Hi, how can I help you?: Automating enterprise IT support help desks

Question answering is one of the primary challenges of natural language understanding. In realizing such a system, providing complex long answers to questions is a challenging task as opposed to factoid answering as the former needs context disambiguation. The different methods explored in the literature can be broadly classified into three categories namely: 1) classification based, 2) knowledge graph based and 3) retrieval based. Individually, none of them address the need of an enterprise wide assistance system for an IT support and maintenance domain. In this domain the variance of answers is large ranging from factoid to structured operating procedures; the knowledge is present across heterogeneous data sources like application specific documentation, ticket management systems and any single technique for a general purpose assistance is unable to scale for such a landscape. To address this, we have built a cognitive platform with capabilities adopted for this domain. Further, we have built a general purpose question answering system leveraging the platform that can be instantiated for multiple products, technologies in the support domain. The system uses a novel hybrid answering model that orchestrates across a deep learning classifier, a knowledge graph based context disambiguation module and a sophisticated bag-of-words search system. This orchestration performs context switching for a provided question and also does a smooth hand-off of the question to a human expert if none of the automated techniques can provide a confident answer. This system has been deployed across 675 internal enterprise IT support and maintenance projects.Comment: To appear in IAAI 201

An Autonomous Engine for Services Configuration and Deployment.

The runtime management of the infrastructure providing service-based systems is a complex task, up to the point where manual operation struggles to be cost effective. As the functionality is provided by a set of dynamically composed distributed services, in order to achieve a management objective multiple operations have to be applied over the distributed elements of the managed infrastructure. Moreover, the manager must cope with the highly heterogeneous characteristics and management interfaces of the runtime resources. With this in mind, this paper proposes to support the configuration and deployment of services with an automated closed control loop. The automation is enabled by the definition of a generic information model, which captures all the information relevant to the management of the services with the same abstractions, describing the runtime elements, service dependencies, and business objectives. On top of that, a technique based on satisfiability is described which automatically diagnoses the state of the managed environment and obtains the required changes for correcting it (e.g., installation, service binding, update, or configuration). The results from a set of case studies extracted from the banking domain are provided to validate the feasibility of this propos

Working Notes from the 1992 AAAI Workshop on Automating Software Design. Theme: Domain Specific Software Design

The goal of this workshop is to identify different architectural approaches to building domain-specific software design systems and to explore issues unique to domain-specific (vs. general-purpose) software design. Some general issues that cut across the particular software design domain include: (1) knowledge representation, acquisition, and maintenance; (2) specialized software design techniques; and (3) user interaction and user interface

THE OPTIMIZATION OF THE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL REPORTING IN FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING: ADOPTING XBRL INTERNATIONAL STANDARD

More and more enterprises, especially the listed companies, have adopted newaccounting norms and regulations (IFRS or US GAAP, Bale II and, in perspective, SURFI),manifesting interest for publishing financial reports using a standard format able to considerablyimprove their communication, data collection in the receiving units, control and analysis offinancial information. When switching to the new accounting rules specified in international orregional standards and norms, regulatory and control bodies recommend the XBRL format forfinancial reporting, with recognition of the regional jurisdiction. Our paper makes a review of theliterature, presents the XBRL specific elements and proposes possible solutions for internal andexternal financial reporting of an enterprise. Finally, it concludes on the benefits of adopting XBRLat national level in a potential XBRL Romania project.accounting norms, financial reporting, XBRL, taxonomy, XBRL jurisdiction.

ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AUTO ANALYSIS SYSTEM

This project was motivated by the need to revolutionize the generation of financial statements and financial analysis process thus speeding up business decision making. The research questions were: 1) How can machine learning increase the speed of financial statement preparation and automate financial statements analysis? 2) How can businesses balance the benefits of automating financial analysis with potential concerns around privacy, data security, and bias? 3) Can the Java J2EE framework provide a reliable running environment for machine learning? The findings were: 1) Machine learning can significantly increase the accuracy and speed of financial analysis. Using machine learning algorithms, financial data can be processed and analyzed in real-time, allowing for quicker and more precise financial analysis. Machine learning models can identify patterns and trends in financial data that may not be easily detectable by humans, leading to more accurate financial statements and analysis. Additionally, machine learning can automate repetitive tasks in the financial analysis process, saving time and resources for businesses. 2) Businesses need to carefully balance the benefits of automating financial analysis with potential concerns around privacy, data security, and bias. While machine learning can offer significant advantages in terms of accuracy and speed, it also requires handling sensitive financial data. Therefore, it is crucial for businesses to implement robust data security measures to protect against potential data breaches and ensure compliance with privacy regulations. Additionally, businesses need to be mindful of potential biases in machine learning algorithms, as biased algorithms can result in biased financial analysis. Regular audits and monitoring of machine learning models should be conducted to address and mitigate any potential biases. 3) The Java J2EE framework can provide a reliable running environment for machine learning. Java J2EE (Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition) is a widely used and mature framework for developing enterprise applications, including machine learning applications. It offers scalability, reliability, and security features that are essential for running machine learning algorithms in a production environment. Java J2EE provides robust support for distributed computing, allowing for efficient processing of large financial datasets. Furthermore, it offers a wide range of libraries and tools for implementing machine learning algorithms, making it a viable choice for running machine learning applications in the financial industry. The conclusions were: 1) Machine learning has the potential to significantly increase the accuracy and speed of financial analysis, thereby revolutionizing the generation of financial statements and the financial analysis process. Various machine learning algorithms, such as decision trees, random forests, and deep learning algorithms, can be utilized to identify patterns, trends, and hidden risks in financial data, leading to more informed and efficient business decision making. 2) Businesses need to carefully balance the benefits of automating financial analysis with potential concerns around privacy, data security, and bias. While machine learning can offer significant advantages in terms of accuracy and speed, there are ethical considerations that need to be addressed, such as ensuring data privacy, implementing effective data security measures, and mitigating biases in machine learning algorithms used in financial analysis. Businesses should adopt a responsible approach to machine learning implementation, considering the potential risks and benefits. 3) The Java J2EE framework can provide a reliable running environment for machine learning applications, but further research is needed to evaluate the performance and scalability of machine learning models in this framework. Identifying potential optimizations for running machine learning applications at scale in the Java J2EE framework can lead to more efficient and effective implementation of machine learning in financial analysis and decision-making processes. Further research in this area can contribute to the development of robust and scalable machine learning applications for financial analysis in the business domain. Areas for further study include: 1) Exploring different machine learning algorithms and techniques to further improve the accuracy and speed of financial analysis. 2) Conducting research on the impact of machine learning on financial decision making and business performance. 3) Investigating methods for addressing and mitigating biases in machine learning algorithms used in financial analysis. 4) Evaluating the effectiveness of different data security measures in protecting sensitive financial data in machine learning applications. 5) Studying the performance and scalability of machine learning models in the Java J2EE framework and identifying potential optimizations for running machine learning applications at scale