JP2019200669A - Information processing apparatus, program and information processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus and the like capable of concealing only information that should be kept confidential when outputting user information by voice.SOLUTION: The information processing apparatus includes: an acquisition part 153 that acquires user information; a confirmation part 154 configured so as, when a concealment mode for concealing at least part of the information to be output is set, to confirm the disclosure range of the user information acquired by acquisition part 153 by inquiring the user; and an output part 170 configured to output a piece of user information, as audio, at least a part of which is concealed according to the confirmed disclosure range.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a program, and an information processing method.

  There is a software agent that performs operations for user software. The software agent, for example, checks the e-mail sent to the user and reads out the content of the e-mail to the user or searches the web page for products etc. that match the user's preference. As a result, the user is notified of a new product.

  On the other hand, there is an increasing need for information security for software, and it is required to ensure confidentiality for the software agents as described above. That is, when the software agent reads out the information, it is necessary to suppress a situation in which personal information included in the information is known to others in the vicinity against the user's intention.

  In Patent Document 1, when privacy protection is set in the hands-free function of a communication terminal, a message such as an email is received, and it is determined that a keyword such as a company name or a person name is included in the received message. Discloses a technique that does not read out the received message. According to such a communication terminal, it is possible to ensure confidentiality regarding the personal information of the user.

Japanese Patent No. 5431645

  However, in the communication terminal described in Patent Document 1, when a keyword such as highly confidential personal information is included in the received message, the received message itself is not read out. For this reason, the user cannot obtain the information indicated in the received message at all. As described above, the fact that the user cannot obtain information that does not require confidentiality while ensuring confidentiality reduces the convenience of the software.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus, a program, and an information processing method that can conceal only information that should be kept secret when outputting user information as a voice.

  An information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes: an acquisition unit that acquires user information; and a secret mode for concealing at least a part of information to be output by voice. A confirmation unit that confirms the disclosure range by inquiring the user, and an output unit that outputs, as a voice, user information that is at least partially concealed according to the confirmed disclosure range.

  The program according to an aspect of the present invention is the user information acquired by the acquisition function when the acquisition function for acquiring user information and the concealment mode for concealing at least part of the information to be output by voice are set in the computer. The confirmation function for confirming the disclosure range by inquiring the user and the output function for outputting the user information that is at least partially concealed according to the confirmed disclosure range are realized.

  An information processing method according to an aspect of the present invention is obtained by a step of acquiring when a computer acquires user information and a secret mode in which at least a part of information output by the computer is concealed is set. A step of confirming the disclosed range of the user information by inquiring the user, and a step of outputting the user information, which is at least partially concealed according to the confirmed disclosure range, by voice.

  According to these aspects, when the concealment mode is set, since the disclosure range of the user information is confirmed to the user and the user information is concealed according to the confirmed disclosure range, only the information that should be kept secret is concealed. can do.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing apparatus, a program, and an information processing method that can conceal only information that should be kept secret when outputting user information in a voice.

It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the notification method of the portable terminal device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the portable terminal device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a function structure of the portable terminal device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the concealment pattern of the portable terminal device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the concealment pattern of the portable terminal device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the operation example of the portable terminal device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a function structure of the portable terminal device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of the portable terminal device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of the portable terminal device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation example of the portable terminal device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

  A preferred embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “first embodiment”) will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in each figure, what attached | subjected the same code | symbol has the same or similar structure.

[First Embodiment]
(1. Overview)
With reference to FIG. 1, an outline of a notification method by the software agent according to the first embodiment will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the mobile terminal device 100 is an information processing device such as a smartphone used by a user 500 that includes a software agent (hereinafter, also simply referred to as “agent”) 200. Here, the “software agent” acts as a proxy for the user's operation on the software, and the agent 200 in this example confirms the schedule information of the scheduler 300 on behalf of the user 500 and reads it out by voice. The scheduler 300 is software having a schedule book function for managing an individual schedule.

  The agent 200 according to the present embodiment further has a function of concealing information to be output as a sound according to the disclosure range specified by the user when another person 600 other than the user 500 is around the user 500.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the agent 200 receives a question “What is today's schedule?” From the user 500 by voice input. In response to this question, the agent 200 searches the schedule information registered in the scheduler 300 for schedule information corresponding to today's schedule.

  As a result of the search, the agent 200 specifies that there is “one meeting” as schedule information corresponding to today's schedule. Based on the specified information, an answer “There is one meeting” is output by voice. Subsequently, the agent 200 receives a question “What meeting?” From the user 500 by voice input.

