Traditional approaches to the problem of extracting data from texts have emphasized hand-crafted linguistic knowledge. In contrast, BBN's PLUM system (Probabilistic Language Understanding Model) was developed as part of a DARPA-funded research effort on integrating probabilistic language models with more traditional linguistic techniques. Our research and development goals are• more rapid development of new applications,• the ability to train (and re-train) systems based on user markings of correct and incorrect output,• more accurate selection among interpretations when more than one is found, and• more robust partial interpretation when no complete interpretation can be found.
['Damaris M. Ayuso', 'Sean Boisen', 'Heidi Fox', 'Herbert Gish', 'Robert Ingria', 'Ralph M. Weischedel']
BBN: description of the PLUM system as used for MUC-3