1 / 11

Technique for Conversations

Technique for Conversations. Robert Zubek Northwestern University. What’s the focus?. Strong language understanding. Eliza. My focus on stereotyped conversations. “The Breakup Conversation”. Tech stress-test Set up: the computer is on the receiving end of a breakup conversation

Download Presentation

Technique for Conversations

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Technique for Conversations Robert Zubek Northwestern University

  2. What’s the focus? Strong language understanding Eliza My focus on stereotyped conversations

  3. “The Breakup Conversation” • Tech stress-test • Set up: the computer is on the receiving end of a breakup conversation • Situation deliberately delicate and context-sensitive • Interaction takes place entirely over natural language

  4. Alice: Bob? Bob: hi honey! Bob: i should get back to work Alice: we need to talk. Bob: hm? Bob: ok Alice: I've met someone else. Bob: what do you mean? Bob: oh no Alice: I mean I've met. Yes. Bob: i can't believe this Bob: i'm not sure what i should be saying Bob: where did this come from Alice: Bob, I think we have different needs. Bob: this doesn't tell me anything Bob: this is because i still live with parents Bob: you don't like that i'm staying at home Bob: isn't that true Bob: so... Alice: No Bob, well, that's part of it. Bob: i thought this was something real Bob: was i just a fool for caring about you Alice: No. I do care about you. Bob: that's cold Bob: you're being so mean Bob: is your mind made up? Alice: Bob, I just don't think you're ready for a Bob: so that's how it is Bob: i can really change Alice: relationship. Bob: listen why won't you just talk to me about what happened Bob: this is because i stay at home Bob: you hate that i'm lazy Bob: don't you Bob: so Alice: You're not lazy, Bob. Bob: it seemed to me this was something real Bob: was i wrong to care about you Alice: Bob, you're repeating yourself.

  5. Failure modes are always interesting… • Alice: I never would have thought I was going out with a • Alice: republican. • Bob: hm • Alice: Bob, I can't go out with a republican. • Bob: :P • Alice: Don't just say "hmm...." • Alice: Just just make emoticons at me! • Alice: You fucking asshole, say something! • Bob: what a cruel thing to say to me • Bob: what did you say? • Alice: I said say something to me! • Bob: so • Alice: So????? • Bob: :P • Alice: You fuckhead. You're nothing but a stupid neo-con • Bob: you're being cruel again • Alice: looser.

  6. Under the hood • Task knowledge compensates for weak NLP • Much interaction can be seen as stereotyped protocols, e.g. introductions, requests, topic shifts, evaluations, arguments, etc. • Decompose interaction into such protocols • Model protocols as state spaces (not FSMs)

  7. Under the hood: finite state models • Player and computer both drive the conversation, therefore: • We can’t be sure what is the current state of each space • Need to estimate our position based on what’s been said so far • Specify what actions to perform based on this estimate • Markov Decision Process:probabilistic state estimation + action policy

  8. Under the hood: more info • Overall system: hierarchy of Markov decision processes, running at the same time, all the time • Technical details available online or via email • System architecture and space estimation described in the paper • Communicative act estimation, action production, etc. to be described in the dissertation

  9. Want to play? • Test version available in a few weeks – visit web site to get a copy: • TinyURL: http://tinyurl.com/52wyo • Full URL: http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/ ~rob/software/breakup/ • Or just email me • rob@cs.northwestern.edu

  10. The End • Thanks to Robin!

More Related