What is Learning to Rank?
A plain-language introduction to learning to rank (LTR): using machine learning to order search results, the judgments and features that train a model, and how the OpenSearch Learning to Rank plugin puts it to work.
Blog
Notes from the field on data, cloud, NLP, search, AI, and whatever else I’m working on.
Understanding OpenSearch User Behavior Insights (UBI)
An introduction to OpenSearch User Behavior Insights (UBI): what it is, how it captures the queries and clicks that reveal what users actually want, and how that data powers learning-to-rank, A/B testing, and better search relevance.
Apache OpenNLP and the Model Context Protocol
Why you don't need an LLM for every NLP task, and how the Model Context Protocol (MCP) lets you delegate foundational work like tokenization and named-entity recognition to Apache OpenNLP: cheaper, faster, and easier to scale.
Using Modern NLP Models from Apache OpenNLP with Apache Solr
How ONNX Runtime lets Apache Solr run modern transformer NLP models at index time, through Apache Lucene and Apache OpenNLP, with no new services and no training in Java.
Redacting PII at Scale with Phileas
How Phileas, an open-source text redaction engine, finds and removes personally identifiable information (PII) from documents and streams, and why consistent, configurable redaction matters more than ever in the age of LLMs.
Automating NLP Model Training with Apache OpenNLP and Apache NiFi
A set of Apache NiFi processors that use Apache OpenNLP to build an automated, end-to-end NLP model pipeline: retrieve training data, convert it, train, evaluate, and conditionally deploy the model when it's good enough.
Apache OpenNLP and LLMs: Where Does OpenNLP Fit In?
With LLMs dominating NLP, does a classic Java toolkit like Apache OpenNLP still have a role? A head-to-head NER comparison, and why the answer is yes.
How Organizations Can Get the Most Out of Their OpenSearch Contributions
Notes from my OpenSearchCon 2022 talk on why organizations should contribute to OpenSearch, the barriers that slow open source adoption, and how to make contributions that stick.
Adding ONNX Runtime Support to Apache OpenNLP
How I brought Hugging Face transformer models to Java by integrating ONNX Runtime into Apache OpenNLP, with no retraining and no external model server required.
Leveraging Neural Networks and Learning-to-Rank in Document Workflows
How a neural network classifier and a learning-to-rank model can give authors real-time feedback inside a technical-document workflow, from my Lucidworks Activate 2019 talk.