Enhanced Artificial Intelligence Language

Abstract

A method of determining an appropriate response to an input includes linking a plurality of attributes to a plurality of response templates using a plurality of Boolean expressions. Each attribute is associated with a set of patterns. Each pattern within the set of patterns is equivalent. The method also includes determining an appropriate response template from the plurality of response templates based on the input.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of determining an appropriate response to an input, comprising:
 linking a plurality of attributes to a plurality of response templates using a plurality of Boolean expressions, each attribute associated with a set of patterns, each pattern within the set of patterns being equivalent; and   determining an appropriate response template from the plurality of response templates based on the input.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining comprises:
 performing an initialization.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein linking the plurality of attributes to the plurality of response templates comprises:
 forming a megacategory, 
 wherein the megacategory links a combination of attributes to one of the plurality of response templates using one of the plurality of Boolean expressions. 
 
     
     
         4 . The method  claim 2  wherein linking the plurality of attributes to the plurality of response templates comprises:
 forming a megacategory, 
 wherein the megacategory links one attribute to one of the plurality of response templates. 
 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the combination of attributes using one of the plurality of Boolean expressions comprises:
 a name for each attribute in the combination; and 
 an operator. 
 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the operator is an AND operator. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the megacategory comprises:
 a hierarchy of levels in matching the megacategory to the input. 
 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising:
 grouping a plurality of megacategories into a topic having a topic name; and   adding a topic variable to one of the plurality of response templates.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 comparing a megacategory to the input when the topic name matches the topic variable.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  wherein being equivalent comprises being semantically equivalent. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 storing the plurality of attributes and the plurality of response templates.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein performing an initialization comprises:
 converting an AIML category having one pattern and one response template to an equivalent combination of one attribute and one megacategory, the one megacategory comprising the one response template; and   storing the equivalent combination.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 3  wherein performing an initialization comprises:
 expanding the patterns; 
 arranging the patterns in alphabetical order; 
 assigning a specificity rank to each pattern; and 
 adding each pattern to an attribute trie. 
 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein performing an initialization comprises:
 expanding “that” patterns; 
 arranging “that” patterns alphabetically; 
 assigning a specificity rank to each “that” pattern; and 
 adding each “that” pattern to a “that” trie. 
 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  wherein performing an initialization comprises:
 expanding megacategories into conjunctions; 
 ordering the conjunctions alphabetically; and 
 adding each megacategory to a megacategory trie. 
 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein determining an appropriate response template comprises:
 dividing the input into word segments;   traversing the attribute trie with the input to determine matching attributes;   traversing the “that” trie to determine matching “that” patterns from a previous output;   traversing the megacategory trie with matching attributes patterns and matching “that” patterns to determine matching megacategories.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  wherein traversing the attribute trie comprises:
 assigning a variable to each pattern; and 
 setting the variable to true for each pattern that matches a portion of the input. 
 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 if one megacategory matches, selecting a response template corresponding to the one megacategory.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 if more than one megacategory matches, selecting a response template corresponding to a megacategory having the highest summed specificity rank from the set of patterns.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 if more than one megacategory has the highest summed specificity rank, selecting a megacategory having a pattern having the single highest specificity rank.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 if no megacategories match, adding matched attributes from a last user input to the current matched attributes; and   determining a matching megacategory.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 executing the appropriate response template.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the megacategory comprises a “that” tag containing a pattern that is syntactically equivalent to patterns within attributes. 
     
     
         24 . An article comprising a machine-readable medium that stores executable instructions for determining an appropriate response to an input, the instructions causing a machine to:
 link a plurality of attributes to a plurality of response templates using a plurality of Boolean expressions, each attribute associated with a set of patterns, each pattern within the set of patterns being equivalent; and   determine an appropriate response template from the plurality of response templates based on the input.   
     
     
         25 . The article of  claim 24 , wherein instructions causing a machine to determine comprises:
 performing an initialization.   
     
     
         26 . The article of  claim 25  wherein instructions causing a machine to link the plurality of attributes to the plurality of response templates comprises:
 forming a megacategory, 
 wherein the megacategory links a combination of attributes to one of the plurality of response templates using one of the plurality of Boolean expressions. 
 
     
     
         27 . The article of  claim 24  wherein being equivalent comprises being semantically equivalent. 
     
     
         28 . The article of  claim 24 , further comprising instructions causing a machine to:
 store the plurality of attributes and the plurality of response templates.   
     
     
         29 . The article of  claim 26 , wherein performing an initialization comprises:
 converting an AIML category having one pattern and one response template to an equivalent combination of one attribute and one megacategory, the one megacategory comprising the one response template; and   storing the equivalent combination.   
     
     
         30 . The article of  claim 26  wherein performing an initialization comprises:
 expanding the patterns; 
 arranging the patterns in alphabetical order; 
 assigning a specificity rank to each pattern; and 
 adding each pattern to an attribute trie. 
 
     
     
         31 . The article of  claim 30  wherein performing an initialization comprises:
 expanding “that” patterns; 
 arranging “that” patterns alphabetically; 
 assigning a specificity rank to each “that” pattern; and 
 adding each “that” pattern to a “that” trie. 
 
