Imagine you’re strolling along a path in a scenic park. As you walk, you pass various signboards. Now, your ability to spot these signs and acknowledge their presence, that’s something akin to NLP (Natural Language Processing). But wait, there’s another layer to this! NLU, or Natural Language Understanding, is like you not only noticing those signs but also ‘getting’ what they signify.
NLU is a sprouting branch of NLP, which is all about AI and computers comprehending the nuances of our chit-chats, tweets, and soliloquies. Not just the words, mind you, but the underlying context, the connotation, the human sentiments behind the words, that’s what NLU taps into.
Just like you’d comprehend the difference between a sign saying ‘Beware of the dog!’ and ‘Pet-friendly park’, an AI with NLU can differentiate between a book review saying ‘It’s explosively good’ and a news report mentioning ‘an explosive situation’.
NLU is about enabling our silicon buddies to fathom the depth of human language, to read between the lines, and decode the essence of our conversation. So, next time you see your Alexa winking at your sarcastic remark, remember, that’s NLU at work!