UTILIZING FAILURES IN QUESTION AND ANSWER SYSTEM RESPONSES TO ENHANCE THE ACCURACY OF QUESTION AND ANSWER SYSTEMS

A computerized device for enhancing the accuracy of a question-answer system. The computerized device comprises a question-answer system comprising software for performing a plurality of question answering processes. A receiver receives a question into the question-answer system. A processor that generates a plurality of candidate answers to the question is connected to the question-answer system. The processor determines a confidence score for each of the plurality of candidate answers. The processor evaluates sources of evidence used to generate the plurality of candidate answers. The processor identifies missing information from a corpus of data. The missing information comprises any information that improves a confidence score for a candidate answer. The processor generates at least one follow-on inquiry based on the missing information. A network interface outputs the at least one follow-on inquiry to external sources separate from the question-answer system.