Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to an agent automation framework that is capable of extracting meaning from user utterances and suitably responding using a search-based natural language understanding (NLU) framework. The NLU framework includes a meaning extraction subsystem capable of detecting multiple alternative meaning representations for a given natural language utterance. Furthermore, the NLU framework includes a meaning search subsystem that enables elastic confidence thresholds (e.g., elastic beam-width meaning searches), forced diversity, and cognitive construction grammar (CCG)-based predictive scoring functions to provide an efficient and effective meaning search. As such, the disclosed meaning extraction subsystem and meaning search subsystem improve the performance, the domain specificity, the inference quality, and/or the efficiency of the NLU framework.

Abstract: A natural language understanding (NLU) framework includes an ensemble scoring system that uses received indicators, along with a set of ensemble scoring weights and ensemble scoring rules, to determine a respective ensemble score for each artifact of the utterance identified during inference. The ensemble scoring rules enable boosting of the respective ensemble score of an extracted intent of an utterance in response to a sufficient or important entity associated with the intent also being extracted from the utterance. Based on one or more ensemble scoring rules, the ensemble scoring system may refer to an intent-entity model to determine sufficient or important entities associated with an extracted intent, and boost the respective ensemble artifact score of the intent when the ensemble scoring system determines, with a suitable confidence, that a sufficient entity or important entity of the intent was extracted by the NLU framework during inference of the user utterance.

Abstract: A natural language understanding (NLU) framework includes an ensemble scoring system designed to receive indicators determined by various systems of the NLU framework when inferencing a user utterance. The ensemble scoring system uses the received indicators, along with a set of ensemble scoring weights, to determine a respective ensemble score for each artifact of the utterance identified during inference. For example, segmentations provided by a lookup source system may be used to boost scores of intent and/or entities identified during a meaning search operation of a NLU system. The NLU framework may also include an ensemble scoring weight optimization subsystem that automatically determines optimized ensemble scoring weight values from labeled training data using an optimization plugin. Accordingly, the NLU framework enables these indicators to be suitably weighted and combined to provide a desired level of performance (e.g.

Abstract: A natural language understanding (NLU) framework includes a lookup source framework, which enables a lookup source system to be defined having one or more lookup sources. Each lookup source of the lookup source system includes a respective source data representation that is compiled from respective source data. For example, a source data representation may include source data arranged in a finite state transducer (IFST) structure as a set of finite-state automata (FSA) states, wherein each state is associated with a token that represents underlying source data. Different producers can be applied during compilation of a source data representation to derive additional states within the source data representation from the source data. Certain states of the source data representation that contain sensitive data can be selectively protected through encryption and/or obfuscation, while other portions of the source data representation that are not sensitive may remain in clear-text form.

Abstract: A natural language understanding (NLU) framework includes a lookup source system having one or more lookup sources. Each lookup source includes a respective source data representation that is compiled from respective source data. Once compiled, a user utterance can be submitted to the lookup source system, which generates segmentations of the user utterance. Each segmentation generally includes a collection of non-overlapping segments, and each segment generally describes how tokens of the user utterance can be grouped together and matched to the states of the source data representations. During lookup source inference, matches can be made to produced states or using fuzzy matchers that have corresponding of scoring adjustments. These scoring adjustments may be used by a segmentation scoring subsystem, potentially in combination with one or more additional segmentation scoring plugins, to score and rank the segmentations determined by the lookup source system for the user utterance.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided to compare a target sample of text to a set of textual records, each textual record including a sample of text and an indication of one or more segments of text within the sample of text. Semantic similarity values between the target sample of text and each of the textual records are determined. Determining a particular semantic similarity value between the target sample of text and a particular textual record of the corpus includes: (i) determining individual semantic similarity values between the target sample of text and each of the segments of text indicated by the particular textual record, and (ii) generating the particular semantic similarity value between the target sample of text and the particular textual record based on the individual semantic similarity values. A textual record is then selected based on the semantic similarities.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided to compare a target sample of text to a set of textual records, each textual record including a sample of text and an indication of one or more segments of text within the sample of text. Semantic similarity values between the target sample of text and each of the textual records are determined. Determining a particular semantic similarity value between the target sample of text and a particular textual record of the corpus includes: (i) determining individual semantic similarity values between the target sample of text and each of the segments of text indicated by the particular textual record, and (ii) generating the particular semantic similarity value between the target sample of text and the particular textual record based on the individual semantic similarity values. A textual record is then selected based on the semantic similarities.

Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to an agent automation framework that is capable of extracting meaning from user utterances and suitably responding using a search-based natural language understanding (NLU) framework. The NLU framework includes a meaning extraction subsystem capable of detecting multiple alternative meaning representations for a given natural language utterance. Furthermore, the NLU framework includes a meaning search subsystem that enables elastic confidence thresholds (e.g., elastic beam-width meaning searches), forced diversity, and cognitive construction grammar (CCG)-based predictive scoring functions to provide an efficient and effective meaning search. As such, the disclosed meaning extraction subsystem and meaning search subsystem improve the performance, the domain specificity, the inference quality, and/or the efficiency of the NLU framework.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided to compare a target sample of text to a set of textual records, each textual record including a sample of text and an indication of one or more segments of text within the sample of text. Semantic similarity values between the target sample of text and each of the textual records are determined. Determining a particular semantic similarity value between the target sample of text and a particular textual record of the corpus includes: (i) determining individual semantic similarity values between the target sample of text and each of the segments of text indicated by the particular textual record, and (ii) generating the particular semantic similarity value between the target sample of text and the particular textual record based on the individual semantic similarity values. A textual record is then selected based on the semantic similarities.