Fully automated generation of question-answer pairs for scripted virtual instruction

Pascal Kuyten*, Timothy Bickmore, Svetlana Stoyanchev, Paul Piwek, Helmut Prendinger, Mitsuru Ishizuka

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We introduce a novel approach for automatically generating a virtual instructor from textual input only. Our fully implemented system first analyzes the rhetorical structure of the input text and then creates various question-answer pairs using patterns. These patterns have been derived from correlations found between rhetorical structure of monologue texts and question-answer pairs in the corresponding dialogues. A selection of the candidate pairs is verbalized into a diverse collection of question-answer pairs. Finally the system compiles the collection of question-answer pairs into scripts for a virtual instructor. Our end-to-end system presents questions in pre-fixed order and the agent answers them. Our system was evaluated with a group of twenty-four subjects. The evaluation was conducted using three informed consent documents of clinical trials from the domain of colon cancer. Each of the documents was explained by a virtual instructor using 1) text, 2) text and agent monologue, and 3) text and agent performing question-answering. Results show that an agent explaining an informed consent document did not provide significantly better comprehension scores, but did score higher on satisfaction, compared to two control conditions.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationLecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Pages1-14
Number of pages14
Volume7502 LNAI
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012
Externally publishedYes
Event12th International Conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents, IVA 2012 - Santa Cruz, CA
Duration: 2012 Sept 122012 Sept 14

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Volume7502 LNAI
ISSN (Print)03029743
ISSN (Electronic)16113349

Other

Other12th International Conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents, IVA 2012
CitySanta Cruz, CA
Period12/9/1212/9/14

Keywords

  • Dialogue Generation
  • Medical Documents
  • Rhetorical Structure Theory

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computer Science(all)
  • Theoretical Computer Science

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