Preventing false inferences

this paper, we investigate this revi.-ed principle as applied to question answering. In particular the goals of the research described here are to: 1. characterize tractable cases in which the system as respondent (R) can anticipate the possibility of the user/questioner (Q} drawing false conclusions from its response and can hence alter or expand its response so as to prevent it happening; 2. develop a formal method for computing the projected inferences that Q may draw from a particular response, identifylug those 1This work is partially supported by NSF Grants MCS 81-07290, MCS 8.3-05221, and [ST 88-1 2At present visiting the Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Pemsylvania, Phi|adelphia, PA 19104. factors whose presence or absence catalyzes the inferences; 3. enable the system to generate modifications of its response that can defuse possible false inferences and that may provide addi6oual useful information as well