Learning to Ask the Right Questions

, ,

Citation

Gervasio, M. and Yeh, E. and Myers, K. Learning to Ask the Right Questions, in Proceedings of the AAMAS Workshop on Agents Learning Interactively from Human Teachers , 2010.

Abstract

Asking questions is an integral part of learning. Asking questions can clarify concepts, test hypotheses, add missing information, or provide additional knowledge to facilitate learning. The last item motivates the work described in this paper. By asking questions, our system obtains information that serves as background knowledge for a base learner, enabling the base learner to make useful generalizations even with few training examples. In previous work, we developed static strategies for question asking. Here, we extend that work with a learning approach for acquiring question-asking strategies that better accommodates the interdependent nature of questions. We present experiments validating the approach and showing its usefulness for acquiring efficient, context-dependent question-asking strategies.

Keywords: Active learning, decision tree induction, metalearning, preference learning


Read more from SRI

  • Banner and attendees at the IEEE Hard Tech Venture Summit

    Cultivating hard tech startups that scale

    IEEE’s Hard Tech Venture Summit convened innovators at SRI to refine strategies and build new networks.

  • Patient going into a MRI

    Bringing surgical tools inside the MRI

    Drawing on SRI’s unique innovation ecosystem, the startup Medical Devices Corner is seeking to improve cancer surgery by advancing MRI-safe teleoperation.

  • Christopher Mims and Susan Patrick

    PARC Forum: How to AI

    The Wall Street Journal tech columnist Christopher Mims and SRI Education’s Susan Patrick discuss how AI can strengthen human agency.