Machine learning confound removal biases results, leading to misleading predictions.
problem Common confound removal methods in machine learning lead to misleading predictions.
method Featurewise removal of confound variance by linear regression before applying ML.
result This common deconfounding approach can leak information, amplifying null or moderate effects.
Generative multitask learning mitigates confounders causing targets.
problem Unobserved confounders causing targets but not inputs.
method Generative multitask learning (GMTL) modifies inference objective to remove joint target influence.
result Improved robustness to target shift across multitask learning methods.
Debias concept-based explanations by removing confounding information.
problem Correlation between concepts and confounding features.
method Causal prior graph and two-stage regression technique.
result Success in removing biases and improving concept ranking.
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 …
New method removes hidden confounders for unbiased treatment effect estimation.
problem Bias in treatment effect estimation due to unobserved confounders.
method Proposes a new debiased estimation approach via SVD to handle heterogeneous confounding.
result Established rate of convergence for the estimator under different noise conditions.
This paper tackles confounding biases in data augmentation.
problem Mitigating spurious correlations and confounding variables in training data.
method Formal analysis and counterfactual data augmentation.
result Removing confounding biases leads to invariant features and better generalization.
Paper tackles treatment leakage in text-based causal inference, proposing methods to mitigate bias.
problem Treatment leakage in text-as-confounder applications introduces bias in causal estimates.
method Formal definitions, four text distillation methods (passage removal, classification, salient feature removal, nullspace projection).
result Moderate distillation optimally balances bias reduction against confounder retention.
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…
We describe a method for removing the effect of confounders in order to reconstruct a latent quantity of interest. The method, referred to as half-sibling regression, is inspired by recent work in causal inference using additive noise models. We provide a theoretical justification and illustrate the potential of the me…
With recent advances in deep learning, neuroimaging studies increasingly rely on convolutional networks (ConvNets) to predict diagnosis based on MR images. To gain a better understanding of how a disease impacts the brain, the studies visualize the salience maps of the ConvNet highlighting voxels within the brain major…
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 compares two methods for inferring network structures in presence of latent confounders.
problem Inferring network structures in presence of latent confounders.
method Gaussian graphical models with latent variables (LVGGM) and PCA-based removal of confounding (PCA+GGM).
result Proposes a new method combining strengths of LVGGM and PCA+GGM, proving consistency and convergence rate.
Observational data is increasingly used as a means for making individual-level causal predictions and intervention recommendations. The foremost challenge of causal inference from observational data is hidden confounding, whose presence cannot be tested in data and can invalidate any causal conclusion. Experimental dat…
Unified techniques improve stability and replicability in changing data.
problem Concept drift in data generating distribution.
method Removing hidden confounding and causal regularization.
result Improves stability, replicability, and robustness in heterogeneous data.
Causal approaches to fairness have seen substantial recent interest, both from the machine learning community and from wider parties interested in ethical prediction algorithms. In no small part, this has been due to the fact that causal models allow one to simultaneously leverage data and expert knowledge to remove di…
The goal of recommendation is to show users items that they will like. Though usually framed as a prediction, the spirit of recommendation is to answer an interventional question---for each user and movie, what would the rating be if we "forced" the user to watch the movie? To this end, we develop a causal approach to …
Predictive models can fail to generalize from training to deployment environments because of dataset shift, posing a threat to model reliability and the safety of downstream decisions made in practice. Instead of using samples from the target distribution to reactively correct dataset shift, we use graphical knowledge …
A new method removes biases in data integration by using surrogate control outcomes.
problem Data integration methods can be biased due to data-dependent processes.
method Post-integrated inference method using surrogate control outcomes to account for latent heterogeneity.
result The method provides consistent and efficient estimators under minimal assumptions and potential misspecifications.
New method improves causal discovery in time series with latent confounders.
problem Low recall in causal discovery for autocorrelated time series with latent confounders.
method Iterative procedure that includes causal parents in conditioning sets, using novel orientation rules.
result Significantly higher recall compared to existing methods, especially in strong autocorrelation cases.
PESCAL uses mediators to learn from confounded offline data.
problem Learning from confounded observational data in reinforcement learning.
method PESCAL uses mediator variables and the pessimistic principle to address confounding bias and distributional shift.
result It is sufficient to learn a lower bound of the mediator distribution function to mitigate distributional shift.
CRN model estimates treatment effects over time using adversarial balancing.
problem Estimating treatment effects over time in medical settings.
method Adversarial domain balancing to remove time-varying confounders.
result CRN achieves lower error in estimating counterfactuals and treatment timing.
Specialists tolerate defects to gain flexibility, which can be removed when needed.
problem The economic benefits and limitations of deliberately tolerating defects in decision-making.
method Analyzes the conditions under which defects can be kept and removed, using economic models and structural analysis.
result A defect is profitably removable if certain conditions are met, and the premium is the support function of the class's ROC set.
Specialists tolerate defects to gain flexibility, which can be removed when needed.
problem The economic benefits and limits of deliberately tolerating defects in decision-making.
method Analyzes the economic position of keeping and removing defects, using a coupling lemma and structural economic models.
result A defect is profitably removable if the detector-relevant distinction survives a restriction and the advantage condition holds.
The paper proposes a method to precisely decompose confounders and estimate treatment effects.
problem Estimating treatment effects from observational data with confounder identification and balancing.
method Learning decomposed representations to identify and balance confounders and non-confounders.
result The method achieves more precise treatment effect estimation than existing methods.
