Abstract: There is provided an information processing method for performing, through interaction with a user, narrowing down regarding information that the user desires to search for. The method includes: outputting a first question, which is an open question, about a target of search; obtaining a first answer to the first question, the first answer being input by the user; if a determination is made indicating that the first answer does not satisfy a first condition and that a word or phrase corresponding to a word or phrase included in the first answer is not included in a database, outputting a second question, which is an open question, for requesting an explanation about the word or phrase included in the first answer and not included in the database; and if a determination is made indicating that the first answer satisfies the first condition, outputting a closed question about the target of search.

Abstract: An information processing method in an interactive apparatus that questions a user's symptom through interaction with a user includes: outputting first question information of a first type concerning the user's symptom to a display or a speaker connected to the interactive apparatus, receiving first answer information indicating an answer to the question in the first question information from a keyboard, a touch panel, or a microphone connected to the interactive apparatus, outputting second question information of the first type concerning the user's symptom to the display or the speaker when it is determined that the answer in the first answer information does not include a word in a negative expression, and outputting third question information of a second type concerning the user's symptom to the display or the speaker when it is determined that the answer in the first answer information includes the word in the negative expression.

Abstract: A decision tree generating apparatus includes an information gain calculator and a decision tree generator. When a classification target data set including a plurality of pieces of classification target data respectively having different attributes with attribute values assigned thereto is segmented into subsets in a form of a decision tree, the information gain calculator calculates an amount of entropy reduction on each attribute, and calculates an information gain, based on the amount of reduction in the entropy and reliability of a user's answer responsive to an inquiry asking about the attribute. The decision tree generator successively determines an attribute having a maximum information gain to be a node of the decision tree by recursively iterating the segmentation of the pre-segmentation data set, and generates the decision tree that is to be used to determine an order of the inquiries.

Abstract: An information processing method for information stored in a storage includes: holding a dialog history of a dialog including a question to a user and a reply from the user to the question, determining whether a manner in which a third reply indicating neither a first reply nor a second reply appears in a reply history of the reply included in the held dialog history satisfies a predetermined condition, the first reply indicating an affirmative in response to the question, the second reply indicating a negative in response to the question; and performing presentation regarding the information stored in the storage if the manner is determined to satisfy the predetermined condition.

Abstract: A speech continuation determination method includes acquiring dialogue data including a system sentence spoken to a user at a first time, a user sentence spoken by the user at a second time following the system sentence, and system intention indicating intention of the system sentence; estimating a predicted response delay amount indicating a wait time for a response to the user sentence by applying the dialogue data to a model obtained by machine learning; acquiring user status information indicating the status of the user; and determining whether a speech sentence by the user continues following the user sentence in accordance with the user status information in the wait time indicated by the predicted response delay amount.

Abstract: In an information processing method, display of a question and acquisition of an answer from a user to the question are repeated to narrow down information the user desires to make a search. A question regarding a target of the search is displayed in a first mode on a display included in a terminal. An answer inputted from the user to the question is acquired through the terminal. When the question is displayed, first information regarding a situation of a narrowing-down progress is displayed above the question in a second mode, and second information regarding a guide for answering the question is displayed below the question in a third mode.

Abstract: A method includes determining a content of a speech of a user on the basis of text data including a word string acquired as a recognition result of the speech, selecting a correction method suitable for the determined content of the speech from among multiple correction methods for correcting false recognition contained in the text data, and correcting the false recognition contained in the text data using the selected correction method.

Abstract: A method includes: acquiring first voice information indicating a voice of a user input from a microphone; outputting, to a server via a network, first text string information generated from the first voice information, when the first text string information does not match any of pieces of text string information in the first database; acquiring, from the server, first semantic information and/or a control command corresponding to the first semantic information, when a second database includes a piece of text string information matched with the first text string information and the matched piece of text string information is associated with the first semantic information therein; instructing at least one device to execute an operation based on the first semantic information and/or the control command; and outputting, to a speaker, second voice information generated from second text string information, the second text string information being registered and associated with the first semantic information in the

Abstract: A method for controlling identification includes obtaining first text, which is text in a first language, obtaining second text, which is text in a second language obtained by translating the first text into the second language, obtaining correct labels, which indicate content of the first text, inputting the first text and the second text to an identification model common to the first and second languages, and updating the common identification model such that labels identified by the common identification model from the first text and the second text match the correct labels.

Abstract: A dialog act estimation method includes acquiring learning data including a first sentence to be estimated in the form of text data of a first uttered sentence uttered at a first time point, a second sentence which is text data of a second uttered sentence uttered, at a time point before the first time point, successively after the first uttered sentence, act information indicating an act associated to the first sentence, property information indicating a property information associated to the first sentence, and dialog act information indicating a dialog act in the form of a combination of an act and a property associated to the first sentence, making a particular model learn three or more tasks at the same time using the learning data, and storing a result of the learning as learning result information in a memory.

