Information processing device, information processing method, and information processing program

Abstract

This information processing device comprises: a degree-of-interest determination unit that determines the degree of interest of a user with respect to each of one or more categories on the basis of a level that has been input by the user with respect to each of the one or more categories via a level input screen in which, for each of the one or more categories, a level among two or more levels from a lowest level to a highest level can be input; a category determination unit that determines one or more categories to which a plurality of content items, which are output targets, belong; and an output frequency control unit that, on the basis of the one or more categories to which the plurality of content items belong and the degree of interest of the user with respect to the one or more categories, controls the output frequency of the plurality of content items for each user such that the output target which is output with respect to identical conditions differs per user.

Description

Information processing device, information processing method, and information processing program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and an information processing program capable of outputting a plurality of contents.

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Search systems such as search sites that output a plurality of contents to users are known.

[0003] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-175317 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-018843 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-517317 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-003637 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-186214

[0004] When a search query is given, each patent document search system outputs content that is directly related to the search query as a search result. For example, if the query is a keyword, the system outputs content that includes the keyword.

[0005] On the other hand, search system algorithms are opaque to users, and the frequency with which content is output as search results may not meet user expectations. For example, when the name of a region is entered into the search box, content that the user does not expect, such as reservation sites for restaurants and hotels in the region, or videos and blogs written by tourists, may be output, rather than the content the user expects, such as the region's official website or news site. Furthermore, while desired and undesired content differs from user to user, the output content that is output under the same conditions (same search query) is the same for each user. Search systems do not provide a mechanism for users to control the output content on demand for each user.

[0006] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present disclosure is to provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and an information processing program that are capable of controlling an output target to be output under the same conditions.

[0007] An information processing device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure comprises: an interest level determination unit that determines the user's level of interest in one or more categories based on the level input for each of the one or more categories via a level input screen that allows the user to input one of two or more levels ranging from the lowest level to the highest level for each of the one or more categories; a category determination unit that determines one or more categories to which each of multiple pieces of content to be output belongs; and an output frequency control unit that controls the output frequency of the multiple pieces of content for each user based on the user's level of interest in the one or more categories and the one or more categories to which each of the multiple pieces of content belongs, thereby varying the output objects to be output for the same conditions for each user.

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to control the output target that is output under the same conditions.

[0009] The effects described here are not necessarily limited to those described herein, and may be any of the effects described in this disclosure.

[0010] 1 shows an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 shows a functional configuration of an information system. FIG. 2 shows an example of a level input screen. FIG. 3 shows an example of a major category selection GUI. FIG. 4 shows examples of a plurality of major categories, a plurality of categories belonging to each major category, and descriptions of each category. FIG. 5 shows a modified example of a level input screen on which levels can be input in a continuous manner. FIG. 6 shows another example of a level input screen on which levels can be input in multiple stages. FIG. 7 shows another example of a level input screen on which levels can be input in a continuous manner and / or multiple stages. FIG. 8 shows an operation flow of an information processing system. FIG. 9 shows an operation flow of an interest level determination unit. FIG. 10 shows an interest level database. FIG. 11 shows an operation flow of a category determination unit. FIG. 12 shows an operation flow of an output frequency control unit. FIG. 13 shows an operation flow of an information processing system. FIG. 14 shows a content display screen. FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining an example of output frequency control of a plurality of image contents. FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining another example of output frequency control of a plurality of image contents. FIG. 17 shows a modified example of a level input screen on which levels can be input in two stages.

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] 1. Information processing system

[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0014] The information processing system 1 includes an information processing device 10, a storage device 20, and a web server 30, all of which are communicatively connected via a network or the like. The information processing device 10 functions as a back-end computing server and executes arithmetic processing. The storage device 20 is a large-capacity non-volatile storage device that functions as a server-side database server. The information processing device 10 and the storage device 20 may be independently connected via a network or the like (as shown), or may be constructed as an integrated information processing device (not shown). The web server 30 is a front-end web server that provides data generated by the information processing device 10 through arithmetic processing and stored in the storage device 20 in response to a request from an electronic device 40, which is a client.

[0015] The target system 50 is, for example, a search system or a SNS system, and is a system outside the information processing system 1. The information processing device 10 is located between the target system 50 and the web server 30. The information processing device 10 is configured to control the output frequency of output targets (plurality of content) generated by the target system 50, and to supply output targets that differ for each user to the electronic device 40 via the web server 30.

