Adaptive recommendation explanations

Abstract

A method and system for generating adaptive explanations for associated recommendations is disclosed. The adaptive explanations comprise a syntactical structure and associated phrases that are selected in accordance with usage behaviors and/or inferences associated with usage behaviors. The phrases included in an adaptive explanation may be selected through application of a non-deterministic process. The adaptive explanations may be beneficially applied to recommendations that are associated with content, products, and people, including recommendations that comprise advertisements.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A computer-based recommendation method comprising:
 generating an affinity vector between a first user of a computer-based system and a plurality of computer-based objects based, at least in part, on the first user's behaviors; 
 generating a similarity metric between the first user and a second user of the computer-based system based, at least in part, on the affinity vector of the first user and an affinity vector of the second user; 
 generating a recommendation for delivery to the first user based, at least in part, on the affinity vector of the first user and the similarity metric; and 
 generating an explanation for the recommendation comprising one or more phrases, wherein the selection of the one or more phrases is based, at least in part, on a plurality of user behaviors and in accordance with a computer-implemented syntactical structure. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1  wherein generating an affinity vector between a first user of a computer-based system and a plurality of computer-based objects based, at least in part, on the first user's behaviors comprises:
 generating affinities between the user and a plurality of topic objects. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1  wherein generating a recommendation for delivery to the first user based, at least in part, on the affinity vector of the first user and the similarity metric comprises:
 recommending the second user to the first user. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1  wherein generating a recommendation for delivery to the first user based, at least in part, on the affinity vector of the first user and the similarity metric comprises:
 generating a recommendation responsive to the a user's search request. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1  wherein generating a recommendation for delivery to the first user based, at least in part, on the affinity vector of the first user and the similarity metric comprises:
 generating a recommendation based on a recommendation preference setting established by associated with the user. 
 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1  wherein generating an explanation for the recommendation comprising one or more phrases, wherein the selection of the one or more phrases is based, at least in part, on a plurality of user behaviors and in accordance with a computer-implemented syntactical structure comprises:
 selecting phrases for inclusion in the explanation based on a frequency distribution. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1  wherein generating an explanation for the recommendation comprising one or more phrases, wherein the selection of the one or more phrases is based, at least in part, on a plurality of user behaviors and in accordance with a computer-implemented syntactical structure comprises:
 selecting phrases for inclusion in the explanation in accordance with the calculated confidence level of the recommendation. 
 
     
     
       8. A computer-based recommendation system comprising:
 means to generate an affinity vector between a first user of a computer-based system and a plurality of computer-based objects based, at least in part, on the first user's behaviors; 
 means to generate a similarity metric between the first user and a second user of the computer-based system based, at least in part, on the affinity vector of the first user and an affinity vector of the second user; 
 means to generate a recommendation for delivery to the first user based, at least in part, on the affinity vector of the first user and the similarity metric; and 
 means to generate an explanation for the recommendation comprising one or more phrases, wherein the selection of the one or more phrases is based, at least in part, on a plurality of user behaviors and in accordance with a computer-implemented syntactical structure. 
 
     
     
       9. The system of  claim 8  wherein means to generate an affinity vector between a first user of a computer-based system and a plurality of computer-based objects based, at least in part, on the first user's behaviors comprises:
 means to generate affinities between the user and a plurality of topic objects. 
 
     
     
       10. The system of  claim 8  wherein means to generate a recommendation for delivery to the first user based, at least in part, on the affinity vector of the first user and the similarity metric comprises:
 means to recommend the second user to the first user. 
 
     
     
       11. The system of  claim 8  wherein means to generate a recommendation for delivery to the first user based, at least in part, on the affinity vector of the first user and the similarity metric comprises:
 means to generate a recommendation responsive to the a user's search request. 
 
     
     
       12. The system of  claim 8  wherein means to generate a recommendation for delivery to the first user based, at least in part, on the affinity vector of the first user and the similarity metric comprises:
 means for generating a recommendation based on a recommendation preference setting established by associated with the user. 
 
     
     
       13. The system of  claim 8  wherein means to generate an explanation for the recommendation comprising one or more phrases, wherein the selection of the one or more phrases is based, at least in part, on a plurality of user behaviors and in accordance with a computer-implemented syntactical structure comprises:
 means to select phrases for inclusion in the explanation based on a frequency distribution. 
 
