Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education Vol.9 No.

3(2018),1394-1399
Research Article

Natural Language Generation: Algorithms and Applications

Diwakar R. Tripathi 1*, Abha Tamrakar 2

1*Assistant Professor, Faculty of Science, ISBM University, Gariyaband, Chhattisgarh, India.
2AssistantProfessor, Faculty of Science, ISBM University, Gariyaband, Chhattisgarh, India.
*Corresponding Author:[email protected]

Abstract: Natural Language Generation (NLG) is a subfield of artificial intelligence and computational linguistics that focuses
on the automatic generation of natural language text. NLG has a wide range of applications in various fields, including content
generation, virtual assistants, business intelligence, and healthcare. This paper provides an overview of NLG techniques and
algorithms, including rule-based NLG, template-based NLG, statistical NLG, and neural NLG. It also explores the applications
of NLG in different fields, highlighting its role in automated journalism, personalized content creation, virtual assistants, and data
storytelling. Furthermore, the paper discusses the current challenges in NLG, such as naturalness, ambiguity handling, and
scalability, and examines emerging trends and future directions in NLG, including advancements in neural NLG models,
integration with other AI technologies, and ethical considerations. Overall, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive
understanding of NLG and its impact on modern society.

Keywords: Natural Language Generation, NLG Techniques, NLG Applications, NLG Challenges, NLG Trends.

I. Introduction

A. Definition of Natural Language Generation (NLG)

Natural Language Generation (NLG) refers to the process of automatically producing human-readable text or speech
from structured data or other forms of input. NLG systems analyze input data, understand its meaning, and generate
coherent and contextually appropriate language output. NLG encompasses various techniques, ranging from rule-
based systems to advanced deep learning models, all aimed at transforming structured information into natural
language form.
NLG has garnered significant attention in both academia and industry due to its potential to automate content
generation tasks, enhance human-computer interaction, and facilitate communication in various domains.

B. Importance and relevance of NLG in various fields

NLG holds immense importance and relevance across diverse fields, including but not limited to journalism,
healthcare, business intelligence, and virtual assistants. In journalism, NLG systems have been employed to
automatically generate news articles from structured data, thereby increasing the efficiency of content creation and
dissemination (Liu et al., 2018). Similarly, in healthcare, NLG is utilized for generating patient reports and
personalized health recommendations based on clinical data, improving communication between healthcare
providers and patients (Du et al., 2016).

Moreover, NLG plays a crucial role in business intelligence and analytics by automatically generating textual
summaries and insights from large datasets, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions (Gkatzia et al., 2015).
In the context of virtual assistants and chatbots, NLG facilitates natural and engaging interactions by generating
human-like responses to user queries, enhancing user satisfaction and usability (Wen et al., 2015).

II. Background and History of NLG

A. Early developments in NLG
The field of Natural Language Generation (NLG) traces its roots back to the 1970s when researchers began exploring
the possibility of automating the generation of human language. Early efforts focused on rule-based approaches,
where linguistic rules were used to transform input data into coherent sentences. One of the earliest systems, the
"SHRDLU" program developed by Terry Winograd in 1972, demonstrated the generation of English sentences to
describe simple block world scenarios (Winograd, 1972).

B. Key milestones and breakthroughs

Over the years, NLG has witnessed several key milestones and breakthroughs that have significantly advanced the
field. In the 1980s and 1990s, researchers began incorporating statistical methods into NLG systems, leading to the
development of more data-driven approaches (Langkilde & Knight, 1998). This shift marked a fundamental change
in NLG, moving away from handcrafted rules to models that could learn patterns from data.

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Another significant milestone was the development of the first commercial NLG systems in the late 1990s and early
2000s. Companies like Narrative Science and Automated Insights pioneered the use of NLG for generating
personalized reports and stories from data (Lahiri & Reddy, 2011).

C. Evolution of NLG techniques and algorithms

The evolution of NLG techniques and algorithms has been characterized by a move towards more sophisticated and
data-driven approaches. In recent years, the advent of deep learning has revolutionized NLG, with models like
recurrent neural networks (RNNs) and transformers achieving state-of-the-art performance in various NLG tasks
(Vaswani et al., 2017).