[0016] The electronic device 40 is a device having a display device 41, such as a smartphone, tablet computer, personal computer, head-mounted display, or VR glasses, and is a terminal device used by an end user. The display device 41 may be a touch panel, a display without a touch panel, a head-mounted display, or a display unit built into the VR glasses. The electronic device 40 is capable of operating various GUIs displayed on the display device 41. Examples of the operation include operation with an operator (a finger, a stylus pen, a mouse, etc.), or, if the electronic device 40 is a head-mounted display or VR glasses, operation with a handheld controller, a part of the human body, or movement of the line of sight.

[0017] 2. Functional configuration of the information processing system

[0018] FIG. 2 shows the functional configuration of the information system.

[0019] The information processing device 10 operates as an interest level determination unit 101, a category determination unit 102, and an output frequency control unit 103 by the processor of the control circuit 100 loading various information processing programs recorded in the auxiliary storage device into the main storage device and executing them.

[0020] The storage device 20 stores an interest level database 210 .

[0021] 3. Level input screen

[0022] FIG. 3 shows an example of a level input screen.

[0023] The level input screen 400 is displayed on the electronic device 40 by the information processing device 10 via the web server 30. As shown in (A), the level input screen 400 allows the user to input one of two or more levels, from the lowest level to the highest level, for each of one or more categories (in this example, multiple categories). "Two or more levels" is a concept that includes two levels and three or more levels. "Two levels" refers to a binary level of on / off. On the other hand, "three or more levels" means that in addition to the two levels of the lowest and highest levels, one or more levels between them can be input. In this example, the multiple categories include science and technology 401, games 402, economics posts 403, advertising 404, and other categories 405, 406, and 407. The multiple categories 401-407 belong to a major category. In this example, the major category is "all" 414 (meaning all major categories; no specific major category is specified).

[0024] In this specification, "level" refers to the degree to which a user accepts and expects something as an output target, and the user's level of interest or concern. The level input screen 400 is a GUI that likens high and low levels to the volume of audio, allowing the user to intuitively and easily input the degree of acceptance, expectation, interest, and / or concern. Levels can be input independently for each of multiple categories 401-407. In other words, the level input screen 400 has a GUI configuration that is intuitively similar to "mixing," in which levels are input independently for each of multiple categories (bass, percussion, vocals, etc.) that make up a song, and audio output is controlled.

[0025] The level input screen 400 displays a GUI that represents the minimum to maximum audio volume, from the minimum audio volume (i.e., mute), as a GUI that represents the lowest to highest level. The level input screen 400 also displays an object 415 that represents the audio volume, which represents the high and low levels as the high and low audio volumes.

[0026] The level input screen 400 is configured so that the user can input a level for each of the multiple categories 401-407 in a stepless manner on a bar 410 (line segment) from the lowest level to the highest level. When the level can be input in a stepless manner, the level is a continuous value. Specifically, as shown in (A), the level input screen 400 is configured so that the user can input a level for each of the multiple categories 401-407 by operating (sliding, dragging, tapping, clicking, etc.) an area including a bar 410 that connects a position 408 indicating the lowest level and a position 409 indicating the highest level.

[0027] For example, as shown in (B), for the category of games 402, the user can increase the level by manipulating indicator 411 on bar 410 in a direction (arrow 412) from position 408 indicating the lowest level toward position 409 indicating the highest level. As shown in (C), for the category of games 402, the user can decrease the level by manipulating indicator 411 on bar 410 in a direction (arrow 413) from position 409 indicating the highest level toward position 408 indicating the lowest level.

[0028] An icon 420 may be displayed indicating whether or not an account is linked among the multiple categories 401-407. When the user operates an icon 420 displaying a mark (such as an X mark) indicating that the account is not linked, the screen may transition to a login screen for the service with which the account is not linked, and account linking may be performed. The level input screen 400 may allow the user to select and / or increase or decrease multiple categories.

[0029] FIG. 4 shows an example of a major category selection GUI.