     
     
         32 . The article of  claim 31  wherein performing an initialization comprises:
 expanding megacategories into conjunctions; 
 ordering the conjunctions alphabetically; and 
 adding each megacategory to a megacategory trie. 
 
     
     
         33 . The article of  claim 32 , wherein instructions causing a machine to determine an appropriate response template comprises:
 dividing the input into word segments;   traversing the attribute trie with the input to determine matching attributes;   traversing the “that” trie to determine matching “that” patterns from a previous output;   traversing the megacategory trie with matching attributes patterns and matching “that” patterns to determine matching megacategories.   
     
     
         34 . The article of  claim 33  wherein traversing the attribute trie comprises:
 assigning a variable to each pattern; and 
 setting the variable to true for each pattern that matches a portion of the input. 
 
     
     
         35 . The article of  claim 33 , further comprising instructions causing a machine to:
 if one megacategory matches, select a response template corresponding to the one megacategory.   
     
     
         36 . The article of  claim 33 , further comprising instructions causing a machine to:
 if more than one megacategory matches, select a response template corresponding to a megacategory having the highest summed specificity rank from the set of patterns.   
     
     
         37 . The article of  claim 36 , further comprising instructions causing a machine to:
 if more than one megacategory has the highest summed specificity rank, select a megacategory having a pattern having the single highest specificity rank.   
     
     
         38 . The article of  claim 33 , further comprising instructions causing a machine to:
 if no megacategories match, add matched attributes from a last user input to the current matched attributes; and   determine a matching megacategory.   
     
     
         39 . The article of  claim 24 , further comprising instructions causing a machine to:
 execute the appropriate response template.   
     
     
         40 . An apparatus comprising:
 a memory that stores executable instructions for determining an appropriate response to an input; and   a processor that executes the instructions to:
 link a plurality of attributes to a plurality of response templates using a plurality of Boolean expressions, each attribute associated with a set of patterns, each pattern within the set of patterns being equivalent; and 
 determine an appropriate response template from the plurality of response templates based on the input. 
   
     
     
         41 . The apparatus of  claim 40 , wherein instructions to determine comprises instructions to:
 perform an initialization.   
     
     
         42 . The apparatus of  claim 41  wherein instructions to link the plurality of attributes to the plurality of response templates comprises instructions to:
 form a megacategory, 
 wherein the megacategory links a combination of attributes to one of the plurality of response templates using one of the plurality of Boolean expressions. 
 
     
     
         43 . The apparatus of  claim 40  wherein being equivalent comprises being semantically equivalent. 
     
     
         44 . The apparatus of  claim 40 , further comprising instructions to:
 store the plurality of attributes and the plurality of response templates.   
     
     
         45 . The apparatus of  claim 42 , wherein instructions to perform an initialization comprises instructions to:
 convert an AIML category having one pattern and one response template to an equivalent combination of one attribute and one megacategory, the one megacategory comprising the one response template; and   store the equivalent combination.   
     
     
         46 . The apparatus of  claim 42  wherein instructions to perform an initialization comprises instructions to:
 expand the patterns; 
 arrange the patterns in alphabetical order; 
 assign a specificity rank to each pattern; and 
 add each pattern to an attribute trie. 
 
     
     
         47 . The apparatus of  claim 46  wherein instructions to perform an initialization comprises instructions to:
 expand “that” patterns; 
 arrange “that” patterns alphabetically; 
 assign a specificity rank to each “that” pattern; and 
 add each “that” pattern to a “that” trie. 
 
     
     
         48 . The apparatus of  claim 47  wherein instructions to perform an initialization comprises instructions to:
 expand megacategories into conjunctions; 
 order the conjunctions alphabetically; and 
 add each megacategory to a megacategory trie. 
 
     
     
         49 . The apparatus of  claim 48 , wherein instructions to determine an appropriate response template comprises instructions to:
 divide the input into word segments;   traverse the attribute trie with the input to determine matching attributes;   traverse the “that” trie to determine matching “that” patterns from a previous output;   traverse the megacategory trie with matching attributes patterns and matching “that” patterns to determine matching megacategories.   
     
     
         50 . The apparatus of  claim 49  wherein instructions to traverse the attribute trie comprises instructions to:
 assign a variable to each pattern; and 
 set the variable to true for each pattern that matches a portion of the input. 
 
     
     
         51 . The apparatus of  claim 49 , further comprising instructions to:
 if one megacategory matches, select a response template corresponding to the one megacategory.   
     
     
         52 . The apparatus of  claim 49 , further comprising instructions to:
 if more than one megacategory matches, select a response template corresponding to a megacategory having the highest summed specificity rank from the set of patterns.   
     
     
         53 . The apparatus of  claim 52 , further comprising instructions to:
 if more than one megacategory has the highest summed specificity rank, select a megacategory having a pattern having the single highest specificity rank.   
     
     
         54 . The apparatus of  claim 49 , further comprising instructions to:
 if no megacategories match, add matched attributes from a last user input to the current matched attributes; and   determine a matching megacategory.   
     
     
         55 . The apparatus of  claim 40 , further comprising instructions to:
 execute the appropriate response template.