Entity Disambiguation via Probabilistic Attribute Scoring

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Solution Overview

Problem

In the era of large electronic environments, identifying whether online mentions or database profiles belong to a specific individual with a unique name is challenging due to the lack of personalized tools that can distinguish between individuals with similar names, leading to unclear information retrieval.

Innovation Solution

The use of statistical functions to make probabilistic deductions about entity attributes, constructing optimal combinations of these attributes to generate search queries that return more precise results by assigning reference and attribute scores, and employing a cohort-based framework to disambiguate entity reflections.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If traditional search methods are used to retrieve information about individuals, then search coverage is achieved, but precision is poor due to inability to distinguish between individuals with same or similar names

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesearch precisionVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the entity identification process into multiple stages: extracting entity mentions from text, computing entity scores based on multiple attributes (name, location, occupation, etc.), and progressively refining results through iterative searching. This segmentation allows the system to handle the complex task of disambiguation through manageable steps, improving precision without overwhelming system complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces multiple dimensions for entity identification beyond simple name matching. It computes entity scores based on multiple attributes including location, occupation, age, and other contextual information. This multi-dimensional approach transforms the problem from one-dimensional name matching to multi-dimensional entity profiling, significantly improving search precision

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Measurement precision

If multiple entity attributes are collected and analyzed, then entity disambiguation accuracy improves, but processing time and computational resources increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveentity identification accuracyVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-computing entity scores based on multiple attributes before actual search queries are executed. It extracts and analyzes entity mentions in advance, building a foundation of entity profiles that can be quickly queried later. This preliminary processing reduces the computational burden during actual search operations, balancing accuracy with processing time

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements a progressive refinement approach where it initially processes a subset of entity attributes and progressively adds more attributes as needed. The system computes entity scores using available attributes and iteratively refines results, rather than processing all possible attributes simultaneously. This partial action approach reduces initial processing time while still achieving high accuracy through iterative improvement

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentUS9910924B2Disambiguation of online social mentions
Publication Date: 2018.03.06 SALESFORCE INC
  • US9910924B2 patent drawing
  • US9910924B2 patent drawing
  • US9910924B2 patent drawing

AI summary

The technology disclosed relates to identifying entity reflections that refer to a same real-world entity. In particular, it relates to using statistical functions to make probabilistic deductions about entity attributes, which are used to construct optimal combinations of entity attributes. These optimal combinations of entity attributes are further used to generate search queries that return more precise search results with greater recall.