     
     
       14. The system of  claim 8  wherein means to generate an explanation for the recommendation comprising one or more phrases, wherein the selection of the one or more phrases is based, at least in part, on a plurality of user behaviors and in accordance with a computer-implemented syntactical structure comprises:
 means to select phrases for inclusion in the explanation in accordance with the calculated confidence level of the recommendation. 
 
     
     
       15. A computer-based recommendation explanation system comprising:
 means to generate a recommendation based, at least in part, on a plurality of usage behaviors; 
 a syntactical structure for an explanation of an associated for the recommendation; 
 a plurality of phrase arrays associated with the syntactical structure, wherein each phrase array comprises a plurality of phrases; 
 a mapping of usage behaviors and corresponding phrase arrays appropriate to apply; and 
 means to generate an the explanation for the recommendation, wherein the explanation is generated in accordance with the syntactical structure and associated phrase arrays, and the mapping of usage behaviors with the corresponding phrase arrays appropriate to apply. 
 
     
     
       16. The system of  claim 15  wherein the means to generate an explanation for the recommendation, wherein the explanation is generated in accordance with the syntactical structure and associated phrase arrays, and the mapping of usage behaviors with the corresponding phrase arrays appropriate to apply comprises:
 means to probabilistically select from alternative syntactical structures. 
 
     
     
       17. The system of  claim 15  wherein the means to generate an explanation for the recommendation, wherein the explanation is generated in accordance with the syntactical structure and associated phrase arrays, and the mapping of usage behaviors with the corresponding phrase arrays appropriate to apply comprises:
 means to select phrases from a frequency distribution for inclusion in the explanation. 
 
     
     
       18. The system of  claim 15  wherein the means to generate an explanation for the recommendation, wherein the explanation is generated in accordance with the syntactical structure and associated phrase arrays, and the mapping of usage behaviors with the corresponding phrase arrays appropriate to apply comprises:
 means to apply behavioral thresholds to trigger appropriate phrase arrays. 
 
     
     
       19. The system of  claim 15  wherein the means to generate an explanation for the recommendation, wherein the explanation is generated in accordance with the syntactical structure and associated phrase arrays, and the mapping of usage behaviors with the corresponding phrase arrays appropriate to apply comprises:
 means to adjust the selection of phrases for inclusion in the explanation based on the phrase composition of previously generated explanations. 
 
     
     
       20. The system of  claim 15  wherein the means to generate an explanation for the recommendation, wherein the explanation is generated in accordance with the syntactical structure and associated phrase arrays, and the mapping of usage behaviors with the corresponding phrase arrays appropriate to apply comprises:
 means to adjust the selection of phrases for inclusion in the explanation based on usage behaviors of recipients of previously generated explanations. 
 
     
     
       21. A method comprising:
 generating, by a processing device, a recommendation of a computer-based object for delivery to a first user of a computer-based system based on first user behavior associated with a plurality of computer-based objects; and   generating, by the processing device, an explanation for the recommendation comprising one or more phrases based on a plurality of other user behaviors and in accordance with a computer-implemented syntactical structure.    
     
     
       22. The method of claim 21, further comprising,
 generating, by the processing device, a first affinity vector associated with the first user based on the first user behavior associated with the plurality of computer-based objects;   generating, by the processing device, a similarity metric between the first user and a second user of the computer-based system based on the first affinity vector and a second affinity vector associated with the second user;   wherein, the generating the recommendation is based on the first affinity vector and the similarity metric.    
     
     
       23. The method of claim 22 wherein the second affinity vector is based on the second user behavior associated with the plurality of computer-based objects.  
     
     
       24. The method of claim 22 wherein the second affinity vector is based on the second user behavior associated with a different plurality of computer-based objects.  
     
     
       25. The method of claim 22 wherein the generating the affinity vector further comprises generating, by the processing device, affinities between the user and a plurality of topic objects.  
     
     
       26. The method of claim 22 wherein the recommendation further comprises recommending the second user to the first user.  
     
     
       27. The method of claim 21 wherein the recommendation is responsive to a search request associated with the first user.  
     
     
       28. The method of claim 21 wherein the recommendation is based on a recommendation preference setting associated with the first user.  
     
     
       29. The method of claim 21 wherein the generating the explanation further comprises selecting, by the processing device, phrases for inclusion in the explanation based on a frequency distribution. 
     
     
       30. The method of claim 21 the generating the explanation further comprises selecting, by the processing device, phrases for inclusion in the explanation in accordance with the calculated confidence level of the recommendation.  
     