[0030] The level input screen 400 allows the user to input levels for each of multiple categories belonging to one or more (in this example, multiple) major categories. (A) indicates that the major category is "All" 414 (meaning all major categories, without specifying a specific major category). Operating "All" 414 in (A) displays a pull-down screen 416 for selecting a specific major category, as shown in (B). The pull-down screen 416 allows selection from multiple major categories (website 417, genre 418, source 419, other major category 420). As shown in (C), when source 419 is selected as the major category, advertisement 404 and other categories 405, 406, and 407, which belong to source 419 (major category), are displayed, while the other categories 401-403 are hidden. This allows the user to independently input levels for advertisement 404 and other categories 405, 406, and 407, which belong to source 419 (major category).

[0031] Multiple major categories may be compatible with each other. For example, major categories (genre 418, source 419) may be compatible with each other. Specifically, if a user wants to know about advertisements related to science and technology, the user can input the level of science and technology 401 (category) for genre 418 (major category) and, at the same time, input the level of advertisement 404 (category) for source 419 (major category).

[0032] FIG. 5 shows an example of a plurality of major categories, a plurality of categories belonging to each major category, and a description of each category.

[0033] Multiple major categories 430 can coexist. Multiple categories 431 belong to each of the multiple major categories 430. That is, the user can input all levels of the multiple categories 431 that belong to each of the multiple major categories 430. Each of the multiple categories 431 has a meaning 432.

[0034] FIG. 6 shows a modified example of the level input screen, which allows the level to be input in a stepless manner.

[0035] As shown in (A), the level input screen 400 is configured so that the user can input a level for each of a plurality of categories 401-407 in a continuous manner in an area 410 (bold straight line) including a bar connecting the position indicating the lowest level and the position indicating the highest level. The level of the science and technology category 401 is the maximum value, and the level of the advertising category 404 is the minimum value (mute).

[0036] (B) and (C) are examples of a level input screen 400 displayed on the display device 41 when the electronic device 40 is a smartphone. The level input screens 400 in (B) and (C) are virtually connected by a scroll function 421.

[0037] FIG. 7 shows another example of a level input screen that allows the level to be input in multiple stages.

[0038] As shown in (A), the level input screen 400 is configured so that the user can input levels in multiple stages (six stages) for each of a plurality of categories 401-407 in an area 410 (five circles) that includes a bar connecting the lowest level (0) to the highest level (5) and the highest level. When multiple levels can be input, the levels are discrete values ​​rather than continuous values. The level of the science and technology category 401 is the maximum value (5), the level of the games category 402 is 3, and the level of the advertisements category 404 is the minimum value (0, i.e., mute).

[0039] As shown in (B), the level input screen 400 is configured so that the user can input a level for each of a plurality of categories 401-407 in multiple stages (11 stages) from the lowest level (0) to the highest level (10) using a numerical value 422. The level of the science and technology category 401 is the maximum value (10), the level of the games category 402 is 5, and the level of the advertisements category 404 is the minimum value (0, i.e., mute).

[0040] FIG. 8 shows another example of a level input screen that allows the level to be input in a continuous and / or multi-stage manner.

[0041] This example is a combination of the level input screen 400 using the stepless bar 410 in FIG. 3 and the multi-step level input screen 400 using the numerical values ​​422 in FIG. 7B.

[0042] FIG. 18 shows another example of a level input screen that allows input of two levels.

[0043] As shown in (A), the level input screen 400 is configured so that the user can input a level for each of a plurality of categories 401-407 in two stages (ON / OFF) on an area 440 (slide bar) including a bar connecting the position indicating the lowest level to the position indicating the highest level, from the lowest level (OFF) to the highest level (ON). For example, the level of the science and technology category 401 is the maximum value (ON), and the level of the economy category 403 is the minimum value (OFF, i.e., mute).

[0044] As shown in (B), the level input screen 400 is configured to allow the user to input levels for each of a plurality of categories 401-407 in two stages (ON / OFF) from the lowest level (OFF) to the highest level (ON) using GUIs 441, 442. The level of the science and technology category 401 is the minimum value (OFF 441, i.e., mute), and the level of the economy category 403 is the maximum value (ON 442).

[0045] As shown in (C), the level input screen 400 is configured to allow the user to input a level using check boxes 443 that allow the user to alternatively select a level in two stages (ON / OFF) from the lowest level (OFF) to the highest level (ON) for each of a plurality of categories 401-407. The level of the science and technology category 401 is the maximum value (ON), and the level of the economy category 403 is the minimum value (OFF, i.e., mute).

