Patent ID: 9734207
Date: 2017-08-15
CPC Classifications: G06F,G06N,G06Q

Claim:
1. A method, comprising: performing, by at least one data processing device: (a) obtaining a plurality of data sets representing a respective plurality of entities; (b) selecting, from the data sets, a first data set representing a first entity, wherein the first data set includes a plurality of values of a respective plurality of descriptors of the first entity; (c) selecting two or more of the descriptors of the first entity, wherein the first data set includes respective values of the selected descriptors of the first entity; (d) for each of the selected descriptors, determining an individual probability that the value of the descriptor describes an entity in a particular population of entities; (e) estimating a joint probability that the values of the two or more selected descriptors of the first entity describe a second entity in the particular population of entities, different from the first entity, wherein the joint probability is estimated based, at least in part, on the individual probabilities; (f) determining whether the joint probability of the values of the selected descriptors is less than a threshold probability; (g) if the joint probability of the values of the selected descriptors is less than the threshold probability, searching in the plurality of data sets for a second data set including the values of the selected descriptors; (h) if the second data set is found, performing an entity resolution operation, wherein performing the entity resolution operation comprises determining, based at least in part on the joint probability of the values of the selected descriptors being less than the threshold probability and on the first and second data sets including the values of the selected descriptors, that the second data set describes the first entity; and repeating steps (b)-(h) one or more times, wherein a false positive rate of the entity resolution operation is determined based on a size of the population and on the threshold probability, and wherein estimating the joint probability that the values of all the selected descriptors describe a second entity in the particular population of entities comprises multiplying the individual probabilities of the values of the selected descriptors.