Survey of the State of the Art in Natural Language Generation: Core tasks, applications and evaluation

This paper surveys the current state of the art in Natural Language Generation (NLG), defined as the task of generating text or speech from non-linguistic input. A survey of NLG is timely in view of the changes that the field has undergone over the past decade or so, especially in relation to new (usually data-driven) methods, as well as new applications of NLG technology. This survey therefore aims to (a) give an up-to-date synthesis of research on the core tasks in NLG and the architectures adopted in which such tasks are organised; (b) highlight a number of relatively recent research topics that have arisen partly as a result of growing synergies between NLG and other areas of artificial intelligence; (c) draw attention to the challenges in NLG evaluation, relating them to similar challenges faced in other areas of Natural Language Processing, with an emphasis on different evaluation methods and the relationships between them.Comment: Published in Journal of AI Research (JAIR), volume 61, pp 75-170. 118 pages, 8 figures, 1 tabl

Cybersmear or Cyber-SLAPP: Analyzing Defamation Suits Against Online John Does as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation

This Comment will first survey the law of cybersmear, illustrating the paradigmatic issues and legal theories employed. Then, it will discuss the free speech issues and theoretical bases argued in court and legal journals, paying special attention to the shortcomings in current protection of defendant anonymity. Next, it will examine the value of online anonymity and the protections that the Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) theory offers. Finally, given the breakdown in the public and private space dichotomy, this Comment will argue for a new understanding of the SLAPP constitutional protections in cyberspace. This understanding will recognize the powerful dynamics of online speech regulation, in contrast with those of its real-world counterpart, and ensure that the would-be private arbiters of the technology and, therefore, liberty in cyberspace do not stifle the free discourse enabled by Internet technology

An examination of automatic video retrieval technology on access to the contents of an historical video archive

Purpose – This paper aims to provide an initial understanding of the constraints that historical video collections pose to video retrieval technology and the potential that online access offers to both archive and users. Design/methodology/approach – A small and unique collection of videos on customs and folklore was used as a case study. Multiple methods were employed to investigate the effectiveness of technology and the modality of user access. Automatic keyframe extraction was tested on the visual content while the audio stream was used for automatic classification of speech and music clips. The user access (search vs browse) was assessed in a controlled user evaluation. A focus group and a survey provided insight on the actual use of the analogue archive. The results of these multiple studies were then compared and integrated (triangulation). Findings – The amateur material challenged automatic techniques for video and audio indexing, thus suggesting that the technology must be tested against the material before deciding on a digitisation strategy. Two user interaction modalities, browsing vs searching, were tested in a user evaluation. Results show users preferred searching, but browsing becomes essential when the search engine fails in matching query and indexed words. Browsing was also valued for serendipitous discovery; however the organisation of the archive was judged cryptic and therefore of limited use. This indicates that the categorisation of an online archive should be thought of in terms of users who might not understand the current classification. The focus group and the survey showed clearly the advantage of online access even when the quality of the video surrogate is poor. The evidence gathered suggests that the creation of a digital version of a video archive requires a rethinking of the collection in terms of the new medium: a new archive should be specially designed to exploit the potential that the digital medium offers. Similarly, users' needs have to be considered before designing the digital library interface, as needs are likely to be different from those imagined. Originality/value – This paper is the first attempt to understand the advantages offered and limitations held by video retrieval technology for small video archives like those often found in special collections

Play to Say: A Speech Therapy Activities Website

Play to Say is a speech therapy website designed to provide activities for both at home and in-clinic facilitation. Play to Say.com was initially designed in conjunction with the Articulation & Phonological Disorders class at The University of Akron, taught by Dr. Scott Palasik. This class involved collegiate students working together to create therapy activities for various speech disorders in children. This website was created in effort to provide aspiring and current licensed speech-language pathologists with new ideas for therapy with children. In addition, the website addresses the much-needed push for continued therapy and practice at home. Parent-friendly activities are provided for each letter of the alphabet to encourage parent engagement and understanding. Speech pathologists will find activities organized by the phonetic alphabet. The use of technology for speech therapies and resources is ever-growing. This site aids in the new movement of modern resources. Lastly, a survey is included to indicate how the website is being used, and how it may be improved in the future. Activities provided were uniquely designed by Lauren and her classmates. The website may be visited at https://www.playtosayspeech.com

