1985 Reports

The need for text generation

McKeown, Kathleen

For a variety of systems, such as expert systems, database systems, and problem-solving systems, text generation is one way for the system to communicate effectively with its users. This is particularly true when the system is likely to be used by a wide range of users with varying levels of expertise and background. In this paper I will show why explanation is a crucial feature of expert systems, how text generation can be used within database systems to familiarize users with the database, and where text generation can aid communication with problem-solving systems. Given that text generation is more than just a frill for such systems, a second focus of the paper will be on the kinds of problems that any designer of a text generation system must address. Some of the problems include being able to decide what to say, how to organize that information, and how to express it in natural language.