Abstract: A method is provided for controlling a device based on acquired text data. The method includes acquiring the text data indicating a voice spoken by a user, and analyzing a meaning of the text data based on a table, in which a word and a vector representing a meaning of the word in a vector space of predetermined dimensions are associated. The method also includes generating a command to control the device based on the analyzed meaning of the text data. The table is generated by performing a learning process by assigning to a first word a first vector representing a meaning of the first word in the vector space, and by assigning to a second word a second vector representing a meaning of the second word in the vector space, in accordance with an arrangement of a word string in a first text corpus and a second text corpus.

Abstract: A meaning generation method, in a meaning generation apparatus, includes acquiring meaning training data including text data of a sentence that can be an utterance sentence and meaning information indicating a meaning of the sentence and associated with the text data of the sentence, acquiring restatement training data including the text data of the sentence and text data of a restatement sentence of the sentence, and learning association between the utterance sentence and the meaning information and the restatement sentence. The learning includes learning of a degree of importance of a word included in the utterance sentence, and the learning is performed by applying the meaning training data and the restatement training data to a common model, and storing a result of the learning as learning result information.

Abstract: A speech continuation determination method includes acquiring dialogue data including a system sentence spoken to a user at a first time, a user sentence spoken by the user at a second time following the system sentence, and system intention indicating intention of the system sentence; estimating a predicted response delay amount indicating a wait time for a response to the user sentence by applying the dialogue data to a model obtained by machine learning; acquiring user status information indicating the status of the user; and determining whether a speech sentence by the user continues following the user sentence in accordance with the user status information in the wait time indicated by the predicted response delay amount.

Abstract: A method is provided for controlling a device based on acquired text data. The method includes acquiring the text data indicating a voice spoken by a user, and analyzing a meaning of the text data based on a table, in which a word and a vector representing a meaning of the word in a vector space of predetermined dimensions are associated. The method also includes generating a command to control the device based on the analyzed meaning of the text data. The table is generated by performing a learning process by assigning to a first word a first vector representing a meaning of the first word in the vector space, and by assigning to a second word a second vector representing a meaning of the second word in the vector space, in accordance with an arrangement of a word string in a first text corpus and a second text corpus.

Abstract: A method includes acquiring a first corpus, including first text of a first sentence including a first word and described in a natural language, and second text of a second sentence including a second word different in meaning from the first word, a second word distribution of the second word being similar to a first word distribution of the first word, acquiring a second corpus including third text of a third sentence, including a third word identical to the first word and/or the second word, a third word distribution of the third word being not similar to the first word distribution, based on an arrangement of a word string in the first corpus and the second corpus, assigning to the first word a first vector representing a meaning of the first word and assigning to the second word a second vector representing a meaning of the second word.

Abstract: An information processing method for information stored in a storage includes: holding a dialog history of a dialog including a question to a user and a reply from the user to the question, determining whether a manner in which a third reply indicating neither a first reply nor a second reply appears in a reply history of the reply included in the held dialog history satisfies a predetermined condition, the first reply indicating an affirmative in response to the question, the second reply indicating a negative in response to the question; and performing presentation regarding the information stored in the storage if the manner is determined to satisfy the predetermined condition.

Abstract: In an information processing method, display of a question and acquisition of an answer from a user to the question are repeated to narrow down information the user desires to make a search. A question regarding a target of the search is displayed in a first mode on a display included in a terminal. An answer inputted from the user to the question is acquired through the terminal. When the question is displayed, first information regarding a situation of a narrowing-down progress is displayed above the question in a second mode, and second information regarding a guide for answering the question is displayed below the question in a third mode.

Abstract: There is provided an information processing method for performing, through interaction with a user, narrowing down regarding information that the user desires to search for. The method includes: outputting a first question, which is an open question, about a target of search; obtaining a first answer to the first question, the first answer being input by the user; if a determination is made indicating that the first answer does not satisfy a first condition and that a word or phrase corresponding to a word or phrase included in the first answer is not included in a database, outputting a second question, which is an open question, for requesting an explanation about the word or phrase included in the first answer and not included in the database; and if a determination is made indicating that the first answer satisfies the first condition, outputting a closed question about the target of search.

Abstract: A method includes: acquiring first voice information indicating a first voice of a user; outputting first phrase information generated from the first voice information to a server; acquiring first response information determined in accordance with the first phrase information from the server; outputting the first response message to a speaker based on the first response information; acquiring from the server second response information associated with the first response information therein, the second response information including a conditional branch instruction to be branched into different instructions depending on a user's reply to the first response message; acquiring second voice information indicating second voice of the user, after the output of the first response message; and causing the speaker and/or at least one device to perform an operation by following an instruction determined in accordance with the conditional blench instruction.

Abstract: A method includes: acquiring first voice information indicating a voice of a user input from a microphone; outputting, to a server via a network, first text string information generated from the first voice information, when the first text string information does not match any of pieces of text string information in the first database; acquiring, from the server, first semantic information and/or a control command corresponding to the first semantic information, when a second database includes a piece of text string information matched with the first text string information and the matched piece of text string information is associated with the first semantic information therein; instructing at least one device to execute an operation based on the first semantic information and/or the control command; and outputting, to a speaker, second voice information generated from second text string information, the second text string information being registered and associated with the first semantic information in the