform architecture (10). The architecture (10) includes a context analyzer (22) for determining a user's state such as location and attentional focus, wherein the user's state is employed by a notification manager (24) to make decisions regarding what, when and how information generated by the notification sources (26-28) should be forwarded to the notification sinks (36-38), for example. These decisions can include a cost benefit analysis wherein considerations are given as to whether the benefits of notifying the user are outweighed by the costs of disrupting the user.

Abstract: A system and method is provided for personalizing and refining policies within a general notification platform. The system includes a profile definition and selection system that receives contextual information relating to a user state. The profile definition and selection system generates and/or relays a set of control parameters based at least partially upon the contextual information, and a notification manager selectively sends a user notification and/or communication based upon the set of control parameters. Methods are provided for tuning the notification platform. This may include defining one or more context profiles, assigning values to parameters employed in one or more context profiles, determining a current user context, determining which of the one or more user profiles is consistent with the current user context, and utilizing the parameter value associated with the one or more context profiles consistent with the current user context to adjust the notification system.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and methodology to facilitate multiattribute adjustments and control associated with messages and other communications and informational items that are directed to a user via automated systems. An interface, specification language, and controls are provided for defining a plurality of variously configured groups that may attempt to communicate respective items. Controls include the specification of priorities and preferences as well as the modification of priorities and preferences that have been learned from training sets via machine learning methods. The system provides both a means for assessing parameters used in the control of messaging and communications and for the inspection and modification of parameters that have been learned autonomously.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and methodology to facilitate collaboration and communications between entities such as between automated applications, parties to a communication and/or combinations thereof. The systems and methods of the present invention include a service that supports collaboration and communication by learning predictive models that provide forecasts of one or more aspects of a users' presence and availability. Presence forecasts include a user's current or future locations at different levels of location precision and usage of different devices or applications. Availability assessments include inferences about the cost of interrupting a user in different ways and a user's current or future access to one or more communication channels. The predictive models are constructed from data collected by considering user activity and proximity from multiple devices, in addition to analysis of the content of users' calendars, the time of day, and day of week, for example.

Abstract: Determination of the current context of the user, such as the user's current location and attentional state, is disclosed. The determined context can be used to assist determination as to whether, when and how notifications intended for the user should be conveyed to him or her. In varying embodiments of the invention, the context is determined via one or more of: direct specification by the user; direct measurement using one or more sensors; a user-modifiable profile indicating context; one or more potentially user-modifiable rules that indicate context; and, and inferential analysis utilizing a model, such as a Bayesian network or other statistical model.