While deep representation learning has become increasingly capable of separating task-relevant representations from other confounding factors in the data, two significant challenges remain. First, there is often an unknown and potentially infinite number of confounding factors coinciding in the data. Second, not all of…
Sensitivity analysis for individualized effects in OTRs with binary risk factors.
problem Addressing omitted confounding in individualized effects of OTRs.
method Simulation-based sensitivity analysis to simulate unmeasured confounders.
result Benchmarking the strength of omitted confounding for binary risk factors.
Statistical learning on biological data can be challenging due to confounding variables in sample collection and processing. Confounders can cause models to generalize poorly and result in inaccurate prediction performance metrics if models are not validated thoroughly. In this paper, we propose methods to control for …
This paper corrects climate model biases using a factor model approach.
problem Systematic biases in GCM outputs due to unobserved confounders.
method Factor model approach to learn latent confounders from historical data and apply them to enhance bias correction.
result Significant improvements in the accuracy of precipitation outputs.
Much research has been devoted to the problem of estimating treatment effects from observational data; however, most methods assume that the observed variables only contain confounders, i.e., variables that affect both the treatment and the outcome. Unfortunately, this assumption is frequently violated in real-world ap…
CARE improves LLM aggregation by accounting for shared confounders.
problem LLM judges' correlated errors due to shared latent confounders.
method CARE explicitly models judges' scores as true quality and confounders.
result CARE reduces aggregation error by up to 26.8% across various benchmarks.
Meta-learning shows negative transfer between tasks, which MetaCRL addresses.
problem Negative transfer between tasks in meta-learning.
method Structural Causal Models (SCMs) and MetaCRL to eliminate task confounders.
result MetaCRL achieves state-of-the-art performance in various benchmark datasets.
Research shows continual learning challenges in confounded datasets.
problem Challenges in mitigating confounders in continual learning settings.
method Formal description of continual confounders, construction of ConCon dataset.
result Standard continual learning methods fail to ignore confounders.
A novel disentangled graph autoencoder improves treatment effect estimation from networked observational data.
problem Treatment effect estimation from observational data is challenging due to unconfoundedness assumption and latent confounders.
method Proposes a disentangled variational graph autoencoder to disentangle latent factors and enforce factor independence.
result Extensive experiments show superior performance compared to state-of-the-art approaches.
New method estimates latent gene expression factors without overlap with known confounders.
problem Estimating latent variance components in gene expression data with known confounders.
method Restricted maximum-likelihood method maximizing likelihood on orthogonal subspace.
result Method reduces runtime and attains greater likelihood values than gradient-based optimizers.
New method handles many noisy proxy controls for causal inference.
problem Causal inference with many noisy proxy controls and unknown confounders.
method Linear models with rank-restricted and sparse nuisance parameters, penalization methods.
result Estimators achieve better performance in high dimensions, especially with many proxies.
Deep learning models can learn confounding factors instead of device fingerprints in wireless signals.
problem Learning device fingerprints from complex-valued deep neural networks in the presence of confounding factors.
method Investigating complex-valued deep neural networks (DNNs) to distinguish between wireless transmitters, focusing on clock drift and channel variations.
result DNNs learn confounding features rather than device-specific characteristics, requiring strategies to promote generalization.
The proliferation of healthcare data has brought the opportunities of applying data-driven approaches, such as machine learning methods, to assist diagnosis. Recently, many deep learning methods have been shown with impressive successes in predicting disease status with raw input data. However, the "black-box" nature o…
Debias recommender systems by accounting for hidden confounders using network information.
problem Debiased recommender systems to reduce bias caused by hidden confounders.
method Leverage network information to disentangle user conformity and item popularity, modeling exposure and ratings while controlling hidden confounders.
result The proposed method effectively debiases recommender systems, improving recommendation accuracy.
Develops a method for causal inference with noisy confounders.
problem Noisy measurements of confounders in treatment effects models.
method Local principal subspace approximation combining K-nearest neighbors matching and PCA.
result Estimators of treatment effects and counterfactual distributions are constructed.
