Open input empathy interaction

Abstract

A chatbot capable of empathic engagement with a user is disclosed. An identified trend in a user's mood or goals between a first time and a second time can be associated with open input (e.g., open text string input) from the user. As the user's mood or goals continue to be tracked, a subsequent trend can be identified that is the same as, similar to, different from, or opposite to the first identified trend. The user can then be automatically engaged based on the open input associated with the first identified trend. In an example, a user may input thoughts or reasons why they have been having a positively trending mood over a duration of time. The chatbot can then repeat or otherwise use those same thoughts or reasons to engage the user empathically when the chatbot detects that the user is experiencing a negatively trending mood.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system, comprising:
 one or more data processors; and   a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing instructions which, when executed on the one or more data processors, cause the one or more data processors to perform operations including:
 receiving a first evaluation associated with a goal at a first time; 
 receiving a second evaluation associated with the goal at a second time; 
 determining a trend using the first evaluation and the second evaluation, wherein the trend is associated with a period of time between the first time and the second time; 
 presenting an explanation request in response to determining the trend; 
 receiving an explanation response containing an explanation phrase; 
 storing the explanation phrase in association with the trend; 
 receiving a third evaluation associated with the goal at a third time; 
 determining a subsequent trend using the third evaluation, wherein the subsequent trend is associated with a period of time including the third time; and 
 presenting an empathic communication in response to determining the subsequent trend, wherein the empathic communication is associated with the goal, and wherein presenting the empathic communication includes:
 accessing a recipe database; 
 selecting a recipe from the recipe database using the subsequent trend; and 
 generating the empathic communication using the selected recipe and the explanation phrase, wherein the empathic communication includes the explanation phrase. 
 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the goal is a mood, wherein the first evaluation is indicative of a first mood of a user, wherein the second evaluation is indicative of a second mood of the user, and wherein the third evaluation is indicative of a third mood of the user. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein presenting the explanation request includes presenting an input field for free text, and wherein receiving the explanation response includes storing the free text as the explanation phrase. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , selecting the recipe from the recipe database using the subsequent trend includes:
 comparing the subsequent trend with the trend; and   selecting the selected recipe based on the comparison between the subsequent trend and the trend.   
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein comparing the subsequent trend with the trend includes identifying the subsequent trend as being consistent with or inconsistent with the trend, wherein selecting the selected recipe based on the comparison between the subsequent trend and the trend includes:
 selecting a first recipe when the subsequent trend is identified as being consistent with the trend; and   selecting a second recipe when the subsequent trend is identified as being inconsistent with the trend.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein determining the trend includes identifying the trend as a positive trend when the second evaluation is indicative of a positive movement towards reaching the goal between the first time and the second time, wherein the second recipe includes a recommendation to employ the explanation phrase. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise receiving a fourth evaluation associated with the goal at a fourth time, wherein determining the subsequent trend further includes using the fourth evaluation, wherein the subsequent trend is associated with a period of time between the third time and the fourth time. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 determining one or more additional subsequent trends after presenting the empathic communication;   evaluating the selected recipe using the one or more additional subsequent trends; and   presenting a subsequent empathic communication, wherein presenting the subsequent empathic communication includes:
 accessing the recipe database; 
 selecting a subsequent recipe from the recipe database using the subsequent trend and the evaluation of the selected recipe, wherein the subsequent recipe is different from the recipe; and 
 generating the subsequent empathic communication using the subsequent recipe. 
   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise preprocessing the explanation phrase prior to storing the explanation phrase, wherein preprocessing the explanation phrase includes processing the explanation phrase as a text string. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein preprocessing the explanation phrase includes applying a copout classifier to the explanation phrase, and wherein storing the explanation phrase occurs in response to classifying the explanation phrase as not a copout. 
     