     
       31. An apparatus comprising:
 means for generating a recommendation of a computer-based object for delivery to a first user of a computer-based system based on first user behavior associated with a plurality of computer-based objects; and   means for generating an explanation for the recommendation comprising one or more phrases based on a plurality of other user behaviors and in accordance with a computer-implemented syntactical structure.    
     
     
       32. The apparatus of claim 31, further comprising,
 means for generating a first affinity vector associated with the first user based on the first user behavior associated with the plurality of computer-based objects;   means for generating a similarity metric between the first user and a second user of the computer-based system based on the first affinity vector and a second affinity vector associated with the second user;   wherein, the generating the recommendation is based on the first affinity vector and the similarity metric.    
     
     
       33. The apparatus of claim 32 wherein the second affinity vector is based on the second user behavior associated with the plurality of computer-based objects.  
     
     
       34. The apparatus of claim 32 wherein the second affinity vector is based on the second user behavior associated with a different plurality of computer-based objects.  
     
     
       35. The apparatus of claim 32 wherein the means for generating the affinity vector further comprises means for generating affinities between the user and a plurality of topic objects.  
     
     
       36. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein the recommendation further comprises recommending the second user to the first user.  
     
     
       37. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein the recommendation is responsive to a search request associated with the first user.  
     
     
       38. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein the recommendation is based on a recommendation preference setting associated with the first user.  
     
     
       39. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein the means for generating the explanation further comprises means for selecting phrases for inclusion in the explanation based on a frequency distribution.  
     
     
       40. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein the means for generating the explanation further comprises means for selecting phrases for inclusion in the explanation in accordance with the calculated confidence level of the recommendation.  
     
     
       41. An apparatus, comprising:
 computer hardware configured to:
 store instructions associated with an application program; and 
 execute the stored instructions to:
 generate a recommendation based, at least in part, on a plurality of usage behaviors; 
 associate a plurality of phrase arrays with a syntactical structure; 
 map the plurality of usage behaviors and corresponding phrase arrays selected from the plurality of phrase arrays; and 
 generate an explanation for the recommendation based on the map, the explanation comprising a phrase associated with one of the corresponding phase arrays in accordance with the syntactical structure.  
 
   
     
     
       42. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the corresponding phrase array comprises a plurality of phrases.  
     
     
       43. The apparatus of claim 41 wherein the computer hardware is further configured to select alternative syntactical structures based on probabilistic determination to generate the explanation.  
     
     
       44. The apparatus of claim 41 wherein the computer hardware is further configured to select the phrase from a frequency distribution for inclusion to generate the explanation.  
     
     
       45. The apparatus of claim 41 wherein the computer hardware is further configured to apply behavioral thresholds to map the plurality of usage behaviors and corresponding phrase arrays selected from the plurality of phrase arrays.  
     
     
       46. The apparatus of claim 41 wherein the computer hardware is further configured to adjust the selection of the phrase for inclusion in the explanation based on the phrase composition of previously generated explanations.  
     
     
       47. The apparatus of claim 41 wherein the computer hardware is further configured to adjust the selection of the phrase for inclusion in the explanation based on usage behaviors of recipients of previously generated explanations.  
     
     
       48. Computer hardware having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations comprising:
 generating a recommendation based, at least in part, on a plurality of usage behaviors;   associating a plurality of phrase arrays with a syntactical structure;   mapping the plurality of usage behaviors and corresponding phrase arrays selected from the plurality of phrase arrays; and   generating an explanation for the recommendation based on the map, the explanation comprising a phrase associated with one of the corresponding phase arrays in accordance with the syntactical structure.    
     
     
       49. The computer-readable-memory device of claim 48, wherein the corresponding phrase array comprises a plurality of phrases.  
     
     
       50. The computer hardware of claim 48 wherein the operations further comprise selecting alternative syntactical structures based on probabilistic determination to generate the explanation.  
     
     
       51. The computer hardware of claim 48 wherein the operations further comprise selecting the phrase from a frequency distribution for inclusion to generate the explanation.  
     
     
       52. The computer hardware of claim 48 wherein the operations further comprise applying behavioral thresholds to map the plurality of usage behaviors and corresponding phrase arrays selected from the plurality of phrase arrays.  
     
     
       53. The computer hardware of claim 48 wherein the operations further comprise adjusting the selection of the phrase for inclusion in the explanation based on the phrase composition of previously generated explanations.  
     
     
       54. The computer hardware of claim 49 wherein the operations further comprise adjusting the selection of the phrase for inclusion in the explanation based on usage behaviors of recipients of previously generated explanations.