Conceptual Mismatches and Repair in Human-Computer Interaction

Abstract

We present a computational framework for the generation of elementary speech acts to establish conceptual alignment between a computer system and its user. We clearly distinguish between two phases of the alignment process: message interpretation and message generation. In the interpretation phase, presuppositions are extracted from the user’s message and compared with the system’s ontology. Subsequently, in the generation phase, an adequate feedback message is produced in order to resolve detected discrepancies. We provide a conversational strategy that is based upon Gricean implicatures and a distinction between three types of beliefs: private beliefs about the domain of discourse, beliefs about the beliefs of the other and beliefs about the shared beliefs.