  When the agent 200 receives the question, prior to outputting the schedule information by voice, the agent 200 checks the surroundings of the user 500 and detects the presence of the other person 600. As such a detection method, for example, a voice acquired by a built-in microphone (not shown) of the mobile terminal device 100 is analyzed, and the presence of the other person 600 is detected by recognizing a voice other than the user.

  When the agent 200 detects the presence of the other person 600, the agent 200 is set to the secret mode. When the mode is changed to the confidential mode, confidentiality of the information is ensured by concealing certain user information from a person other than the user who uses the mobile terminal device 100 on which the agent 200 is installed. Here, “user information” corresponds to various types of information related to the user, and includes, for example, personal information (for example, schedule information) of the user.

  Next, when the concealment mode is set, the agent 200 inquires the user 500 about a range that can be disclosed in the schedule information, such as “Can I talk about the contents of the conference?”. When an answer “Tell me only the meeting name” is received from the user 500, the disclosure range of the schedule information is determined as “meeting name” based on the answer. When the agent 200 is in a normal mode that is not the secret mode, the agent 200 will ask the “what meeting?” Question from the user 500, “Product strategy meeting. It will be held in the boardroom from 13:00. The contents are new product launches in the first half of FY18. ”The schedule information is directly output as voice.

  The agent 200 outputs only the name of the meeting determined as the disclosure range by voice, such as “It is a product strategy meeting”. At this time, schedule information such as the date and place other than the conference name is not output by voice. By adopting such a method, the conference name that the user thinks that it is not necessary to keep it confidential in the environment where the other person 600 is present is notified to the user by voice output without concealment, and the conference name Conceal only information that should be kept confidential. That is, according to the software agent of this embodiment, the convenience is improved while ensuring confidentiality.

  The software agent is also software that mediates between the user 500 and another person, device, software, or the like, and can execute functions other than the message reading function of this example. For example, mediating between the user 500 and a search engine (not shown), searching for a product or the like that suits the user's preference on the basis of the user's search history, etc., and as a result of the search, Information on new products can be displayed with an alarm.

(2. Configuration)
(2-1. Hardware configuration of portable terminal device)
With reference to FIG. 2, an example of a hardware configuration of the mobile terminal device 100 will be described. The mobile terminal device 100 is an information processing device on which the agent 200 is mounted, and can be an information terminal such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a laptop terminal, for example. As another example, the mobile terminal device 100 may be a smart speaker or the like having a communication function and an assistant function for voice operation.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the mobile terminal device 100 includes, for example, a processor 110, a storage device 115, a voice input device 120, and a voice output device 125. The mobile terminal device 100 may include a communication I / F (interface) 130, an imaging device 135, an operation input device 140, or a display output device 145, for example.

  The processor 110 is a processing device responsible for data calculation, processing and transfer, and program execution. Further, the processor 110 may perform, for example, signal processing (digital signal processing or analog signal processing) corresponding to input / output sound.

  The storage device 115 is a device that stores programs and data such as a main storage device (for example, a volatile memory or a random access memory), an auxiliary storage device (for example, a non-volatile memory), or an external storage device.

  The voice input device 120 is an input device for detecting voice, and is, for example, a microphone. For example, the voice input device 120 detects a voice uttered by the user 500 or a person around the user 500.

  The audio output device 125 is an output device for outputting audio, and is, for example, a speaker. The audio output device 125 may be a device for outputting sound to headphones or earphones.

  The communication I / F 130 is a device that transmits and receives programs and data to and from an external device. The communication I / F 130 includes, for example, an interface for a mobile phone communication network and an interface for a wireless LAN such as a Wi-Fi network. The communication I / F 130 may include a wired interface.

  The imaging device 135 is a device that captures an image (still image or moving image). The imaging device 135 records the captured image in the storage device 115. The imaging device 135 may be a CCD or a CMOS camera, for example.

  The operation input device 140 is a device for receiving an operation input from the user 500. The operation input device 140 may be a touch panel formed integrally with the display output device 145 as a soft key, for example. The operation input device 140 may be an operation button provided in the mobile terminal device 100 as a hard key. The operation input device 140 may be provided outside the mobile terminal device 100, and may be a keyboard, a mouse pad, or the like, for example.

  The display output device 145 is an output device for displaying an image. The display output device 145 is, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display. The display output device 145 may be provided outside the mobile terminal device 100.