Moreover, the integration of NLG with other AI technologies, such as natural language understanding (NLU) and
dialogue management, has led to the development of more interactive and context-aware NLG systems (Mei et al.,
2016). These advancements have enabled NLG to be applied in a wide range of domains, from virtual assistants and
chatbots to automated content generation and data analytics.

III. NLG Techniques and Algorithms

A. Rule-based NLG
Description: Rule-based NLG systems operate on a set of predefined linguistic rules that govern the transformation
of input data into natural language output. These rules typically encode syntactic and semantic patterns to ensure the
generated text is grammatically correct and coherent.
Examples: One example of a rule-based NLG system is SimpleNLG, which is an open-source Java library for
generating natural language text from structured data (Gatt et al., 2009). Another example is the RealPro NLG
system, which is used for generating weather forecasts (Belz & Reiter, 2006).
Advantages and limitations: Rule-based NLG systems are relatively easy to understand and modify, making them
suitable for domains where linguistic rules are well-defined. However, they can be limited in their ability to handle
complex linguistic phenomena and may require extensive manual effort to create and maintain rules for different
languages and domains.

Table 1: Comparison of NLG Techniques

NLG Technique Description Examples Advantages Limitations
Uses predefined Limited in handling
Easy to understand
Rule-based NLG rules for text SimpleNLG, RealPro complex language and
and modify
generation scenarios
Uses templates Limited in generating
Template-based Madamira, Simple to
with placeholders varied language
NLG SimpleNLG Realizer implement
for variables output
Uses statistical Can generate more
Machine translation, May struggle with
Statistical NLG models trained on varied and natural-
Text summarization coherence and context
data sounding text
Requires large
Uses neural
Can generate amounts of data and
Neural NLG networks to GPT-3, BERT, T5
highly fluent text computational
generate text
resources

B. Template-based NLG
Description: Template-based NLG systems use predefined templates that contain placeholders for variables. These
templates are then filled in with specific values from the input data to generate natural language output.
Examples: An example of a template-based NLG system is the Madamira system, which is used for generating
Arabic text from morphologically analyzed input (Pasha et al., 2014). Another example is the SimpleNLG Realizer,
which uses templates to generate text in multiple languages (Gatt et al., 2009).
Advantages and limitations: Template-based NLG systems are straightforward to implement and can be effective
for generating simple, repetitive text. However, they may struggle with generating varied and nuanced language
output, as they are limited by the predefined templates.

C. Statistical NLG

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Description: Statistical NLG systems use statistical models, such as n-gram language models or machine learning
algorithms, to learn patterns from data and generate natural language output. These models are trained on large
corpora of text to predict the most likely next word or phrase given the context.
Examples: Statistical NLG has been used in various applications, such as machine translation (Koehn et al., 2003)
and text summarization (Nenkova & McKeown, 2011).
Advantages and limitations: Statistical NLG systems can generate more varied and natural-sounding text compared
to rule-based or template-based systems. However, they may struggle with generating coherent and contextually
appropriate output, especially in complex or ambiguous scenarios.

D. Neural NLG
Description: Neural NLG systems use neural networks, such as recurrent neural networks (RNNs) or transformers,
to generate natural language output. These models are trained on large datasets of text to learn the underlying patterns
of language.
Examples: Neural NLG has been applied in various tasks, including text generation (Radford et al., 2019) and
machine translation (Vaswani et al., 2017).
Advantages and limitations: Neural NLG systems can generate highly fluent and contextually relevant text, often
outperforming traditional NLG approaches. However, they require large amounts of training data and computational
resources, and their output can be challenging to interpret and control.

IV. Applications of NLG

A. NLG in Content Generation
Automated journalism: NLG is used in automated journalism to generate news articles from structured data, such as
sports scores or financial reports. These systems can produce high volumes of news content quickly and efficiently
(Dongaonkar et al., 2019).

Data-to-text generation: NLG is employed to convert structured data, such as statistical data or database entries, into
natural language text. This is particularly useful for generating reports and summaries from large datasets (Gardent
et al., 2017).
NLG for personalized content creation: NLG can be used to generate personalized content, such as product
recommendations or marketing messages, based on user preferences and behavior (Arora et al., 2016).

