Computational Models of Dialogue: Speech-Act Theory Meets Real Utterances

这是一个研究启动奖(RIA)。本研究旨在解决言语行为理论在自然语言理解计算系统中长期存在的问题，并提供解释无约束话语的方法。语言和非语言言语行为的整合仍然很少被理解，并且对于人机交互是至关重要的。本研究试图将许多情态与言语行为的研究相结合，言语行为是言语和对话过程中一个重要的概念框架。目标是：(1)确定元行为理论如何扩展和改进，以模拟参考谈判和知识互补性的确认；(2)确定元行为模型是否可以预测性地验证。元知识模型包括关于非语言对话的信息，例如话轮转换。该项目根据参与者在对话中实际发生行为时的信念、目标和期望的归属，得出元行为作为一种理性的行动战略。然后，这些行为在类似对话的基于规则的模拟中表达出来。这项研究的一个副产品是一个分析和转录数据的数据库，对其他研究人员有用。预计将在人机交互研究以及语音和自然语言处理方面的研究方面产生重大影响。

This is a Research Initiation Award (RIA). The research aims at resolving long-standing problems with the use of speech-act theory in computational systems for natural language understanding and to provide methods of interpreting unconstrained discourse. The integration of verbal and non- verbal speech acts are still very poorly understood and is critical for human-computer interactions. This research seeks to integrate many modalities with the study of speech acts, an important conceptual framework in speech and dialog processes. The goals are: (1) to determine how the theory of meta-acts can be extended and refined to model negotiations of reference and confirmation of mutuality of knowledge, and (2) to determine if meta-act models can be validated predictively. Meta-knowledge models include information about conversations that are non- verbal, such as turn-taking. The project derives meta-acts as a rational strategy of action, given attributions of the participants' beliefs, goals and expectations at the point in the dialogue in which the acts actually occur. The acts are then expressed in a rule-based simulation of similar conversations. A byproduct of the research is a database of analyzed and transcribed data useful for other researchers. It is expected that there will be substantial impact in human-computer interactions research and aspects of research in speech and natural language processing.