(2-2. Functional configuration of mobile terminal device)
With reference to FIG. 3, an example of a functional configuration of the mobile terminal device 100 will be described. The agent 200 is realized by each function shown in FIG. The mobile terminal device 100 includes, for example, a control unit 150, a storage unit 160, an input unit 165, and an output unit 170. Furthermore, the mobile terminal device 100 may include the communication unit 175 or the imaging unit 180. Each function shown in FIG. 3 is realized by hardware and software of the apparatus shown in FIG. Specifically, it can be realized by using a storage area of the storage device 115 or by executing a program (such as an agent program of the agent 200) stored in the storage device 115 by the processor 110.

  The control unit 150 illustratively includes an acquisition unit 153 that acquires user information and a confirmation unit 154 that confirms the disclosure range of the user information. In addition, the control unit 150 includes, for example, a monitoring unit 151 that detects the operation of a program other than the agent program, a detection unit 152 that detects the presence of a person other than the user, or a setting unit 157 that sets the agent 200 in the secret mode. May be. When the confidential mode is set, the agent 200 conceals at least a part of the information output by the output unit 170 in accordance with the disclosure range designated by the user 500.

  When the agent 200 autonomously substitutes the operation of the user 500 for the software, the monitoring unit 151 detects a trigger for executing the substitution process by monitoring each functional unit. For example, the monitoring unit 151 monitors the operation of a program other than the agent program installed in the mobile terminal device 100. As a result of monitoring, the monitoring unit 151 detects a trigger of a task performed by each functional unit such as the detection unit 152. Examples of programs to be monitored include a program of an intermediary partner with the user 500 such as a scheduler program or a mailer program.

  For example, when monitoring the operation of the mailer program, the monitoring unit 151 detects an event such as reception of an e-mail as a trigger acting on behalf of the operation of checking the e-mail of the user 500. In order to notify the user 500 of the detected event, the monitoring unit 151 causes the generation unit 155 to execute a notification information generation task and causes the output unit 170 to execute the notification information output task. The detection of such an event may be realized, for example, by checking a predetermined folder in a certain cycle and detecting a message file such as a mail received by a mailer program or a log file.

  The detection unit 152 has a function of detecting the presence of another person 600 around the user 500. For example, the detection unit 152 may execute a task for detecting the presence of the other person 600, triggered by the input unit 165 receiving a question from the user 500. As another example, the trigger of the detection task may be a trigger caused by a program operation detected by the monitoring unit 151. Further, when the detection unit 152 detects the presence of the other person 600, the agent 200 is set to the secret mode.

  For example, the detection unit 152 may collate the voice print information of the user 500 registered in the storage unit 160 or the like with the voice information received by the input unit 165 using a voice recognition technique. Then, when it is determined that the voice other than the voice of the registered user 500 is included as a result of the collation, the detection unit 152 may determine that the other person 600 exists around the user 500. .

  As another example, the detection unit 152 uses image recognition technology to collate a feature pattern representing the user 500 registered in the storage unit 160 and the like with image information obtained by the photographing unit 180 photographing the periphery of the user 500. Thus, when it is determined that a person having a feature pattern other than the user is reflected in the image information, it may be determined that the other person 600 exists around the user 500.

  The acquisition unit 153 acquires various types of information such as user information from the storage unit 160 or an external device. Note that the specific acquisition destination of the user information by the acquisition unit 153 differs depending on the program or the like that holds the acquisition target user information. For example, when the program holding the user information to be acquired is a scheduler program, the scheduler program manages the schedule information including the user information to be acquired (for example, the storage unit 160 of the mobile terminal device 100 or the mail server) Alternatively, an external server device such as a cloud server) is the acquisition destination.

  The acquisition unit 153 analyzes the question information from the user 500 received by the input unit 165 using, for example, natural language processing. Based on this analysis, the acquisition unit 153 identifies acquisition target user information and an acquisition destination such as a program that holds the user information. The acquisition unit 153 acquires user information from the specified acquisition destination. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the acquisition unit 153 extracts the words “today” and “schedule” by performing morphological analysis on the question information “What is today's schedule?” Of the user 500. The acquisition unit 153 identifies the acquisition destination program as the scheduler 300 based on the extracted word “schedule”. Further, the acquisition unit 153 acquires schedule information corresponding to today's schedule from the scheduler 300 based on the extracted word “today” using the system date at the time of extraction as a key.

  When the concealment mode is set, the confirmation unit 154 confirms the disclosure range of the user information acquired by the acquisition unit 153 by inquiring the user 500. More specifically, even if the user 500 is not conscious of it, the agent 200 is set in the confidential mode due to the presence of the other person 600 and the like, and the mobile terminal device 100 discloses the user information to the user 500 before outputting the user information by voice. The range that can be done is confirmed.