B. NLG in Virtual Assistants and Chatbots

Conversational NLG: NLG is used in virtual assistants and chatbots to generate responses to user queries in natural
language. These systems aim to simulate human-like conversations and provide helpful responses (Serban et al.,
2015).
Task-oriented NLG: NLG can be used in task-oriented virtual assistants to generate instructions or explanations for
completing tasks, such as booking a hotel room or ordering food (Bordes et al., 2017).
NLG for natural and engaging interactions: NLG is employed to make virtual assistants and chatbots more engaging
by generating diverse and contextually relevant responses (Higashinaka et al., 2014).

C. NLG in Business Intelligence and Analytics

NLG for report generation: NLG is used in business intelligence to automatically generate reports from data,
providing insights and summaries for decision-makers (Gkatzia et al., 2015).
NLG for summarization and insights extraction: NLG can be used to summarize large volumes of data and extract
key insights, helping businesses make sense of complex information (Zhang et al., 2018).
NLG for data storytelling: NLG is employed to turn data into compelling narratives, helping to communicate insights
and trends effectively (Swartout et al., 2017).

D. NLG in Healthcare
NLG for medical reports and documentation: NLG is used in healthcare to generate medical reports, discharge
summaries, and other documentation, reducing the burden on healthcare providers (Kreuzthaler et al., 2018).
Patient communication and education: NLG can be used to generate patient-friendly explanations of medical
conditions, treatments, and procedures, improving patient understanding and compliance (Arnold et al., 2016).
NLG for personalized healthcare recommendations: NLG can be employed to generate personalized healthcare
recommendations based on patient data and medical guidelines, helping to improve patient outcomes (Zhou et al.,
2017).

V. Challenges and Future Directions

A. Current challenges in NLG

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Naturalness and coherence: One of the primary challenges in NLG is ensuring that generated text is natural-sounding
and coherent. NLG systems often struggle to produce language that mimics human fluency and coherence, especially
in complex or ambiguous scenarios (Novikova et al., 2017).
Handling ambiguity and context: NLG systems face difficulties in understanding and representing ambiguous or
context-dependent language. Resolving ambiguity and incorporating context appropriately remain significant
challenges in achieving more accurate and contextually relevant text generation (Liu et al., 2019).
Scalability and efficiency: As NLG systems become increasingly sophisticated and are applied to larger datasets and
more complex tasks, scalability and efficiency become critical concerns. Ensuring that NLG models can handle large
volumes of data and generate text in real-time without sacrificing quality is a significant challenge (Dathathri et al.,
2020).

Table 2: Challenges in NLG

Challenge Description Potential Solutions or Approaches
Ensuring that generated text is Advanced neural NLG models,
Naturalness and
natural-sounding and coherent, incorporating context and discourse
Coherence
mimicking human fluency understanding
Addressing challenges in
Context-aware NLG models, incorporating
Handling Ambiguity understanding and representing
world knowledge and commonsense
and Context ambiguous or context-dependent
reasoning
language
Ensuring NLG systems can handle Optimization of NLG algorithms and
Scalability and
large volumes of data and generate architectures, leveraging parallel
Efficiency
text in real-time efficiently processing and cloud computing

B. Emerging trends and future directions

Advancements in neural NLG models: Future developments in NLG are expected to focus on advancing neural
network architectures and training techniques. Research in areas such as transformer models, pre-training strategies,
and fine-tuning methods aims to improve the fluency, coherence, and contextual understanding of neural NLG
systems (Lewis et al., 2020).
Integration of NLG with other AI technologies: There is a growing trend towards integrating NLG with other AI
technologies, such as natural language understanding (NLU) and dialogue management systems. This integration
enables more seamless and context-aware interactions between humans and AI systems, leading to more natural and
effective communication (Huang et al., 2021).
Ethical considerations and responsible NLG development: As NLG technology becomes more pervasive and
influential, there is a growing need to address ethical considerations and ensure responsible development and
deployment. This includes issues such as bias in training data, misinformation generation, and the impact of NLG
on society and individuals (Bender et al., 2021).

VI. Conclusion
In conclusion, NLG has emerged as a powerful technology with diverse applications across various domains. Despite
significant progress, challenges such as naturalness, ambiguity handling, and scalability persist. However, with
ongoing advancements in neural NLG models, integration with other AI technologies, and a focus on ethical
considerations, the future of NLG looks promising. By addressing these challenges and embracing emerging trends,
NLG has the potential to revolutionize communication, content generation, and human-computer interaction in the
years to come.

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