A Deductive Question-Answer for Natural Language Inference

The question-answering aspects of the Protosynthex III pro
totype language processing system are described and exemplified in
detail.  The system is written in LISP 1.5 and operates on the Q-32
time-sharing system.  The system's data structures and their semantic
organization, the deductive question-answering formalism of
relational properties and complex-relation-forming operators, and
the question-answering procedures which employ these features in
their operation are all described and illustrated.  Examples of the
system's performance and of the limitations of its question-answering 
capability are presented and discussed.  It is shown that the
use of semantic information in deductive question answering greatly 
facilitates the process, and that a top-down procedure which works
from question to answer enables effective use to be made of this
information.  It is concluded that the development of Protosynthex
III into a practically useful system to work with large data
bases is possible but will require changes in both the data
structures and the algorithms used for question answering.

CACM March, 1970

Schwarcz, R. M.
Burger, J. F.
Simmons, R. F.

question answering, natural language, Protosynthex III, LISP,
semantics, artificial intelligence, computational
linguistics, language processing, fact retrieval

3.42 3.61

CA700306 JB February 13, 1978  4:30 PM

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