A general-purpose natural language interface to an operating system

Abstract

One of the most difficult tasks facing new computer users is the management of data and programs through an operating system (OS) interface. Both command languages and graphical interfaces can impede a user unfamiliar with the terminology and organizational techniques of modern file management systems. Various attempts have been made in recent years to develop systems that will enable users to interact with the computer in natural language. By simplifying the form of user input to an OS, such interfaces allow the user to concentrate on file management tasks rather than on the means of expressing OS-specific instructions. The Informational Network for a Natural Talking (INFANT) System was originally developed as a conversational system for communication at the level of a small child. It has since been adapted for use as a general-purpose English language interface for standard OS file management operations. The INFANT System reduces an input sentence to a hierarchy of standardized propositional forms, which are mapped through a propositional knowledge base and a compositional semantics process into a high-level representation of meaning. Its effectiveness as a working natural language interface has been verified in a pair of experiments performed in a college computer lab. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.