Chapter 008: Questioning

However, Fang Zhiqiang, Lu Yin, and Jun'er were all eagerly inputting various vocabulary words over and over again, watching as very interesting sentences emerged in the box below

Yes, you need not be so formal. Just call me Uncle.

Having hung up the phone, Lu Zhenyu hurriedly left the house

Artificial intelligence. Currently, developing such an engine hinges critically on intelligent judgment. I possess a self-developed core of artificial intelligence; the issue is that I do not know how to apply this core in key areas.

Lu Zhenyu did not expect to be evaluated so highly. In the following days, he was busy delving into linguistics

Lv Zhenyu took a USB drive out of his pocket, copied a segment of code onto the computer, entered the password, and ran the program. He explained: "This is the result of my current phase, combining the intelligent core with a portion of Chinese grammar that I can understand to create a sentence-making program. The interface is temporarily designed, as it is for my own testing, so I didn't pay much attention to it. You can input the vocabulary to be used for sentence construction in the upper box, and the complete sentence will be displayed in the lower box. Since sentence construction is an unpredictable random process, I have set up a button on the side to allow for changes if the sentence is unsatisfactory. In terms of sentence types, currently, there are only declarative sentences, general questions, and special questions; I have not yet included imperative sentences and rhetorical questions."

Yes, who are you

Fang Zhiqiang did not engage in much pleasantry and directly asked: "The Chinese department of this university is also quite strong, why don't you seek assistance from the school?"

Hello, Uncle. Hello, Lu Yin and Jun Er. After the greetings, Lu Zhenyu took a seat

The core of this program by Lü Zhenyu is a small segment of code that has been separated from the main program of Xiao Yu. The capabilities of this small segment of code are almost negligible compared to the current 60G space of the main Xiao Yu program. However, in such a simple intelligent program, it feels like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. This segment of code has already surpassed the international leading level of artificial intelligence by a significant margin. This small program, named "Third Grade," has sentence construction abilities comparable to that of a third-grade elementary school student, although it lacks the ability for common sense judgment. While the sentences it generates are grammatically correct, they can sometimes be quite humorous in meaning. This type of sentence construction is reminiscent of a game that some people enjoy, where several individuals each write a part of a sentence, and then they are randomly combined to create a collection of funny materials.

"Then is there no solution?" asked Lü Zhenyu

"If this thing is really to be put into the hands of elementary school students, then it will be troublesome. It should be no problem to fool the language teacher," commented Fang Zhiqiang

Uncle, there are quite a few voice input and output software available on the market. As for voice output, it is essentially just a continuous generation based on the pronunciation of each character, as seen on https://wwwhetushu.com. Some better software may include light reading of function words, but there is little variation in tone and intonation. The issues with voice input are even more complex. On one hand, the recognition rate for speech is still best served by ViaVoice, which was developed several years ago, and it also has high requirements for input devices. Moreover, after voice input, while the immediate words and phrases are fine, the segmentation and punctuation are a complete mess. Essentially, after voice input, one still has to rely on manual rewriting, making it less efficient than typing by hand. Originally, I thought that by understanding some linguistics, I could find a solution to this problem. However, linguistics is indeed a very peculiar discipline; the more materials I read, the less I know how to approach it." said Lü Zhenyu

Jun'er nodded slightly, appearing exceptionally obedient in front of her father, showing none of the demeanor of the renowned "Little Witch" from her high school days. After turning on her laptop, she pushed it in front of Lu Zhenyu.

Yes, are you Fang Youjun's father

I am currently at your school. You should go to the tea room next to the Xinzhong Book Club; I will be waiting for you there. Lu Yin and Jun Er will also come over shortly.

Let us put it this way: from a linguistic perspective, addressing the issue of recognition is something everyone understands. I have also participated in a project called "The Generation, Recognition, and Encoding of Speech." Currently, all machine recognition is based on words and speech, with grammar occupying a subordinate position. This is due to the significant differences between Chinese grammar and that of other languages, where the regularities are not particularly evident. Although it is possible to summarize most of the rules governing modern Chinese usage according to Western grammatical paradigms, this is not sufficient. The materials generated from word and speech recognition are organized and combined by the grammar module. Moreover, punctuation marks cannot be added by machines, as they lack the capability for sentence segmentation. This is the essence of machine linguistics based on speech.

Fang Zhiqiang remarked appreciatively: "You are right; it is not easy, but as long as you can develop a program that integrates the pragmatic and semantic levels, the issues related to phonetics will be minor. Matters such as phonetic variation do not need to be taken too seriously."

Artificial intelligence? Did you develop it independently? Can I take a look? Although Fang Zhiqiang specializes in linguistics, it is evident that his interests are quite broad. Moreover, Lü Zhenyu's remarks have also piqued the interest of Jun'er and Lu Yin.

The purpose of this mini-program is merely to verify my interim results, and there will be no further copies

Lü Zhenyu reflected on Fang Zhiqiang's words, pondering them repeatedly, and suddenly said: "Does this mean that if such an engine can be developed based on semantics and pragmatics, and then combined with the existing achievements in speech recognition, it could be quite complete?"

Hello, may I ask if this is Lv Zhenyu?" It was yet another unfamiliar voice belonging to a middle-aged man.

Lü Zhenyu said: "First of all, I am just a freshman. Even if I report this project to the school, no one will believe that I have the capability to carry it out. If I report it, I wonder how many people will think I am overestimating myself and consider me a fool. However, I know that I have the opportunity to successfully complete this project. Although I do not have a hundred percent confidence, I did not propose this project recklessly. Secondly, even if the school thinks this project is good, I cannot be sure that the school will allow me to lead its direction. Leaving aside the teachers in the Chinese department, how many experts in my own department and college will interfere? But I know that I have the opportunity to successfully complete this project. Although I do not have a hundred percent confidence, I did not propose this project recklessly. Furthermore, even if the school thinks this project is good, I cannot be sure that the school will allow me to lead its direction. Leaving aside the teachers in the Chinese department, how many experts in my own department and college will interfere? The key point is that the more they interfere, the greater the likelihood of failure for this project. The last reason is that I already possess the core technology, and I have no intention of making others benefit from my work."

In fact, reaching this level is already quite impressive. Where do you think I can assist you?

Until October 12, an unfamiliar call came to his mobile phone

Alright, uncle, I would like to discuss this with you in person. When would be a convenient time for you

Lv Zhenyu spoke with great confidence. Fang Zhiqiang nodded and asked, "What is the core technology you are referring to?"

Lu Zhenyu saw the notebook bag by Jun'er’s feet and asked, "May I use your notebook?"

When Lü Zhenyu arrived at the tea room, Lu Yin and Jun'er were already there. A middle-aged man with slightly graying hair, wearing a pair of very old-fashioned black-framed glasses, was sitting together with two young women and a middle-aged man who exuded an academic aura, creating a rather peculiar scene

I am Fang Zhiqiang from the Department of Chinese at Fudan University. A classmate of my daughter mentioned to me that you have some questions regarding linguistics that need to be answered