Microsoft and Its NLP Info Page

August 30, 2011

Microsoft is making a concerted effort to tackle natural language processing with its Redmond-based Natural Language Processing Group. The Microsoft page devoted to the group highlights current and older projects, downloads, and researchers involved.

The goal of the Natural Language Processing (NLP) group is to design and build software that will analyze, understand, and generate languages that humans use naturally, so that eventually you will be able to address your computer as though you were addressing another person. This goal is not easy to reach. “Understanding” language means, among other things, knowing what concepts a word or phrase stands for and knowing how to link those concepts together in a meaningful way.

Of particular interest are the recent publications authored by those in the group. Work includes everything from social media implementation, to multi-lingual Wikipedia content, to syntactic language modeling. The papers are well worth a read for anyone interested in the pressing field of natural language processing. Microsoft is definitely putting time and energy into the project, but it remains to be seen who of the tech giants will emerge the victor in the battle for natural language processing supremacy.

If you track NLP, including the newly minted azure chip consultants, you will want to monitor this aspect of Microsoft’s many, many search and text processing activities.

Emily Rae Aldridge, August 29, 2011

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.