  According to the above method, when the confidential mode is set, the disclosure range of the user information is confirmed with the user, and the user information is concealed according to the confirmed disclosure range, so only the information that should be kept confidential is concealed. be able to. According to such a method, it is possible to prevent the user 200 from originally disclosing the user information that should be kept secret to the user 500 without permission. Suppression of disclosure of user information by such a method is particularly effective when user information is registered by a person other than the user 500.

  As a method of inquiring the user 500 about the disclosure range of the user information when the confidential mode is set, the confirmation unit 154 subdivides the user information and determines whether or not to disclose for each of the subdivided user information. 500 may be queried.

  Specifically, in the example of FIG. 1, the confirmation unit 154 discloses the general schedule of this meeting as “What is the meeting?” In response to the question “What meeting?” From the user 500. You are inquiring about the scope, but as another example, subdivide the schedule for this meeting and say, “Can I speak the meeting name?” Or “Can I speak the meeting location?” In addition, it is possible to inquire whether or not to disclose the schedule of the meeting separately for each item such as a subject (meeting name) and a place.

  According to the above configuration, in order to confirm whether or not to disclose for each subdivided user information to the user 500, when the user 500 answers the disclosure range of the user information, an item or disclosure disclosed by the user 500 There is no need to identify the items that are not. Specifically, in the example of FIG. 1, the item “Tell me only the meeting name” and the item disclosed by the user 500 are specified as “Subject name (meeting name)”, but according to the above configuration, the user 500 makes an inquiry. It is sufficient to answer only whether or not the information may be disclosed for each item of user information (only “Yes” or “No”). Therefore, a more convenient software agent can be provided.

  The confirmation unit 154 illustratively includes a generation unit 155 that generates confirmation information for confirming the disclosure range of user information (hereinafter also simply referred to as “confirmation information”), a determination unit 156 that determines the disclosure range of user information, Is provided.

  The generation unit 155 generates information and the like for output by the output unit 170. For example, the generation unit 155 generates a voice signal for outputting a voice from text information using a voice synthesis process. The generation unit 155 may generate, for example, confirmation information for confirming the disclosure range of user information to the user 500, notification information for notifying an event detected by the monitoring unit 151, or the like.

  For example, in the generation of confirmation information, the generation unit 155 can divide user information to be confirmed for each predetermined item. Specifically, in the example of FIG. 1, the generation unit 155 confirms that the schedule of the meeting corresponding to the question information of the user 500 is to be divided and checked for each input form of the scheduler 300 such as the title and location of the meeting. May be generated. The “predetermined item” is a component obtained by dividing user information according to a certain standard. For example, the predetermined item may be divided for each item managed in a program having user information.

  The generation unit 155 generates, for example, user information that is at least partially concealed (hereinafter also referred to as “confidential user information”) according to the disclosure range confirmed as described above. Note that the generation includes deleting part of the user information or changing part or all of the user information.

  Specifically, as a method of concealing at least part of user information, specifically, (1) deleting part or all of user information to be concealed, (2) part or all of user information to be concealed For example, a method of replacing with alternative information is available. According to the method (1), the confidentiality of user information can be ensured. In addition, according to the method (2), since the portion to be concealed is not output in the user information, and the alternative information is provided to the user 500 instead, the user 500 uses the alternative information while ensuring confidentiality. Certain information can be obtained.

  “Alternative information” is information that replaces a portion to be concealed in user information by abstraction, anonymization of a higher concept, shortening, or the like. For example, the user's name is replaced as alternative information by initials (for example, “Hss. Is“ Hanako ”), and the date is replaced by the corresponding season (for example,“ April 5 ”). Replace it with “Spring” if any.

  An example of a method for concealing at least a part of the user information will be specifically described for each of the methods (1) and (2). As a premise, schedule information such as “time: 18:00”, “location: restaurant Akasaka” and “subject: patent Taro and media correspondence” corresponding to today's schedule is registered in the scheduler 300, and the registered schedule A case where there is a question “What is today's schedule?” From the user 500 inquiring information will be described. In the normal mode, in this case, the agent 200 outputs “Schedule Akasaka at 18:00. About patent Taro and media correspondence” to output the schedule information as it is and answer the above question. Then, generation of concealment user information is not performed.

  As a specific example of the method (1), in the secret mode, the generation unit 155 indicates that the disclosure range of the schedule information confirmed by the user 500 is “store type (specifically, from the user 500 to“ shop type ”). In the case of “It is a restaurant,” the location item “Ryotei Akasaka” in the above schedule information deletes “Akasaka”, Further, all the items such as the time and the subject are deleted, and concealment user information that discloses only the type of the store is generated.