[0046] According to this embodiment, rather than simply providing a mute function, the user can intuitively control the display level for elements such as categories that the user has explicitly defined.

[0047] 4. Operation of the information processing system

[0048] 9 shows the operation flow of the information processing system, and FIG. 10 shows the operation flow of the interest level determination unit.

[0049] In this embodiment, the target system 50 is a search system that executes an information search, as an example.

[0050] Step S1: The interest level determination unit 101 displays a level input screen 400 on the electronic device 40 used by the user. The user operates a bar 410 on the level input screen 400 to input a level for each of a plurality of categories 401-407 in a stepless manner on the bar 410 (line segment) from the lowest level to the highest level. At this time, the user may select and / or increase / decrease (add) category types through a predetermined operation (FIG. 4). The interest level determination unit 101 determines the user's level of interest in each of a plurality of categories belonging to one or more compatible major categories, based on the levels input for each of a plurality of categories belonging to one or more compatible major categories.

[0051] The interest level determination unit 101 determines the user's level of interest in each of a plurality of categories based on the levels input for each of the plurality of categories via the level input screen 400. The interest level determination unit 101 determines the level of interest for a category for which the user has not input a level as an initial value, or determines the level based on the level of a category for which the user has input a level. In other words, a default value (e.g., 1) is assigned to a category for which no level of interest has been set by a predetermined process. The default value does not always have to be a fixed value (e.g., 1). For example, the interest level determination unit 101 may determine the initial value from the levels of interest of existing categories. Each time the interest level determination unit 101 determines the user's level of interest in each category (kth category), it registers the level of interest for the kth category in the interest level database 210. If the user has input the lowest level (mute) for a certain category on the level input screen 400, the interest level determination unit 101 sets the level of interest for this category to "0."

[0052] FIG. 11 shows the interest level database.

[0053] The interest level database 210 registers an ID 211, a category ID 212, and an interest level 213 in association with each other. The ID 211 uniquely identifies a pair of the category ID 212 and the interest level 213. The category ID 212 is data that uniquely identifies a category and may be a category name (economy, entertainment, IT, politics, lifestyle, etc.), or may be associated with a category name. The category ID 212 does not have to be a name or a character string. For example, it may be a cluster ID calculated by clustering based on features. The interest level 213 may be a real number between 0 and 1. The interest level 213 is a score determined based on the level input by the user for each category (identified by the category ID 212). The interest level 213 score is used to control the output frequency of the output results of the target system. One interest level database 210 is prepared for each user.

[0054] FIG. 12 shows the operation flow of the category determination unit.

[0055] The target system 50 (for example, a search system) outputs M pieces of content A to E using an algorithm unique to the target system 50 based on a search word or the like entered by a user in a search box.

[0056] Step S2: The category determination unit 102 determines the categories to which each of the multiple (M) pieces of content A-E to be output from the target system 50 belongs. The determined category corresponds to one of the category IDs 212 registered in the interest level database 210. The category determination unit 102 may determine the category based on the content. The category may be predetermined or may be an ID automatically extracted from data using clustering or the like. The category determination unit 102 determines the categories to which each of the multiple pieces of content to be output belongs, for example, by dividing the categories into one or more major categories that are compatible with each other. In this case, one piece of content will belong to multiple category IDs (in this example, content E belongs to category 1 and category 3). If category IDs have already been assigned to the pieces of content A-E to be output from the target system 50, the category determination unit 102 extracts those category IDs.

[0057] Here, if category types are selected and / or increased or decreased, step S1 must be executed first. Each time a category type is added in step S1, the presence or absence of the added categories for each piece of content must be determined again by executing step S2. However, executing step S2 every time is redundant (the same calculations must be performed each time). Therefore, instead of re-determining the presence or absence of all categories for each piece of content, it is possible to determine only the presence or absence of the added categories. Alternatively, feature amounts (information amount of the original content ≧ information amount of feature amounts; this may be a feature vector or more specific tags, etc.) may be calculated in advance from each piece of content, and categories may be determined from these feature amounts. Determining categories from feature amounts has the advantage of requiring less computational effort than determining categories from content. Note that steps S1 and S2 may be executed in either order.

