Vagueness: a problem for AI Kees van Deemter University of Aberdeen Scotland, UK

Overview 1.Meaning: the received view 2.Vague expressions in NL 3.Why vagueness? a. vague objects b. vague classes c. vague properties 4.Vagueness and context

Overview (ctd.) 5.Models of vagueness a. Classical models/epistemicism b. Partial Logic c. Context-based models d. Fuzzy Logic e.Probabilistic models 6.Generating vague descriptions Natural Language Generation 7. Project: advertising real estate

The plan The lectures will give you a broad overview of some of the key concepts and issues to do with vagueness –Lots of theory (very briefly of course) –Some simple/amusing examples The project will let you apply some of these concepts practically The project gives you a lot of freedom: you can do it in your own way!

Not Exactly: In Praise of Vagueness Oxford University Press To appear, 2009