The DeKi Programming Journal (DKPJ) is both a tool in coding German Wotan open-source artificial intelligence (AI) and an archival record of the history of how the German Supercomputer AI evolved over time.
As we implement InFerence in the Wotan German Supercomputer AI, the program tends to call the WhatBe module to
ask a question about a previously unknown word. When we input to the AI, "eva ist eine frau", first Wotan makes an inference about Eva and asks if Eva has a child. Then the AI mistakenly says, "WAS IRRTUM EVA" when the correct output should be "WAS IST EVA". This problem affords us an opportunity to improve the German performance of the WhatBe module which came into the German AI from the English MindForth AI.
First we need to determine which location in the AI source code is calling the WhatBe mind-module, and so we insert some diagnostics. Knowing where the call comes from, lets us work on the proper preparation of parameters from outside WhatBe to be used inside WhatBe.
We are learning that we must handle grammatical number much differently in the German AI than in the English AI. English generally uses the ending "-s" to indicate plural number, but in German there is no one such simple clue. In German we have a plethora of clues about number, and we can use the OutBuffer to work with some of them, such as "-heit" indicating singular and "-heiten" indicating plural. In German we can also establish priority among rules, such as letting an "-e" ending in the OutBuffer suggest a plural noun, while letting the discovery of a singular verb overrule the suggestion that a noun is in the plural. The main point here is that in German we must get away from the simplistic English rules about number.
In NewConcept let us try changing the default expectation of number for a new noun from plural to singular. At first we notice no problem with a default singular. Then we notice that the InFerence module is using a default plural ("2") for the subject-noun of the silent inference. We tentatively change the default to singular ("1") until we can devise a more robust determinant of number in InFerence.
We are having a problem with the "ocn" variable for "old concept number". Just as with the obsolete "recnum", there is no reason any more to use the "ocn" variable, so we comment out some code.