  As a specific example of the method (2), in the secret mode, the generation unit 155 indicates that the disclosure range of the schedule information confirmed by the user 500 is “anonymized person name (specifically, from the user 500“ In the case of “designate anonymously”, etc., the personal name “Taro Taro” in the schedule information is converted into initial “TT”, which is alternative information for the personal name. The generation unit 155 replaces the person name with the converted initial, and generates anonymized user information that discloses only the anonymized person name such as “T.T.”.

  The generation unit 155 may generate the concealed user information by patterning the concealment method for each type of user information, for example. A specific example of the concealment pattern will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 5 in (3. Data structure) described later.

  The determination unit 156 determines the disclosure range of user information based on response information (hereinafter also simply referred to as “response information”) for the confirmation information received by the input unit 165. The determination unit 156 may determine the disclosure range by analyzing the answer information using natural language processing, for example. More specifically, the determination unit 156 performs morphological analysis and syntax analysis of the response information, and extracts a morpheme (for example, “meeting name”) that specifies the disclosure range. Based on the extracted morphemes, the determination unit 156 determines the disclosure range such as which information of the user information is output or which part is concealed.

  The storage unit 160 stores, for example, a program such as an agent program, user information, and the like.

  For example, the input unit 165 receives input of answer information for the confirmation information from the user 500. Examples of input methods include voice input and operation input.

  For example, the output unit 170 outputs confirmation information to the user 500 when the concealment mode is set. As an output method, for example, there are modes such as voice output and display output. Further, the output unit 170 may output the concealed user information by voice according to the disclosure range determined by the determination unit 156, for example. According to such a configuration, only information that should be classified as user information can be concealed according to the disclosure range in accordance with the user's 500 request, and other information can be provided to the user 500.

  For example, the output unit 170 may stop the voice output until the confirmation unit 154 confirms the disclosure range of the user information. Specifically, the output unit 170 outputs the confirmation information for confirming the disclosure range, and then confirms the disclosure range by the confirmation unit 154 (specifically, the determination unit 156 determines whether the disclosure range is The next audio output may be stopped until it is determined.

  According to the above method, voice output can be stopped until an answer is obtained from the user 500 regarding the range of user information that may be disclosed. As a result, it is possible to suppress a situation in which information that the user wants to keep secret is unintentionally known to others around him. In addition, the mobile terminal device 100 can omit the redundant processing of outputting the inquiry voice and the like many times, and the user 500 can avoid the trouble of confirming the same many times.

  The communication unit 175 transmits / receives an agent program or user information from the outside via a network.

  The imaging unit 180 captures images of the user 500 and the surroundings of the user. The photographing unit 180 stores the photographed image in the storage unit 160.

(3. Data structure)
(3-1. Concealment pattern)
Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5 to describe an example of ciphering pattern of user information. The concealment pattern information 700 includes a type pattern 701 of user information to be concealed and information on the concealment method 702 for each type pattern 701. For example, in the concealment pattern information 700, when the user information type pattern 701 is “person name”, the concealment method 702 “initializes part or all of the information as a method of concealing user information of such a type pattern” “Replace” is set. More specifically, in the case of the personal name “Hanako Suzuki”, a pattern for concealing as “HS” is provided. According to such a pattern, even if the concealment method is not set for each user information, the same type of user information can be concealed by the same method.

(4. Operation)
(4-1. User information notification process)
An example of the operation in the mobile terminal device 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of user information notification processing.

  First, the mobile terminal device 100 receives input of question information from the user 500 (S10). The mobile terminal device 100 acquires user information from another program based on the question information (S11). The portable terminal device 100 analyzes voice information recorded for a certain period using voice recognition technology (S12).

  If the presence of the other person 600 is detected as a result of the voice analysis (YES in S13), the mobile terminal device 100 sets the agent 200 in the secret mode (S14). When the confidential mode is set, the mobile terminal device 100 generates confirmation information (S15). The mobile terminal device 100 outputs the generated confirmation information (S16). The mobile terminal device 100 receives input of answer information from the user 500 (S17).

  The mobile terminal device 100 determines whether the received answer information is answer information for the output confirmation information (S18). If the mobile terminal device 100 is the answer information for the confirmation information (YES in S18), the mobile terminal device 100 determines the disclosure range of the user information based on the answer information (S19). The mobile terminal device 100 generates concealment user information according to the determined disclosure range (S20). The portable terminal device 100 outputs the generated anonymized user information (S21).

