Generation Challenges 2009

自然语言生成(NLG)是自然语言处理(NLP)的一个子领域，致力于开发自动生成语言的计算方法。NLG技术的可能应用包括节省文本制作过程和改善非语言信息的获取，以及机器翻译、文本摘要和人机对话。NLG是一个潜力巨大但迄今基本上尚未实现的领域。在其他NLP领域，共享数据、共享核心技术和有组织的共享任务竞赛被视为激励了研究界，并导致了快速的技术进步。在NLG研究人员中，对比较评估形式日益增长的兴趣引发了一场讨论，这场讨论现在已经导致了NLG的前两个共享任务评估比赛：2007年，我们组织了一个试点NLG共享任务评估活动，用于生成指代表达式的属性选择(ASGRE‘07)挑战赛；今年，我们组织了指代表达生成挑战赛(REG’08)，参与人数翻了一番，并与领先的NLG国际会议(INLG‘08在俄亥俄州哥伦布举行)同时举行。ASGRE‘07和REG’08在NLG研究人员中受到了热情的欢迎，导致了新技术和数据资源的创造，并吸引了新的研究人员进入该领域。为了继续和增加这些有益的影响，我们现在正在计划在2009年与领先的欧洲NLG会议(ENLG‘09)一起举办第三次NLG评估活动--新一代挑战。与前两次活动相比，2009年世代挑战将有更多的共同任务和更多种类的评估方法。它还包括对评估方法的呼吁，以及第一次对任务建议的一般呼吁，使NLG研究社区能够直接塑造未来的共享任务事件。与由美国政府机构资助和指导的机器翻译和文档摘要方面的领先评估倡议不同，ASGRE‘07、REG’08和现在的2009年新一代挑战是基于社区的、由英国主导的评估倡议。这项提案要求为伞式组织和管理活动以及为2009年新一代挑战中两项共同任务的数据准备和评估实验提供资金，以使我们能够开展全面的计划活动，并保持这一倡议以社区为基础和由英国主导。

Natural Language Generation (NLG) is the subfield of Natural Language Processing (NLP) that is concerned with developing computational methods for automatically producing language. Possible applications of NLG technology include economising text-production processes and improving access to non-verbal information, as well as machine translation, text summarisation and human-computer dialogue. NLG is a field with vast but so far largely unrealised potential. In other NLP fields, shared data, shared core technology and organised shared-task competitions have been seen to galvanise research communities, and lead to rapid technological progress. Among NLG researchers, growing interest in comparative forms of evaluation led to a discussion which has now resulted in the first two shared-task evaluation competitions in NLG: in 2007, we organised a pilot NLG shared-task evaluation event, the Attribute Selection for Generating Referring Expressions (ASGRE'07) Challenge; this year we organised the Referring Expression Generation Challenge (REG'08) which saw participation double and was co-located with the leading international conference in NLG (INLG'08 in Columbus, Ohio). ASGRE'07 and REG'08 have met met with enthusiasm among NLG researchers, have resulted in the creation of new technology and data resources, and have drawn new researchers into the field. In order to continue and increase these beneficial effects, we are now planning a third NLG evaluation event, Generation Challenges, for 2009, in conjunction with the leading European NLG conference (ENLG'09). Generation Challenges 2009 will have more shared tasks and a larger variety of evaluation methodologies than the two previous events. It also includes a call for evaluation methods and, for the first time, a general call for task proposals, enabling the NLG research community to directly shape future shared-task events.Unlike leading evaluation initiatives in Machine Translation and Document Summarisation, which are funded and directed by US government agencies, ASGRE'07, REG'08, and now Generation Challenges 2009 arecommunity-based, UK-led evaluation initiatives. This proposal requests funding for umbrella organisation and administration activities, as well as data preparation and evaluation experiments for two of the shared tasks in Generation Challenges 2009, to enable us to carry out the full range of planned activities, and to keep this initiative community-based and UK-led.