     
         11 . A computer-implemented method, comprising:
 receiving a first evaluation associated with a goal at a first time;   receiving a second evaluation associated with the goal at a second time;   determining a trend using the first evaluation and the second evaluation, wherein the trend is associated with a period of time between the first time and the second time;   presenting an explanation request in response to determining the trend;   receiving an explanation response containing an explanation phrase;   storing the explanation phrase in association with the trend;   receiving a third evaluation associated with the goal at a third time;   determining a subsequent trend using the third evaluation, wherein the subsequent trend is associated with a period of time including the third time; and   presenting an empathic communication in response to determining the subsequent trend, wherein the empathic communication is associated with the goal, and wherein presenting the empathic communication includes:
 accessing a recipe database; 
 selecting a recipe from the recipe database using the subsequent trend; and 
 generating the empathic communication using the selected recipe and the explanation phrase, wherein the empathic communication includes the explanation phrase. 
   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the goal is a mood, wherein the first evaluation is indicative of a first mood of a user, wherein the second evaluation is indicative of a second mood of the user, and wherein the third evaluation is indicative of a third mood of the user. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein presenting the explanation request includes presenting an input field for free text, and wherein receiving the explanation response includes storing the free text as the explanation phrase. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , selecting the recipe from the recipe database using the subsequent trend includes:
 comparing the subsequent trend with the trend; and   selecting the selected recipe based on the comparison between the subsequent trend and the trend.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein comparing the subsequent trend with the trend includes identifying the subsequent trend as being consistent with or inconsistent with the trend, wherein selecting the selected recipe based on the comparison between the subsequent trend and the trend includes:
 selecting a first recipe when the subsequent trend is identified as being consistent with the trend; and   selecting a second recipe when the subsequent trend is identified as being inconsistent with the trend.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein determining the trend includes identifying the trend as a positive trend when the second evaluation is indicative of a positive movement towards reaching the goal between the first time and the second time, wherein the second recipe includes a recommendation to employ the explanation phrase. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising receiving a fourth evaluation associated with the goal at a fourth time, wherein determining the subsequent trend further includes using the fourth evaluation, wherein the subsequent trend is associated with a period of time between the third time and the fourth time. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 determining one or more additional subsequent trends after presenting the empathic communication;   evaluating the selected recipe using the one or more additional subsequent trends; and   presenting a subsequent empathic communication, wherein presenting the subsequent empathic communication includes:
 accessing the recipe database; 
 selecting a subsequent recipe from the recipe database using the subsequent trend and the evaluation of the selected recipe, wherein the subsequent recipe is different from the recipe; and 
 generating the subsequent empathic communication using the subsequent recipe. 
   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising preprocessing the explanation phrase prior to storing the explanation phrase, wherein preprocessing the explanation phrase includes processing the explanation phrase as a text string. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein preprocessing the explanation phrase includes applying a copout classifier to the explanation phrase, and wherein storing the explanation phrase occurs in response to classifying the explanation phrase as not a copout. 
     
     
         21 . A computer-program product tangibly embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, including instructions configured to cause a data processing apparatus to perform operations including:
 receiving a first evaluation associated with a goal at a first time;   receiving a second evaluation associated with the goal at a second time;   determining a trend using the first evaluation and the second evaluation, wherein the trend is associated with a period of time between the first time and the second time;   presenting an explanation request in response to determining the trend;   receiving an explanation response containing an explanation phrase;   storing the explanation phrase in association with the trend;   receiving a third evaluation associated with the goal at a third time;   determining a subsequent trend using the third evaluation, wherein the subsequent trend is associated with a period of time including the third time; and   presenting an empathic communication in response to determining the subsequent trend, wherein the empathic communication is associated with the goal, and wherein presenting the empathic communication includes:
 accessing a recipe database; 
 selecting a recipe from the recipe database using the subsequent trend; and 
 generating the empathic communication using the selected recipe and the explanation phrase, wherein the empathic communication includes the explanation phrase. 
   
     
     
         22 . The computer-program product of  claim 21 , wherein the goal is a mood, wherein the first evaluation is indicative of a first mood of a user, wherein the second evaluation is indicative of a second mood of the user, and wherein the third evaluation is indicative of a third mood of the user. 
     
     
         23 . The computer-program product of  claim 21 , wherein presenting the explanation request includes presenting an input field for free text, and wherein receiving the explanation response includes storing the free text as the explanation phrase. 
     
     
         24 . The computer-program product of  claim 21 , selecting the recipe from the recipe database using the subsequent trend includes:
 comparing the subsequent trend with the trend; and   selecting the selected recipe based on the comparison between the subsequent trend and the trend.   
     
     
         25 . The computer-program product of  claim 24 , wherein comparing the subsequent trend with the trend includes identifying the subsequent trend as being consistent with or inconsistent with the trend, wherein selecting the selected recipe based on the comparison between the subsequent trend and the trend includes:
 selecting a first recipe when the subsequent trend is identified as being consistent with the trend; and   selecting a second recipe when the subsequent trend is identified as being inconsistent with the trend.   
     
     
         26 . The computer-program product of  claim 25 , wherein determining the trend includes identifying the trend as a positive trend when the second evaluation is indicative of a positive movement towards reaching the goal between the first time and the second time, wherein the second recipe includes a recommendation to employ the explanation phrase. 
     
     
         27 . A method, comprising:
 receiving user input from a user at a first time, wherein the user input includes an input phrase;   storing the input phrase, wherein the stored input phrase is associated with the user;   receiving a trigger at a second time after the first time; and   presenting an empathic communication to the user in response to receiving the trigger, wherein presenting the empathic communication includes:
 accessing the stored input phrase; and 
 generating the empathic communication using the stored input phrase, wherein the generated empathic communication includes at least a portion of the input phrase. 
   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the user input is associated with a first topic, wherein receiving the trigger includes identifying a second topic, wherein the method further comprises comparing the second topic to the first topic to generate a comparison, and wherein presenting the empathic communication includes using the comparison between the second topic and the first topic. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the first topic is a goal, and wherein the input phrase is an explanation phrase associated with the goal. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein receiving the trigger includes identifying a trend associated with the goal.