  According to the above method, since the mobile terminal device 100 detects the presence of a person other than the user and conceals the user information when outputting the user information by voice, it is not necessary to store the concealed user information in advance. . Such a method is effective in reducing the required storage area for storing the concealed user information, and such a method is particularly effective when the exchange between the user and the software agent is atypical. .

  If the presence of the other person 600 is not detected as a result of the voice analysis (NO in S13), the mobile terminal device 100 outputs the user information as it is without concealing it (S22). When the portable terminal device 100 finishes outputting the confidential user information or the user information, the portable terminal device 100 cancels the confidential mode (S23).

  The above-described processing steps can be executed in any order or in parallel as long as the processing contents do not contradict each other, and other steps may be added between the processing steps. Further, a step described as one step can be executed by being divided into a plurality of steps, and a step described by being divided into a plurality of steps can be executed as one step. The same applies to the flowchart of FIG. 10 described later.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The second embodiment is a form in which at least a part of user information is concealed in advance before the user information is output by voice. Hereinafter, a description will be given focusing on differences from the first embodiment.

(1. Overview)
Unlike the agent 200 according to the first embodiment, the agent according to the second embodiment generates the concealed user information when the user information is registered in the storage unit 160 or when the user 500 designates the target to be concealed. In advance, it is registered in the storage unit 160. After that, when the agent is set to the concealment mode and the user information is output by voice, the agent outputs the voice using the previously registered secret user information.

(2. Functional configuration of portable terminal device)
With reference to FIG. 7, an example of a functional configuration of the mobile terminal device 1000 according to the second embodiment will be described. The mobile terminal device 1000 includes a registration unit 158 that registers confidential user information in advance in addition to the functional units of the mobile terminal device 100 according to the first embodiment. In addition to the information stored in the storage unit 160 of the mobile terminal device 100, concealment user information is registered in the storage unit 160 of the mobile terminal device 1000.

  The acquisition unit 153 acquires the registered user information when the user information is registered in the storage unit 160 or the like. For example, when the monitoring unit 151 detects a registration process or the like in a program other than the agent program, the acquisition unit 153 acquires registered user information. According to such a method, when user information is newly registered, the user information can be acquired and the subsequent concealment process can be automatically continued.

  The acquisition unit 153 acquires reference information indicating a criterion for determining whether or not the user information is to be concealed from the storage unit 160 or the like. The acquisition unit 153 determines whether or not the acquired user information is to be concealed based on the reference information.

  The reference information is information indicating which user information is to be concealed. For example, the user information to be concealed is registered in the storage unit 160 in the form of a table or list, and the registered user information is concealed. It may be used as being. An example of the reference information table will be described with reference to FIG. 8 in the later section (3. Data structure).

  As another example, the reference information may be information indicating a data item including user information to be concealed. Specifically, the reference information may be a sender or subject of a mail header of a mailer program including user information, or a specific data item such as a subject form or a place form of a scheduler program. More specifically, when the user information to be concealed is a mail sender, the reference information is a data item indicating the sender name in the header of the mailer program (for example, the mail indicated in “Received: from”). By setting the address item etc., the sender name of the mail may be kept secret.

  As another example, the reference information may be a determination model that determines whether or not the user information is to be concealed by pattern recognition of the user information. In the construction of this determination model, for example, there is a method in which the generation unit 155 uses machine learning such as SVM (Support Vector Machine). Using such machine learning, the generation unit 155 quantifies the morpheme that is the feature of the confidential user information accumulated in the storage unit 160 or the like for a certain period, and determines the feature amount as teacher data. You may build a model. The determination unit 156 determines whether or not the user information is to be concealed using the determination model.

  The generation unit 155 generates concealment user information for the user information that is the target of concealment as a result of the determination by the acquisition unit 153. The generation unit 155 registers the generated anonymized user information in the storage unit 160.

  As another example, the generation unit 155 may generate concealment user information for the specified user information when the input unit 165 receives a specification input from the user 500 to be concealed with respect to the user information in 165. .

  The registration unit 158 registers the confidential user information generated by the generation unit 155 in the storage unit 160.

  The input unit 165 receives from the user 500 a designation input to be concealed with respect to user information output on the screen or the like by the output unit 170.

  The output unit 170 outputs the concealed user information registered in the storage unit 160 corresponding to the user information in accordance with the disclosure range of the user information designated by the user 500. Further, the output unit 170 may output a screen for accepting a designation input as a confidential target for user information registered in the storage unit 160 or the like in the input unit 165.