Estimating the individual treatment effect (ITE) from observational data is essential in medicine. A central challenge in estimating the ITE is handling confounders, which are factors that affect both an intervention and its outcome. Most previous work relies on the unconfoundedness assumption, which posits that all th…
Satellite imagery helps adjust for unobserved confounders in observational studies.
problem Adjusting for confounding factors in observational studies with non-tabular data like satellite imagery.
method Formalizing conditions for causal effect identification, estimation, and sensitivity analysis.
result Demonstrated the use of satellite imagery as a proxy for unobserved confounders in anti-poverty aid programs.
Valid causal inference in observational studies often requires controlling for confounders. However, in practice measurements of confounders may be noisy, and can lead to biased estimates of causal effects. We show that we can reduce the bias caused by measurement noise using a large number of noisy measurements of the…
Study linear contextual bandits with confounded offline data, improving regret bounds.
problem Linear contextual bandits with confounded offline data.
method Construct a linear bandit algorithm that utilizes projected information.
result Proved regret bounds that improve current bounds by a factor related to visible dimensionality.
New method predicts outcomes even when some factors are not used in models.
problem Predicting outcomes under runtime confounding where some factors are unavailable.
method Doubly-robust procedure for counterfactual predictions.
result Method often outperforms competing approaches in runtime confounding.
The empirical practice of using factor models to adjust for shared, unobserved confounders, Z, in observational settings with multiple treatments, A, is widespread in fields including genetics, networks, medicine, and politics. Wang and Blei (2019, WB) formalizes these procedures and develops the …
New method recovers latent confounders from high-dimensional proxy variables.
problem Detecting latent confounders from high-dimensional proxy variables.
method Proxy Confounder Factorization (PCF) framework using ICA-PCF and GD-PCF.
result ICA-PCF recovers confounders with high correlation and low error in synthetic and real-world data.
Paper tackles unobserved confounding in human-AI collaborations.
problem Unobserved confounding undermines human-AI collaboration effectiveness.
method Combines sensitivity analysis from causal inference with AI-driven statistical modeling.
result Enhances robustness and reliability of collaborative outcomes.
Unobserved confounding is a major hurdle for causal inference from observational data. Confounders---the variables that affect both the causes and the outcome---induce spurious non-causal correlations between the two. Wang & Blei (2018) lower this hurdle with "the blessings of multiple causes," where the correlation st…
Learning individual-level causal effects from observational data, such as inferring the most effective medication for a specific patient, is a problem of growing importance for policy makers. The most important aspect of inferring causal effects from observational data is the handling of confounders, factors that affec…
New method for valid prediction intervals in counterfactual outcomes with runtime confounding.
problem Valid prediction intervals for counterfactual outcomes under runtime confounding.
method Debiased machine learning framework grounded in semiparametric efficiency theory.
result Prediction intervals achieve desired coverage rates with faster convergence compared to standard methods.
Motivated by online recommendation and advertising systems, we consider a causal model for stochastic contextual bandits with a latent low-dimensional confounder. In our model, there are L observed contexts and K arms of the bandit. The observed context influences the reward obtained through a latent confounder var…
Unified framework for large-scale hypothesis testing with confounders.
problem Bias in large-scale hypothesis testing due to unmeasured confounders.
method Unified statistical estimation and inference framework that disentangles confounding effects and jointly estimates latent and primary effects.
result Effective Type-I error control and power in hypothesis testing.
Study on testing two populations with confounders.
problem Determining if two populations have the same distribution after accounting for confounding factors.
method Introduce two general frameworks for conditional two-sample testing.
result Demonstrated the power and validity of the proposed frameworks.
G-computation improves clinical trial power with machine learning.
problem Balancing prognostic factors in randomized trials to prevent near-confounders.
method G-computation with penalized models (Lasso, Elasticnet) and algorithm-based methods (neural network, SVM, super learner).
result G-computation with Elasticnet and splines reduces variance and increases power in RCTs.
Generative models improve causal effect estimation from observational data.
problem Estimating causal effects from observational data, especially when confounding factors are present.
method Proposes a progressive sequence of Variational Auto-Encoder models to learn underlying factors and causal effects.
result Empirical results show superior performance compared to state-of-the-art approaches.
Neural networks have recently been established as a viable classification method for imaging mass spectrometry data for tumor typing. For multi-laboratory scenarios however, certain confounding factors may strongly impede their performance. In this work, we introduce Deep Relevance Regularization, a method of restricti…
The paper compares and optimizes estimators for treatment effects with observed confounders and mediators.
problem Estimating treatment effects with observed confounders and mediators.
method Investigates the linear Gaussian causal model, compares and optimizes estimators, and combines datasets.
result An optimal estimator outperforms the backdoor and frontdoor estimators by an unbounded constant factor.
