Projected Government Needs in Human Language Technology and the RoleoOf Researchers in Meeting them

After a brief discussion of current government uses and needs for human language technology, this paper will discuss the uses which will probably survive in the future as well as attempt to define some anticipated ones. Business uses, military uses, and education/training receive the most focus today. Current state of the art technologies are providing initial resources to enable better management of the above. Suggested critical efforts to make the technologies more appropriate for the tasks at hand in the government will be discussed. A tentative view of the role of researchers, in providing the basis to obtain adequate critical natural language technologies, will be presented. functional needs. Interand intra-agency coordination and information dissemination are critical to efficient and proper functioning of our government. When is natural language technology a suitable solution to maximize the effectiveness in these efforts? Some examples will shed light on the nature of our current human language technology capabilities and provide guidance on what still is needed even within our current government operations. Information Management Functions of the Government: • Access to personnel. • Dissemination of information. 1. CURRENT G O V E R N M E N T NEEDS IN H U M A N L A N G U A G E T E C H N O L O G Y • Acquisition of information. • Protection of access to information. The functions of government fall into three general classes: 1. business, both external and internal; 2. military, beyond the business uses; and 3. educational/training responsibilities. One very important question related to determining current human language technology needs is to look at these three broad areas and to assess what technology exists today and how effectively it can be applied. Another equally important question which must be considered is, "Does technology help or hinder the functionality of the government?" 1.1 Human Language Technology and Current Government Business Needs Government business needs are coextensive with operational business needs of the United States. Access to information, interpersonal communication, and joint work environments within government operations are all critical 1 The opinions and assertions in this paper are those of the author and are not to be construed as official or reflecting the views of the Department of the Navy. Communication Functions of the Government: • External Communicat ion Functions -need to communicate with the general public and provide suitable responses not only in content but in presentation style. Internal Communicat ion Functions -communication of protocols, procedural modif icat ions , re levant day to day operational changes. * Multi-language interaction facility where the interaction may be in any of several l anguages as wel l as t rans la t ion capabilities. * Joint work environments where multiple decision making is enhanced via multitasking envi ronments at dis tr ibuted locations.