Abstract: An embodiment of the invention provides a method wherein a natural language query is received from a user with an interface. An ontological representation of data in a database is received with an input port, including names of concepts and names of concept properties. Template rules are received with the input port, the templates rules being language dependent and ontology independent, the template rules including widely used constructs of a language. Rules are automatically generated with a rule generation engine with the ontological representation of the data in the database and the template rules to identify entities and relations in the natural language query. Entities and relations are identified with a processor, the entities and relations being identified in the natural language query with the rules. The structured data language query is generated with a query generation engine from the entities and relations.

Abstract: Collaborative annotation of a document. A GUI is generated by a host computer that displays a document to annotate. The GUI is transmitted by the host computer to a plurality of client computers. Real time communication modes are established by the host computer between the client computers, each including communication channels between all the client computers. The host computer receives annotations entered into the GUIs at the client computers, each annotation identifying a span of words in the document to annotate and including an associated annotation type. The host computer updates the GUI to include for display the received annotations and inter-rater agreement statistics indicating the level of agreement between annotations received from each client computer and annotations received from the other client computers. The updated GUI is then transmitted by the host computer to the plurality of client computers.

Abstract: A mechanism is provided in a computing device configured with instructions executing on a processor of the computing device to implement a timeline generation system, for automated timeline completion. The timeline generation system executing on the processor of the computing device identifies a plurality of events in documents in a corpus of information. The timeline generation system places the plurality of events in a partial timeline data structure. The timeline generation system selects an event progression from an event progression knowledge base. The timeline generation system aligns the selected event progression to the partial timeline data structure. The timeline generation system identifies a set of events missing from the partial timeline data structure. The timeline generation system maps the set of events missing from the partial timeline data structure to the partial timeline based on the selected event progression to form a completed timeline data structure.

Abstract: Generating textual entailment pair by a natural language processing (NLP) system. The NLP system receives two input texts, such as a question and a candidate answer. The NLP system queries a database and retrieves passages likely to include text that support the candidate answer. The NLP system generates parse trees and performs term matching on the passages and scores them according to the matching. The NLP system detects anchor pairs in the question and in the passage and aligns subgraphs (within the parse trees) of one to the other based on matching. The NLP system identifies aligned terms in the question and the passage that are not in the aligned subgraphs. The NLP system identifies text fragments, for the question and the passage, within the non-aligned segments of their respective parse trees, that connect the aligned term to the aligned portion of the subgraph.

Abstract: Generating textual entailment pair by a natural language processing (NLP) system. The NLP system receives two input texts, such as a question and a candidate answer. The NLP system queries a database and retrieves passages likely to include text that support the candidate answer. The NLP system generates parse trees and performs term matching on the passages and scores them according to the matching. The NLP system detects anchor pairs in the question and in the passage and aligns subgraphs (within the parse trees) of one to the other based on matching. The NLP system identifies aligned terms in the question and the passage that are not in the aligned subgraphs. The NLP system identifies text fragments, for the question and the passage, within the non-aligned segments of their respective parse trees, that connect the aligned term to the aligned portion of the subgraph.

Abstract: An embodiment of the invention provides a method wherein a natural language query is received from a user with an interface. An ontological representation of data in a database is received with an input port, including names of concepts and names of concept properties. Template rules are received with the input port, the templates rules being language dependent and ontology independent, the template rules including widely used constructs of a language. Rules are automatically generated with a rule generation engine with the ontological representation of the data in the database and the template rules to identify entities and relations in the natural language query. Entities and relations are identified with a processor, the entities and relations being identified in the natural language query with the rules. The structured data language query is generated with a query generation engine from the entities and relations.

Abstract: An embodiment of the invention provides a method for including receiving a natural language query from a user with an interface, and generating multiple dependency parses of the natural language query with a parser device connected to the interface. The generating of the multiple dependency parses includes dividing the natural language query into multiple components, and creating a single dependency parse by connecting each component of the components with at least one other component of the components. A processor connected to the parser device applies rules to all of the multiple dependency parses to identify entities and relations in the natural language query.

Abstract: Collaborative annotation of a document. A GUI is generated by a host computer that displays a document to annotate. The GUI is transmitted by the host computer to a plurality of client computers. Real time communication modes are established by the host computer between the client computers, each including communication channels between all the client computers. The host computer receives annotations entered into the GUIs at the client computers, each annotation identifying a span of words in the document to annotate and including an associated annotation type. The host computer updates the GUI to include for display the received annotations and inter-rater agreement statistics indicating the level of agreement between annotations received from each client computer and annotations received from the other client computers. The updated GUI is then transmitted by the host computer to the plurality of client computers.

Abstract: A system and a computer program product for verifying a statement are provided. The system is configured to receive a statement. The system is configured to decompose the received statement into one or more sets of question and answer pairs. The system is configured to determine a confidence value of each answer in the one or more question and answer pair sets. The system is configured to combine the determined confidence values. The combined confidence values represent a probability that the received statement is evaluated as true.

Abstract: A method of generating secondary questions in a question-answer system. Missing information is identified from a corpus of data using a computerized device. The missing information comprises any information that improves confidence scores for candidate answers to a question. The computerized device automatically generates a plurality of hypotheses concerning the missing information. The computerized device automatically generates at least one secondary question based on each of the plurality of hypotheses. The hypotheses are ranked based on relative utility to determine an order in which the computerized device outputs the at least one secondary question to external sources to obtain responses.

Abstract: A method of generating secondary questions in a question-answer system. Missing information is identified from a corpus of data using a computerized device. The missing information comprises any information that improves confidence scores for candidate answers to a question. The computerized device automatically generates a plurality of hypotheses concerning the missing information. The computerized device automatically generates at least one secondary question based on each of the plurality of hypotheses. The hypotheses are ranked based on relative utility to determine an order in which the computerized device outputs the at least one secondary question to external sources to obtain responses.

Abstract: A system and a computer program product for verifying a statement are provided. The system is configured to receive a statement. The system is configured to decompose the received statement into one or more sets of question and answer pairs. The system is configured to determine a confidence value of each answer in the one or more question and answer pair sets. The system is configured to combine the determined confidence values. The combined confidence values represent a probability that the received statement is evaluated as true.