Spatial Deconfounder tackles interference and confounding in spatial data.
problem Interference and unmeasured spatial factors confound causal inference in spatial domains.
method Two-stage method using CVAE with spatial prior to reconstruct confounder, then estimate causal effects.
result Nonparametric identification of direct and spillover effects under weak assumptions.
Sharp bounds on ATE with unmeasured confounders, valid even when misspecified.
problem Bounding average treatment effects with unmeasured confounders.
method Distributionally robust optimization, double sharpness, double validity.
result Proposes estimators with robustness properties for valid bounds.
Method estimates treatment effects in dyadic data with unknown confounders.
problem Estimating treatment effects in dyadic data with unobserved confounders.
method Neighborhood kernel smoothing method for graphon estimation.
result Derives rate of convergence for estimator and demonstrates test size control.
Develops methods for personalized treatment decisions in the presence of unmeasured factors.
problem Personalized treatment decisions in the presence of unmeasured confounding.
method Proximal learning approaches to estimate optimal individualized treatment regimes (ITRs).
result Established identification results for different classes of ITRs, improving decision-making value function.
Introduces m-connecting imset and factorization for ADMG models.
problem Handling latent confounding in DAG models.
method Introduces m-connecting imset and m-connecting factorization criterion for ADMG models.
result Equivalence of m-connecting factorization criterion to global Markov property.
CATR rationalizes text data to stabilize causal effect estimation.
problem Observational positivity violation in high-dimensional text data.
method Confounding-Aware Token Rationalization (CATR) selects necessary subset of tokens.
result CATR yields more accurate and stable causal effect estimates.
The paper shows how to audit fairness in decisions with hidden risk factors.
problem Estimating fairness in decisions influenced by hidden, unobservable risk factors.
method Derives unbiased estimates of risk using historical data and audits existing decision-making systems.
result One can compute meaningful bounds on treatment rates for high-risk individuals, even with hidden confounders.
Study evaluates machine learning for predicting treatment effects in observational studies.
problem Challenges in measuring treatment effects due to confounding bias in observational studies.
method Simulated two scenarios with and without confounding, using linear and non-linear relationships. Used machine learning models (linear regression, lasso regression, random forest) to predict counterfactuals and treatment effects.
result Machine learning models perform well under linearity but poorly under non-linearity, even in the presence of confounding.
DOVI improves reinforcement learning with offline data, reducing trial-and-error in critical scenarios.
problem Lack of sample efficiency in deep reinforcement learning for critical applications.
method Proposes DOVI algorithm to incorporate confounded observational data provably efficiently.
result DOVI reduces regret by a multiplicative factor compared to pure online setting, especially when data are informative.
The estimation of treatment effects is a pervasive problem in medicine. Existing methods for estimating treatment effects from longitudinal observational data assume that there are no hidden confounders, an assumption that is not testable in practice and, if it does not hold, leads to biased estimates. In this paper, w…
This work frames reward modelling from preferences as a causal problem.
problem Reward modelling from preference data for AI alignment.
method Causal inference approach to identify challenges and assumptions.
result Causally-inspired approaches improve model robustness.
Linear Mixed Models (LMMs) are important tools in statistical genetics. When used for feature selection, they allow to find a sparse set of genetic traits that best predict a continuous phenotype of interest, while simultaneously correcting for various confounding factors such as age, ethnicity and population structure…
We propose a general formulation for addressing reinforcement learning (RL) problems in settings with observational data. That is, we consider the problem of learning good policies solely from historical data in which unobserved factors (confounders) affect both observed actions and rewards. Our formulation allows us t…
Study designs experiments to identify causal graph structure with cycles and latent confounders.
problem Identify causal graph structure with cycles and latent confounders.
method Established lower bounds, developed CI and do see tests algorithms, and proved tightness.
result Proposed algorithms can recover all causal edges except for double adjacent bidirected edges.
New method learns optimal policies in presence of unmeasured confounders.
problem Optimal policy learning with unobserved confounders.
method Causal-assisted policy learning methods using instrumental variables and negative controls.
result Policies are ildeO(n−1/2) quantile-optimal under mild coverage assumptions.