[0058] FIG. 13 shows the operation flow of the output frequency control unit.

[0059] Step S3: The output frequency control unit 103 controls the output frequency of the multiple (M) contents A-E for each user based on the user's level of interest in multiple categories (level of interest 213 for each category ID 212 registered in the interest level database 210) and the multiple categories to which the multiple (M) contents A-E respectively belong, thereby causing the output targets output for the same conditions to differ for each user.

[0060] For example, the proportions of each category contained in the M pieces of content A-E output from the target system 50 (total value = 1) are as follows: proportion of category 0 = 0.11, proportion of category 1 = 0.24, proportion of category 2 = 0.03, proportion of category 3 = 0.20, and proportion of category 4 = 0.22.

[0061] The output frequency control unit 103 reads out from the interest level database 210 the interest levels 213 (real numbers between 0 and 1) for each category ID 212 corresponding to the category determined in step S2 for the M pieces of content A to E output from the target system 50. The output frequency control unit 103 normalizes the read interest levels 213 (total value = 1).

[0062] For example, the output frequency control unit 103 normalizes the interest level of 0.40 for category 0 to calculate 0.20, normalizes the interest level of 1.00 for category 1 to calculate 0.50, normalizes the interest level of 0.20 for category 2 to calculate 0.10, normalizes the interest level of 0.00 for category 3 to calculate 0.00, and normalizes the interest level of 0.40 for category 4 to calculate 0.20.

[0063] The output frequency control unit 103 sets the normalized interest levels as the output frequencies (output ratios) of the content. That is, the output frequency control unit 103 sets the output frequency of content in category 0 to be approximately 0.20, the output frequency of content in category 1 to be approximately 0.50, the output frequency of content in category 2 to be approximately 0.10, the output frequency of content in category 3 to be approximately 0.00, and the output frequency of content in category 4 to be approximately 0.20.

[0064] The output frequency control unit 103 resamples N (N≦M) pieces of content from the M pieces of content according to the proportion of categories determined by the interest level. In other words, the output frequency control unit 103 selects and outputs N (N≦M) pieces of content from the M pieces of content A-E output from the target system 50 so that the output frequency (output ratio) of content in category 0 to content in category 1 is approximately 0.20:0.50. The output frequency control unit 103 controls the output frequency of multiple pieces of content for each user based on the user's interest level in each of multiple categories belonging to one or more coexistent major categories and the multiple categories to which each of the multiple pieces of content belongs, for each of the one or more coexistent major categories. If the user selects the lowest level (mute) for a certain category on the level input screen 400, the interest level for this category is "0" (step S1), and therefore the output frequency control unit 103 does not output content belonging to this category.

[0065] In this way, the output frequency control unit 103 samples N pieces of content so that the desired interest level and the similar category level are achieved, thereby enabling the content to be displayed at the level (frequency) desired by the user. The output frequency control unit 103 may further vary the level by taking into account other preferences, etc. Note that the function that determines the output frequency from the interest level does not necessarily have to be linear, but the following function, for example, can be used.

[0066] Output frequency of the kth content = (interest level of the kth content) / (Σ ｉ Interest level for the i-th content)

[0067] The function can be any function as long as the order (magnitude relationship) of interest level and output frequency does not change. Since N (N≦M) pieces of content are sampled from M pieces of content, the display result changes based on the output frequency each time the output frequency control unit 103 tries (operates). If the order of the M pieces of content has meaning (for example, the first piece of content output has the highest importance or relevance), the order of the N pieces of content to be output can also have the same meaning. By adding a constraint to the sampling that maintains the original order, the content that was originally output with priority (the most important) can be displayed with priority. The output frequency of the N pieces of content may be approximately matched to the output frequency determined from the interest level.

[0068] 5. Modifications

[0069] FIG. 14 shows the operation flow of the information processing system.

[0070] The information processing system 1 may include a target system 50. Conversely, the output frequency function of this embodiment may be incorporated into the target system 50. If the process of determining the category (step S2) and the process of considering the interest level (step S3) are directly incorporated into the target system 50, it is also possible to directly display N pieces of content whose display frequency has been controlled.