Studi Pengenalan Teknologi Artificial Intelligence Bagi Guru dan Siswa SMK Nurul Islam Larangan

SMK Nurul Islam is a vocational high school located in Larangan sub-district, Brebes district, which was founded by the Nurul Islam Slatri educational foundation. Based on the results of an initial survey conducted at partners, that students, teachers, and employees (+- 80%) have heard of the industrial revolution 4.0, but only 30% have heard of Artificial Intelligence. And from the survey, it was found that only 2% have understood and understood Artificial Intelligence technology, which has been applied in almost all sectors of life. The survey results also show that all teachers, employees, and students are familiar with the use of information technology, such as: laptops, smartphones, and the internet. However, the current trend of information technology development is that many do not understand, especially regarding the application of the concept of Artificial Intelligence technology, such as: Face Recognition, Speech Recognition, Expert System, Chatboot, Image Detection, and others. Therefore, community service activities were carried out with the theme Introduction to Artificial Intelligence Technology. The methods of presentation, dialogue and demonstration are carried out in the implementation of these community service activities. Based on community service activities and the comparison between the results of the pre-test and post-test, it is obtained that the knowledge and understanding of partners, namely: students and teachers of SMK Nurul Islam Prohibition on Artificial Intelligence is increasing

Online hate speech: A survey on personal experiences and exposure among adult New Zealanders

Online hate speech has been a topic of public concern and research interest for some time. Initially the focus of this centred on the proliferation of online groups and websites promoting and distributing discriminatory content. Since the introduction of more interactive tools and platforms in the mid-2000s that enabled new and faster ways of disseminating content in a relatively anonymous fashion, concerns about online hate speech becoming a pervasive behavior have increased. Current research and analysis acknowledge the complex nature of online hate, the mediating role of technology and the influence of other contextual factors (e.g. social or political events). However, despite the growing attention on the topic, New Zealand-based research looking at personal experiences and/or exposure to online hate is surprisingly absent. This study seeks to address this gap. It builds on existing international research on young people’s experiences to explore those of the adult New Zealand population based on a nationally representative sample. The research instrument used for this study was an online survey

Cochlear implants in the deaf community: Current circumstances of cochlear implant users among the deaf youth in Sweden’s educational system

Sweden has maintained an environment of equal opportunities and inclusive disability policies for its citizens. In Swedish education, a bilingualism method of Swedish Sign Language and spoken Swedish is used in teaching deaf children. The cochlear implant device is considered an advanced form of hearing technology and is used with deaf youth to assist with speech development. Several medical experts and researchers support the language development theory that there is a critical period for a deaf person to acquire natural language and speech development at a young age. Some experts believe that in order to achieve this language acquisition of the spoken language, deaf children are encouraged to get implants as early as possible. The focus of this thesis is to examine how the emergence of cochlear implant technology impacts Sweden\u27s environment toward existing disability policies and procedures in education, health care, and organizations serving deaf people. This thesis will be addressed in the following 3 ways: 1. Provide current documentation of criteria and processes for obtaining a cochlear implant. 2. Gather existing policy statements on cochlear implants from major organizations serving deaf people. 3. Collect historical and current statistical data of the deaf population who have cochlear implants or hearing aids in compulsory education including special schools (first grade to ninth grades). To explore the current circumstances of cochlear implant use in the educational environment in Sweden, an in-depth literature review was conducted about Sweden\u27s history and background of cochlear implant use. Surveys were distributed to five major community organizations and agencies serving deaf people as well as six community hospitals about the process and procedures for obtaining cochlear implants in Sweden. This research process collected information that occurred predominantly mostly in 2007 followed by interpretations, analysis of the survey results, and new findings

Integrating user-centred design in the development of a silent speech interface based on permanent magnetic articulography

Abstract: A new wearable silent speech interface (SSI) based on Permanent Magnetic Articulography (PMA) was developed with the involvement of end users in the design process. Hence, desirable features such as appearance, port-ability, ease of use and light weight were integrated into the prototype. The aim of this paper is to address the challenges faced and the design considerations addressed during the development. Evaluation on both hardware and speech recognition performances are presented here. The new prototype shows a com-parable performance with its predecessor in terms of speech recognition accuracy (i.e. ~95% of word accuracy and ~75% of sequence accuracy), but significantly improved appearance, portability and hardware features in terms of min-iaturization and cost