Integrating Machine Learning Data with Symbolic Knowledge from Collaboration Practices of Curators to Improve Conversational Systems

This paper describes how machine learning training data and symbolic knowledge from curators of conversational systems can be used together to improve the accuracy of those systems and to enable better curatorial tools. This is done in the context of a real-world practice of curators of conversational systems who often embed taxonomically-structured meta-knowledge into their documentation. The paper provides evidence that the practice is quite common among curators, that is used as part of their collaborative practices, and that the embedded knowledge can be mined by algorithms. Further, this meta-knowledge can be integrated, using neuro-symbolic algorithms, to the machine learning-based conversational system, to improve its run-time accuracy and to enable tools to support curatorial tasks. Those results point towards new ways of designing development tools which explore an integrated use of code and documentation by machines.