(3. Data structure)
(3-1. Reference information)
With reference to FIG. 8, an example of the data structure of the reference information will be described. FIG. 8 is an example in which the reference information is registered in the storage unit 160 or the like in a table format. The reference information table 800 includes user information 801 to be concealed, a type 802 indicating the type of user information 801, and a concealment method 803 indicating a concealment method of the user information 801. Of course, it is not necessary that all of the information is included in the reference information, and other information may be included, and may be set as appropriate according to a determination process using the reference information.

  In the reference information table 800, for example, when the user information 801 that matches the key is present in the determination unit 156 using the user information to be output as a key, the user information to be output is determined to be a secret target. Used. Further, for example, the generation unit 155 extracts the record including the user information 801 that matches the key in the generation unit 155 as the key, and the reference information table 800 includes the extracted record concealment method 803. Therefore, it may be used to generate concealed user information.

  For example, the user information 801 may include secret information such as a trade secret handled by the user in addition to the user's personal information. The user's personal information may be configured to include, for example, the user's name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, schedule information, e-mail information or search history information. In addition, the user information 801 may be configured to include information representing physical features such as user fingerprint information, eyeball iris or voiceprint information, for example.

(3-2. Confidential user information)
An example of the data structure of concealment user information is demonstrated using FIG. FIG. 9 shows an example in which the confidential user information is registered in the storage unit 160 or the like in a table format. The anonymized user information table 900 includes user information 901 and information on anonymized user information 902. Of course, it is not necessary that all of the information is included in the anonymized user information table, and information other than these may be included, as long as the information is appropriately set according to the registration process or the output process of the anonymized user information. Good.

(4. Operation)
(4-1. Registration processing of confidential user information)
An example of the operation of the mobile terminal device 1000 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of user information registration processing by the mobile terminal device 1000.

  The mobile terminal device 1000 monitors the operation of other programs (S30). As a result of the monitoring, the portable terminal device 1000 detects a user information registration process in another program (S31). The portable terminal device 1000 acquires the registered user information (S32).

  The portable terminal device 1000 determines whether or not the acquired user information is to be concealed (S33). If it is determined that the portable terminal device 1000 is to be concealed (YES in S33), the concealed user information is generated (S34). The mobile terminal device 1000 registers the generated confidential user information (S35).

  According to the above method, when the user information is output as voice, it is only necessary to output the previously registered concealed user information as a voice, and it is not necessary to conceal the user information every time the voice is output. Such a technique is effective in improving the response speed in processing until the user 500 asks and answers. The improvement of the response speed by such a method is particularly effective for a user who has a lot of routine exchanges in the exchange with the agent 200.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the third embodiment, even when the presence of another person 600 around the user 500 is not detected, the agent is set to the concealment mode when the user information to be concealed is output by voice. The following description will focus on differences from the first embodiment and the second embodiment.

(1. Overview)
Unlike the agents according to the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the agent according to the third embodiment determines user information to be concealed in advance and outputs the user information determined to be concealed by voice. Sets the agent to the hidden mode. When the confidential mode is set, the agent confirms the disclosure range of the user information with the user 500, and outputs the confidential user information or the user information in accordance with the confirmed disclosure range.

  Even when a sensor such as a microphone that detects the presence of the other person 600 cannot detect the presence of the other person 600 that should be detected by the above method, The user 500 can confirm the disclosure range of the user information. Therefore, a software agent with higher confidentiality can be provided.

(2. Functional configuration of portable terminal device)
For example, when user information that can be a voice output target in the output unit 170 is registered in the storage unit 160 by another program or the like, the determination unit 156 sets the registered user information as a target to be concealed based on the reference information. Decide whether or not to do. In this registration, it may be registered from the account of the user 500, or may be registered from an account other than the user 500.

  The determination unit 156 may store, in the storage unit 160, the user information to be concealed and information indicating that it is to be concealed based on the determination whether or not the user information is to be concealed. . This association method is, for example, (1) a method of adding tag information indicating that the information is to be concealed to the user information to be concealed, and (2) a record of the user information to be concealed in the table including the user information. A method of setting a flag indicating that it is a secret object, and (3) a method of listing and registering only user information that is a secret object.

  The setting unit 157 sets the agent 200 in the concealment mode, for example, when outputting the user information determined to be concealment by the determination unit 156 by voice.

[Modification]
Although this invention was demonstrated based on said each embodiment, this invention is not limited to these forms. The following modifications are also included in the present invention.