Fine-tuning LLMs with observational data can lead to spurious correlations, but DeconfoundLM can mitigate this.
problem Aligning LLMs with human preferences and business objectives using observational data.
method DeconfoundLM, a method that removes confounders from reward signals.
result DeconfoundLM improves recovery of causal relationships and mitigates spurious correlations.
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.
Causal inference from observational data requires assumptions. These assumptions range from measuring confounders to identifying instruments. Traditionally, causal inference assumptions have focused on estimation of effects for a single treatment. In this work, we construct techniques for estimation with multiple treat…
Detect hidden confounding in observational data using multiple environments.
problem Detect hidden confounding in observational data.
method Theoretical framework and simulation studies to test for hidden confounding.
result The proposed procedure correctly predicts hidden confounding, especially when bias is large.
KRCD detects unobserved confounders in nonlinear observational data.
problem Detecting unobserved confounders in nonlinear observational studies.
method Kernel Regression Confounder Detection (KRCD) using reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces.
result KRCD outperforms existing methods and achieves superior computational efficiency.
Study identifies conditions for proxy adjustment in confounded binary treatment outcomes.
problem Average causal effect estimation with a non-differentially mismeasured binary confounder.
method Identifies conditions for proxy adjustment in the presence of a non-differentially mismeasured binary confounder.
result Adjusting for a non-differentially mismeasured binary proxy can improve estimation of the average causal effect.
New method estimates policy performance under unobserved confounding.
problem Estimating policy performance when decisions depend on unobserved variables.
method Developed worst-case bounds for robust OPE under unobserved confounding.
result Efficient procedure for computing worst-case bounds, proving statistical consistency.
Consistent estimator derived for confounding strength in observational data.
problem Estimating confounding strength in observational data is challenging due to unobserved confounders.
method Derived and adapted a consistent estimator using tools from random matrix theory.
result The original estimator is not consistent, but an adapted one is.
A new method uses randomized trials to estimate the strength of unobserved confounding.
problem Unobserved confounding compromises causal conclusions from non-randomized studies.
method Designs a statistical test to detect unobserved confounding strength and estimates a lower bound.
result Estimates an asymptotically valid lower bound on unobserved confounding strength.
New framework removes harmful momentum effect for long-tailed classification.
problem Challenges in maintaining balanced datasets with long-tailed data.
method Causal inference framework to disentangle and remove harmful effects of momentum.
result Achieves state-of-the-art performance on long-tailed visual recognition benchmarks.
Proposes tests to control confounding bias in predictive models.
problem Lack of non-parametric tests for confounding bias in predictive modeling.
method Partial and full confounder tests for probing null hypotheses of unconfounded and fully confounded models.
result Reveals previously unreported or hard-to-correct confounders in machine learning models.
New method tackles confounded bandit problems with dual instrumental variables.
problem Confounded contextual bandit problems where noise affects both contexts and rewards.
method Dual instrumental variable regression applied to reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces.
result Near-optimal convergence rate and computationally efficient algorithms proved.
New approach for causal inference with interdependent, time-varying latent confounders.
problem Estimating causal effects with interdependent, time-varying latent confounders.
method Variational estimation with a representer theorem and random input space.
result Demonstrates effectiveness on various temporal datasets.
Causal discovery from data affected by latent confounders is an important and difficult challenge. Causal functional model-based approaches have not been used to present variables whose relationships are affected by latent confounders, while some constraint-based methods can present them. This paper proposes a causal f…
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…
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.
Proposes BDCM to handle unmeasured confounders in causal inference.
problem Handling unmeasured confounders in causal inference.
method Backdoor criterion to find variables for diffusion model.
result Captures counterfactual distribution more precisely.
New methods prioritize acquiring confounding features for efficient treatment effect estimation.
problem Efficient treatment effect estimation from observational data with missing confounding information.
method Proposes two acquisition strategies: covariate balancing and reducing factual outcome error.
result Our proposed methods, especially reducing factual outcome error, improve sample efficiency for treatment effect estimation.
Valid causal inference with unobserved confounding in high-dimensional settings.
problem Estimating causal effects with unobserved confounders in high-dimensional data.
method Proposes methods to estimate causal effects with valid confidence intervals in the presence of unobserved confounders and high-dimensional nuisance models.
result Valid semiparametric inference can be obtained with unobserved confounding, and uncertainty intervals are proposed.
Spectral deconfounding improves machine learning models by reducing hidden confounding effects.
problem Machine learning models can be misled by hidden confounders, leading to unreliable predictions.
method Develops a nonlinear spectral deconfounding framework for gradient boosting that modifies boosting dynamics to slow down in confounding-aligned directions.
result Spectrally deconfounded boosting improves estimation of the target function under hidden confounding and is more scalable.
We propose a method for inferring the existence of a latent common cause ('confounder') of two observed random variables. The method assumes that the two effects of the confounder are (possibly nonlinear) functions of the confounder plus independent, additive noise. We discuss under which conditions the model is identi…
Study shows how adjusting for a binary proxy can bound causal effects.
problem Bounding causal effects with a binary confounder and proxy.
method Monotonicity assumption applied to a binary confounder and observed proxy.
result Adjusting for a proxy produces a measure of the effect between unadjusted and true measures.
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.
SpaCE tackles spatial confounding in scientific studies.
problem Spatial confounding influences treatment and outcome, leading to spurious associations.
method Introduces SpaCE toolkit for benchmark datasets and tools to evaluate causal inference methods.
result Facilitates automated evaluation of machine learning and causal inference models.