Quantum contextuality in classical information retrieval

TL;DR

This paper explores the analogy between quantum contextuality and personalization in classical information retrieval, proposing a new perspective on document ranking through the lens of quantum structures.

Contribution

It introduces the idea that quantum contextuality can model personalization in information retrieval, offering a novel structural approach to understanding relevance evaluation.

Findings

Quantum contextuality resembles personalization in IR.

Event space structures can explain non-classical correlations.

Knowledge revision as measurement quantifies personalization.

Abstract

Document ranking based on probabilistic evaluations of relevance is known to exhibit non-classical correlations, which may be explained by admitting a complex structure of the event space, namely, by assuming the events to emerge from multiple sample spaces. The structure of event space formed by overlapping sample spaces is known in quantum mechanics, they may exhibit some counter-intuitive features, called quantum contextuality. In this Note I observe that from the structural point of view quantum contextuality looks similar to personalization of information retrieval scenarios. Along these lines, Knowledge Revision is treated as operationalistic measurement and a way to quantify the rate of personalization of Information Retrieval scenarios is suggested.