Natural Language Processing going mainstream

On average, we utter 700 words each day, which comprises words of genuine worth, or words to connect with another person. Some of the most frequent methods humans communicate thoughts and information are instant messaging, telephonic talks, books, movies, songs, and verbal communication.

Wernicke’s area, a specialized word reception center located in the left temporoparietal junction, is where the human brain perceives words. Wernicke’s region then projects to Broca’s area of the brain, which is known as the world production center (So complicated, right?).

So, when someone asks, “How are you?” Wernicke’s region interprets the information, and Broca’s region chooses the words for a response- “I am fine, thanks!” Millions of neurons assist the human brain in comprehending words and taking appropriate action.

But have you ever thought about how the popular Alexa girl comprehends and responds to anything we say? Alexa is, after all, a machine…!!

Well, Natural Language Processing (NLP) is the technology that enables machines to talk. Natural language processing (NLP) is a form of artificial intelligence (AI) that derives meaning from human language to make data-driven choices. Even though this technology is still in its infancy, there are already numerous excellent applications for natural language processing. NLP is one of the hottest subjects in the technology landscape. NLP leaders most frequently define NLP as the study of the structure of subjective experience, which is a pretty cryptic way of expressing analyzing how people think and behave. The study and observation of what people think say and do are at the heart of NLP. It provides insights into the internal dynamics of people’s brains.

Over the years, the application of NLP tools and techniques has grown throughout the world, in every conceivable walk of life. NLP is currently used in sectors such as counseling, education, parenting, health, personal development, coaching, volunteer work, sports, and, of course, business. Next-generation organizations have embraced NLP and constantly trying to push it into the mainstream because of the excellent benefits it has on individuals, teams, and overall company performance.

Among the set of NLP applications, NLU always amazes me as it goes beyond simply processing words as data – it is intended for computers to truly comprehend what the input or person is attempting to convey. Rather than converting words into codes, NLU analyses human syntax, phrases, and structure to make choices based on how people talk. But the most fascinating contributions of NLP are chatbots and machine translators.

Most analysts tend to believe that semantic search will be the next big thing in IT. It will be significant since it will enable non-subject matter specialists to receive answers to their questions using natural language. The magic will be in the analysis that goes into the quest for solutions that are both relevant and enlightening.