Ehud Reiter - Böcker

This book explains how to build Natural Language Generation (NLG) systems - computer software systems which use techniques from artificial intelligence and computational linguistics to automatically generate understandable texts in English or other human languages, either in isolation or as part of multimedia documents, Web pages, and speech output systems. Typically starting from some non-linguistic representation of information as input, NLG systems use knowledge about language and the application domain to automatically produce documents, reports, explanations, help messages, and other kinds of texts. The book covers the algorithms and representations needed to perform the core tasks of document planning, microplanning, and surface realization, using a case study to show how these components fit together. It also discusses engineering issues such as system architecture, requirements analysis, and the integration of text generation into multimedia and speech output systems.

This book explains how to build Natural Language Generation (NLG) systems - computer software systems which use techniques from artificial intelligence and computational linguistics to automatically generate understandable texts in English or other human languages, either in isolation or as part of multimedia documents, Web pages, and speech output systems. Typically starting from some non-linguistic representation of information as input, NLG systems use knowledge about language and the application domain to automatically produce documents, reports, explanations, help messages, and other kinds of texts. The book covers the algorithms and representations needed to perform the core tasks of document planning, microplanning, and surface realization, using a case study to show how these components fit together. It also discusses engineering issues such as system architecture, requirements analysis, and the integration of text generation into multimedia and speech output systems.

In late 2022, the prominence of Natural Language Generation (NLG) surged with the advent of advanced language models like ChatGPT. While these developments have captivated both academic and commercial sectors, the focus has predominantly been on the latest innovations, often overlooking the rich history and foundational work in NLG. This book aims to provide a comprehensive overview of NLG, encompassing not only language models but also alternative approaches, user requirements, evaluation methods, safety and testing protocols, and practical applications. Drawing on decades of NLG research, the book is designed to be a valuable resource for both researchers and developers, offering insights that remain relevant far beyond the current technological landscape.Natural Language Generation focuses on data-to-text but also looks at other types of NLG including text summarization.  The book takes a holistic approach to NLG, looking at requirements (what users are looking for), design, data issues, testing, evaluation, safety and ethical issues as well as technology.   The holistic approach is unique to this book and is very valuable for people building real-world NLG systems, and for academics and researchers who are interested in applied NLG.The author, who previously co-authored a seminal NLG book in 2000, emphasizes high-level concepts and methodologies, ensuring the material's longevity and utility. The book is structured to balance technical depth with practical relevance, including chapters on rule-based and neural NLG approaches, user requirements, rigorous evaluation techniques, and safety considerations. Real-world applications, particularly in journalism, business intelligence, summarization, and medicine, are explored to illustrate NLG's potential and scalability. With personal anecdotes and examples from the author's experiences, this book provides a unique and engaging perspective on the evolving field of NLG, making it an indispensable guide for those looking to harness the power of language generation technologies.