[0071] 6. Application examples of this embodiment

[0072] In this embodiment, the target system 50 is an SNS system, and a case is taken as an example in which a plurality of image contents are displayed using an algorithm unique to the target system 50.

[0073] FIG. 15 shows a content display screen.

[0074] When "cat" (B) is entered into the search box (A), the target system 50 (for example, an SNS system) outputs 10 pieces of content related to "cat" as shown in (c) using an algorithm unique to the target system 50. In this example, the 10 pieces of content are each assigned in advance to a plurality of categories (science and technology 401, games 402, economics posts 403, advertisements 404, and other categories 405 and 406).

[0075] FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of output frequency control for a plurality of image contents.

[0076] Step S2: The category determination unit 102 determines the categories (science and technology 401, games 402, economics posts 403, advertisements 404, other categories 405, 406) to which the ten contents to be output from the target system 50 belong.

[0077] Step S1: The interest level determination unit 101 displays a level input screen 400 on the electronic device 40 used by the user. The categories on the level input screen 400 are the multiple categories determined in step S2 (science and technology 401, games 402, economics posts 403, advertisements 404, and other categories 405 and 406). The user may select and / or increase or decrease the number of categories by performing a predetermined operation. As shown in (A), in this example, the user selects only the categories (science and technology 401 and games 402) and deselects the other categories 403-406. As shown in (A), content belonging to the categories (science and technology 401 and games 402) continues to be displayed, while content in the deselected categories 403-406 is hidden.

[0078] The user operates a bar 410 on the level input screen 400 to input a level for each of a plurality of categories (science and technology 401, games 402) on the bar 410 (line segment) in a stepless manner from the lowest level to the highest level.

[0079] Step S3: As shown in (B), when the user inputs the lowest level (mute) for the category (games 402) on the level input screen 400, the output frequency control unit 103 hides the content belonging to this category (games 402) and continues to display the content of the category (science and technology 401) because the interest level for this category (games 402) is "0" (step S1).

[0080] As shown in (C), when the user inputs a level ratio of 5:3 for multiple categories (science and technology 401, games 402) on the level input screen 400, the output frequency control unit 103 controls the output so that the ratio of content in the multiple categories (science and technology 401, games 402) is close to 5:3.

[0081] FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining another example of output frequency control of a plurality of image contents.

[0082] Step S2: The category determination unit 102 determines the categories (science and technology 401, games 402, economics posts 403, advertisements 404, other categories 405, 406) to which the ten contents to be output from the target system 50 belong.

[0083] Step S1: The interest level determination unit 101 displays a level input screen 400 on the electronic device 40 used by the user. The categories on the level input screen 400 are the multiple categories determined in step S2 (science and technology 401, games 402, economics posts 403, advertisements 404, and other categories 405 and 406). The user may select and / or increase or decrease the number of categories by performing a predetermined operation. As shown in (A), in this example, the user selects only the categories (science and technology 401 and games 402) and deselects the other categories 403-406. In this example, as shown in (A), all of the content belonging to the categories (science and technology 401 and games 402) and the content of the deselected categories 403-406 continue to be displayed.

[0084] The user operates a bar 410 on the level input screen 400 to input a level for each of a plurality of categories (science and technology 401, games 402) on the bar 410 (line segment) in a stepless manner from the lowest level to the highest level.

[0085] Step S3: As shown in (B), when the user inputs the lowest level (mute) for the category (games 402) on the level input screen 400, the output frequency control unit 103 hides the content belonging to this category (games 402) because the interest level for this category (games 402) is "0" (step S1), and continues to display content from other categories (science and technology 401, economic posts 403, advertisements 404, other categories 405, 406).

[0086] As shown in (C), when the user inputs a level ratio of 5:3 for multiple categories (science and technology 401, games 402) on the level input screen 400, the output frequency control unit 103 controls the output so that the ratio of content from multiple categories (science and technology 401, games 402) is close to 5:3, and also displays content from other categories 403-406. In this case, the content from the category (science and technology 401, games 402) selected by the user is output to be displayed first (at the top), and the content from the other categories 403-406 is displayed next (below). As a result, unlike the arrangement of each content a-h in FIG. 15, the order is controlled for each user.