  (1) In the above embodiment, the setting unit 157 sets the agent in the concealment mode when outputting the user information to be concealed by voice, but for example, when the concealment mode designation is received from the user 500 In addition, the agent may be set in a secret mode. Specifically, when the setting unit 157 determines from the user 500 that the input unit 165 has received voice information including a predetermined keyword such as “set as secret” registered in the storage unit 160 in advance, the setting unit 157 It may be set to a secret mode. In addition, for example, if the setting unit 157 determines that the user 500 has received a designation for concealing specific user information such as “Turn your name down”, only the specific user information may be concealed. .

  The setting unit 157 may not only set the secret mode but also have a function of canceling the agent's secret mode (returning to the normal mode) when a predetermined event occurs. As a cancellation method, for example, (1) cancellation is made when output of user information to be output by the output unit 170 or concealed user information is completed. In addition, there is a method of releasing when it is determined that the input unit 165 has received voice information including a predetermined keyword such as “cancel secrecy” or “you can speak again”.

  In the method (2), the setting unit 157 determines whether the confirmation unit 154 subdivides user information to be confirmed and inquires whether or not to disclose for each of the subdivided user information. When it is determined that voice information including a predetermined keyword such as “speak all” is received by the input unit 165, the secret mode may be canceled at the time of the determination. As described above, when the confidential mode is canceled during the inquiry, the segmented user information that has not been confirmed whether or not to be disclosed is output as it is in the normal mode. According to this configuration, it is possible to avoid the annoyance of confirming the disclosure range of user information that the user 500 has determined that confirmation is unnecessary.

  As another example, the setting unit 157 may activate the agent 200 by setting the default mode to either the normal mode or the secret mode based on designation from the user 500, initial setting, or the like. Further, the setting unit 157 may cancel the secret mode when a predetermined time has elapsed after setting the agent 200 to the secret mode.

  (2) In the above embodiment, the example in which the detection unit 152 detects the presence of the other person 600 using an audio sensor such as a microphone or an image sensor such as a camera has been described, but a so-called human sensor is used. When it is determined that there are two or more people in a predetermined area where the user 500 is present using infrared rays, ultrasonic waves, visible light, or the like, it is assumed that there are others 600 around the user. The presence may be detected.

  (3) In the above embodiment, the partner installed by the agent 200 is described as an example of software installed in the mobile terminal device 100. However, the broker is provided via a network by a cloud service such as SaaS. Software may be used.

  (4) In the above embodiment, the example in which the other person 600 is a person has been described. Specifically, the other person 600 is an information processing apparatus such as a robot or a smart speaker used by an account other than the user 500. There may be.

  The above-described embodiments are for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention can be changed / improved (for example, by combining the embodiments, omitting a part of the configuration of each embodiment) without departing from the spirit thereof, and the present invention includes equivalents thereof. It is.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Portable terminal device, 152 ... Detection part, 153 ... Acquisition part, 154 ... Confirmation part, 155 ... Generation part, 156 ... Determination part, 157 ... Setting part, 170 ... Output part

Claims (9)

An acquisition unit for acquiring user information;
When a concealment mode for concealing at least part of the information to be output by voice is set, a confirmation unit that confirms the disclosure range of the user information acquired by the acquisition unit by asking the user;
An output unit that outputs user information that is at least partially concealed according to the confirmed disclosure range,
Information processing device. The confirmation unit
A generating unit for generating confirmation information for confirming a disclosure range of the user information to the user;
A determination unit that determines the disclosure range based on response information to the confirmation information received from the user;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The acquisition unit acquires reference information indicating a determination criterion as to whether or not user information is to be concealed;
The determination unit determines whether the user information is to be concealed based on the reference information when user information that can be an output target is registered in the output unit,
In the case of outputting the user information determined to be concealed by the determination unit by voice, a setting unit for setting the concealment mode is provided.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2. The user information in which at least a part is concealed, at least a part of the user information is replaced with alternative information,
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The confirmation unit subdivides the user information acquired by the acquisition unit, and inquires of the user whether or not to disclose the subdivided user information;
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The output unit stops voice output until the disclosure range is confirmed by the confirmation unit.
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5. When detecting the presence of a person other than the user around the user, the detection unit is set to the secret mode,
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6. On the computer,
An acquisition function to acquire user information;
A confirmation function for confirming by inquiring the user the disclosure range of the user information acquired by the acquisition function when a concealment mode for concealing at least a part of the information to be output is set;
An output function for outputting voice of user information that is at least partially concealed according to the confirmed disclosure range,
program. Computer
Obtaining user information;
Confirming by inquiring of the user the disclosure range of the user information acquired by the acquiring step when a concealment mode for concealing at least part of the information output by the computer is set;
Outputting at least a part of the user information concealed according to the confirmed disclosure range, by voice,
Information processing method.