An Information State Approach to Collaborative Reference

Learn about collaborative reference through an information state framework in this comprehensive lecture that explores how speakers and listeners coordinate to establish shared understanding of referential expressions in dialogue. Examine the theoretical foundations of information state models and their application to collaborative discourse, focusing on how participants track and update their mutual knowledge about referents during conversation. Discover computational approaches to modeling the dynamic processes involved when interlocutors work together to identify and maintain reference to entities, concepts, and ideas throughout extended interactions. Analyze case studies demonstrating how information states evolve as speakers provide clarifications, corrections, and elaborations to ensure successful reference resolution. Gain insights into the intersection of computational linguistics, cognitive science, and dialogue systems research through detailed examination of empirical data and formal modeling techniques used to capture the collaborative nature of human reference.