[0087] 7. Conclusion

[0088] Traditionally, search system algorithms have been opaque to users, and the frequency with which content is output as search results may not meet user expectations. For example, when the name of a region is entered into a search box, content that the user does not expect, such as reservation sites for restaurants and hotels in the region, or videos and blogs written by tourists, may be output, rather than the content the user expects, such as the region's official website or news site. Furthermore, while desired and undesired content differs from user to user, the output content that is output under the same conditions (same search query) is the same for each user. Search systems do not provide a mechanism for users to control the output content on demand for each user.

[0089] In contrast, according to this embodiment, the user can easily manage the content to be output at any time. The user can control the display frequency of the content output by the target system at any time using a simple interface based on the level of interest. The user can select the information (content) to be output by himself. It is possible to control the output target to be output under the same conditions.

[0090] Although the embodiments and modified examples of the present technology have been described above, the present technology is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present technology.

[0091] 1 Information processing system, 10 Information processing device, 100 Control circuit, 101 Interest level determination unit, 102 Category determination unit, 103 Output frequency control unit, 20 Storage device, 210 Interest level database, 30 Web server, 40 Electronic device, 400 Level input screen.

Claims

1. An information processing device comprising: an interest level determination unit that determines the user's level of interest in one or more categories based on the level input for each of the one or more categories via a level input screen, which allows the user to input one of two or more levels ranging from the lowest level to the highest level for each of the one or more categories; a category determination unit that determines one or more categories to which each of multiple pieces of content to be output belongs; and an output frequency control unit that controls the output frequency of the multiple pieces of content for each user based on the user's level of interest in the one or more categories and the one or more categories to which each of the multiple pieces of content belongs, thereby making the output objects output for the same conditions different for each user.

2. An information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the level input screen is configured to allow the user to input the level for each of one or more categories by operating an area including a bar connecting the position indicating the lowest level and the position indicating the highest level.

3. An information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the level input screen displays a GUI that represents the minimum level to the maximum level, that is, a GUI that represents the minimum audio volume to the maximum audio volume, and that likens the high and low levels to the large and small audio volumes.

4. An information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the level input screen further displays an object representing the audio volume, with the high and low levels being likened to loud and soft audio volumes.

5. An information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the two or more levels are three or more levels, and the level input screen is configured to allow the user to input the level for each of one or more categories in a continuous or multi-step manner from the lowest level to the highest level.

6. An information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the output frequency control unit does not output content belonging to a certain category when the level of the category is the lowest level.

7. An information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the level input screen allows a user to input a level for each of a plurality of categories belonging to one or more compatible major categories; the interest level determination unit determines the user's level of interest in each of a plurality of categories belonging to the one or more compatible major categories based on the level input for each of the plurality of categories belonging to the one or more compatible major categories; the category determination unit determines one or more categories to which each of a plurality of contents to be output belongs, for each of the one or more compatible major categories; and the output frequency control unit controls the output frequency of the plurality of contents for each user based on the user's level of interest in each of the plurality of categories belonging to the one or more compatible major categories and the one or more categories to which the plurality of contents belong, for each of the one or more compatible major categories.

8. An information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the level input screen allows the user to select and / or increase or decrease the one or more categories.

9. An information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the interest level determination unit determines the interest level of a category for which the user has not input a level as an initial value, or determines the interest level based on the level of a category for which the user has input a level.

10. An information processing method in which a computer executes the following steps: determining the user's level of interest in one or more categories based on the level input for each of the one or more categories via a level input screen that allows the user to input one of two or more levels, from the lowest level to the highest level, for each of the one or more categories; determining one or more categories to which each of multiple pieces of content to be output belongs; and controlling the output frequency of the multiple pieces of content for each user based on the user's level of interest in the one or more categories and the one or more categories to which each of the multiple pieces of content belongs, thereby varying the output objects output for the same conditions for each user.

11. An information processing program that causes an information processing computer to operate as: an interest level determination unit that determines the user's level of interest in one or more categories based on the level input for each of the one or more categories via a level input screen that allows the user to input one of two or more levels, from the lowest level to the highest level, for each of the one or more categories; a category determination unit that determines one or more categories to which each of multiple contents to be output belongs; and an output frequency control unit that controls the output frequency of the multiple contents for each user based on the user's level of interest in the one or more categories and the one or more categories to which each of the multiple contents belongs, thereby causing the output objects to be output under the same conditions to differ for each user.

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