Future prospects for computational linguistics

Gary G. Hendrix
1980 Proceedings of the 18th annual meeting on Association for Computational Linguistics -  
A. Introduction For over two decades, researchers in artificial intelligence and computational linguistics have sought to discover principles that would allow computer systems to process natural languages such as English. This work has been pursued both to further the scientific goals of providing a framework for a computational theory of natural-language communication and to further the engineering goals of creating computer-based systems that can communicate with their~ human users in human
more » ... rms. Although the goal of fluent machine-based nautral-langusge understanding remains elusive, considerable progress has been made and future prospects appear bright both for the advancement of the science and for its application to the creation of practical systems. In particular, after 20 years of nurture in the academic nest, natural-language processing is beginning to test its wings in the commercial world [8]. By the end of the decade, natural-language systems are likely to be in widespread use, bringing computer resources to large numbers of non-computer specialists and bringing new credibility (and hopefully new levels of funding) to the research community. B. Basis for Optimism My optimism is based on an extrapolation of three major trends currently affecting the field: (~) The emergence of an engineering/applications discipline within the computationallinguistics community. (2) The continuing rapid development of new computing hardware coupled with the beginning of a movement from time-sharing to personal computers. (3) A shift from syntax and semantics as the principle objects of study to the development of theories that cast language use in terms of a broader theory of goal-motivated behavior and that seek primarily to explain how a speaker's cognitive state motivates him to engage in an act of communication, how a speaker devises utterances with which to perform the act, and how acts of communication affect the cognitive states of hearers. C. Th___ee Impact o fEn~ineerin~ The emergence of an engineering discipline may strike many researchers in the field as being largely detached from the mainstream of current work. But I believe that, for better or worse, this discipline will have a major and continuing influence on our research community. The public at large tends, often unfairly, to view a science through the products and concrete results it produces, rather than through the mysteries of nature it reveals. Thus, the chemist is seen as the person who produces fertilizer, food coloring and nylon stockings; the biologist finds cures for diseases; and the physicist produces moon rockets, semiconductors, and nuclear power plants. What has computational linguistics produced that has affected the lives of individuals outside the limits of its own close-knit community? As long as the answer remains "virtually nothing," our work will generally be viewed as an ivory tower enterprise. As soon as the answer becomes a set of useful computer systems, we will be viewed as the people who produce such systems and who aspire to produce better ones. My point here is that the commercial marketplace will tend to judge both our science and our engineering in terms of our existing or potential engineering products. This is, of course, rather unfair to the science; but I believe that it bodes well for our future. After all, most of the current sponsors of research on computational linguistics understand the scientific nature of the enterprise and are likely to continue their support even in the face of minor successes on the engineering front. The impact of an engineering arm can only add to our field's basis of support by bringing in new suport from the commercial sector. One note of caution is appropriate, however. There is a real possibility that as commercial enterprises enter the natural-language field, they will seek to build in-house groups by attracting researchers from universities and nonprofit institutions. Although this would result in the creation of more jobs for computational linguists, it would also result in proprietary barriers being established between research groups. The net effect in the short term might actually be to retard scientific progress.
doi:10.3115/981436.981476 dblp:conf/acl/Hendrix80 fatcat:bjxbuvh4xjemljxmhjvckkhmee