IP Library › Granted Patent US 10,754,969
Granted Patent B2
US 10,754,969 · App. 15/273,152 · Granted Aug 25, 2020

Method to allow for question and answer system to dynamically return different responses based on roles

Inventors: Donna K. Byron (Petersham, MA); Elie Feirouz (Lexington, MA); Daniel M. Jamrog (Acton, MA); Kristin A. Witherspoon (Somerville, MA)
Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
G06F21/6218G06F16/90332G06F21/32
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,754,969
App. No.
15/273,152
Granted
Aug 25, 2020
Kind
B2
Abstract

Embodiments are directed to a question and answer (QA) pipeline system that adjusts answers to input questions based on a user criteria, thus implementing a content-based determination of access permissions. The QA system allows for information to be retrieved based on permission granted to a user. Documents are ingested and assigned an access level based on a defined information access policy. The QA system is implemented with the defined information access policy, the ingested documents, and the inferred access levels. For the QA system implementation, a user enters a question; primary search and answer extraction stages are performed; candidate answer extraction is performed using only content the user is allowed to access; the candidate answers are scored, ranked, and merged; ranked answers based on user permissions are filtered; and answers are provided to the user.

Claims (56)

1. A computer implemented method for implementing a content-based determination of access permissions by an information handling system capable of answering questions, the system comprising a processor and a memory comprising instructions executed by the processor, the method comprising:

receiving data indicative of an information access policy;

performing document ingestion and extracting a plurality of features from ingested documents;

performing access level classification of the ingested documents based on the information access policy and the plurality of features;

receiving a question from a user with data indicative of a user permission level;

performing search and answer extraction to retrieve primary search retrieved content;

implementing a document lifecycle process to update the access level classification of one or more of the ingested documents as the documents are modified;

performing candidate answer extraction using content the user is allowed to access based on the access level classification of the ingested documents and the user permission level; and

providing to the user a notification comprising the content the user is allowed to access.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

utilizing all content or the content the user is allowed to access to score, rank, and merge candidate answers; and

filtering ranked answers based on the user permission level;

wherein the notification to the user further comprises the filtered, ranked answers.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the access level classification of the ingested documents comprises one or more of manually tagged, extracted based on natural language processing (NLP) and deep analytic analysis, based on a rules-based policy, or based on a classification-based policy.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein data indicative of a responsibility role is associated with the user, and wherein the candidate answer extraction is further based on the responsibility role.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising implementing a document lifecycle process to update the access level classification of one or more of the ingested documents.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the notification to the user further comprises an indication of access levels of the content the user is allowed to access.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the notification to the user further comprises one or more of an indication of areas where content is redacted and a portion of redacted content.

8. A computer program product for implementing a content-based determination of access permissions by an information handling system capable of answering questions, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to:

receive data indicative of an information access policy;

perform document ingestion and extract a plurality of features from ingested documents;

perform access level classification of the ingested documents based on the information access policy and the plurality of features;

receive a question from a user with data indicative of a user permission level;

perform search and answer extraction to retrieve primary search retrieved content;

implement a document lifecycle process to update the access level classification of one or more of the ingested documents as the documents are modified;

perform candidate answer extraction using content the user is allowed to access based on the access level classification of the ingested documents and the user permission level; and provide to the user a notification comprising the content the user is allowed to access.

9. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the program instructions further cause the processor to:

utilize all content or the content the user is allowed to access to score, rank, and merge candidate answers; and

filter ranked answers based on the user permission level;

wherein the notification to the user further comprises the filtered, ranked answers.

10. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the access level classification of the ingested documents comprises one or more of manually tagged, extracted based on natural language processing (NLP) and deep analytic analysis, based on a rules-based policy, or based on a classification-based policy.

11. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein data indicative of a responsibility role is associated with the user, and wherein the candidate answer extraction is further based on the responsibility role.

12. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the program instructions further cause the processor to:

implement a document lifecycle process to update the access level classification of one or more of the ingested documents.

13. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the notification to the user further comprises one or more of an indication of access levels of the content the user is allowed to access; an indication of areas where content is redacted; and a portion of redacted content.

14. A system for implementing a content-based determination of access permissions, the system comprising:

a memory comprising executable instructions; and

a processor configured to execute the executable instructions to:

receive data indicative of an information access policy;

perform document ingestion and extract a plurality of features from ingested documents;

performing access level classification of the ingested documents based on the information access policy and the plurality of features;

receive a question from a user with data indicative of a user permission level;

perform search and answer extraction to retrieve primary search retrieved content;

implementing a document lifecycle process to update the access level classification of one or more of the ingested documents as the documents are modified;

perform candidate answer extraction using content the user is allowed to access based on the access level classification of the ingested documents and the user permission level; and

provide to the user a notification comprising the content the user is allowed to access.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

utilize all content or the content the user is allowed to access to score, rank, and merge candidate answers; and

filter ranked answers based on the user permission level;

wherein the notification to the user further comprises the filtered, ranked answers.

16. The system of claim 14 , wherein the access level classification of the ingested documents comprises one or more of manually tagged, extracted based on natural language processing (NLP) and deep analytic analysis, based on a rules-based policy, or based on a classification-based policy.

17. The system of claim 14 , wherein data indicative of a responsibility role is associated with the user, and wherein the candidate answer extraction is further based on the responsibility role.

18. The system of claim 14 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

implement a document lifecycle process to update the access level classification of one or more of the ingested documents.

19. The system of claim 14 , wherein the notification to the user further comprises an indication of access levels of the content the user is allowed to access.

20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the notification to the user further comprises one or more of an indication of areas where content is redacted and a portion of redacted content.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 22, 2016
From: WITHERSPOON, KRISTIN A.; BYRON, DONNA K.; FEIROUZ, ELIE; JAMROG, DANIEL M.
To: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 039835/0448 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20180083975A1 · Mar 22, 2018