Paper tackles confounded ANMs, estimating ACEs with minimal interventions.
problem Estimating causal effects in the presence of unobserved confounders.
method Interventional distributions and randomized algorithm to reduce the number of required interventions.
result Poly-logarithmic number of interventions sufficient to infer causal effects in confounded ANMs.
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…
This study examines how noise levels affect causal discovery methods.
problem Impact of noise levels on causal discovery methods.
method Empirical study using Regression with Subsequent Independence Test and Identification using Conditional Variances on ANMs with varying noise levels.
result Causal discovery methods can fail for certain noise levels.
A new sorting method using R2 values improves causal discovery from noisy data.
problem Improving causal discovery from noisy observational data.
method Introducing R2-sortability and an algorithm, R2-SortnRegress, to find causal order. result Sorting variables by increasing R2 yields a close-to-causal order. LANCA uses ANM to learn latent causal factors without supervision.
problem Learning latent causal factors without supervision.
method LANCA employs a deterministic Wasserstein Auto-Encoder coupled with a differentiable ANM Layer.
result LANCA outperforms baselines on physics and photorealistic environments.
Study evaluates how noise affects ANMs' ability to identify causal directions.
problem Challenges in identifying causal relationships in bivariate cases with noise.
method Empirical study using Regression with Subsequent Independence Test (RESIT) on various ANM models.
result ANMs can fail to identify true causal directions for certain noise levels.
A new method for identifying causal directions in complex systems.
problem Identifying causal relationships in nonlinear systems with limited data.
method Sequential edge orientation approach using pairwise additive noise model.
result The method can recover true causal DAGs under nonlinear additive noise models.
MissDAG addresses causal discovery with missing data using imputation and EM.
problem Causal discovery with missing data in incomplete observational studies.
method MissDAG uses EM framework to maximize likelihood of visible data, leveraging ANMs and Monte Carlo EM for approximations.
result MissDAG outperforms two-step imputation and causal discovery methods.
The inference of the causal relationship between a pair of observed variables is a fundamental problem in science, and most existing approaches are based on one single causal model. In practice, however, observations are often collected from multiple sources with heterogeneous causal models due to certain uncontrollabl…
Causal inference deals with identifying which random variables "cause" or control other random variables. Recent advances on the topic of causal inference based on tools from statistical estimation and machine learning have resulted in practical algorithms for causal inference. Causal inference has the potential to hav…
The discovery of causal relationships from purely observational data is a fundamental problem in science. The most elementary form of such a causal discovery problem is to decide whether X causes Y or, alternatively, Y causes X, given joint observations of two variables X, Y. An example is to decide whether altitude ca…
This paper presents a new open source Python framework for causal discovery from observational data and domain background knowledge, aimed at causal graph and causal mechanism modeling. The 'cdt' package implements the end-to-end approach, recovering the direct dependencies (the skeleton of the causal graph) and the ca…
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.
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.
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 …
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…
Identifies shifts in causal mechanisms between related datasets using ANMs.
problem Estimating the full causal structure from data is challenging; focus on identifying shifts in causal mechanisms.
method Assumes nonlinear additive noise models, uses Jacobian of score function for mixture distribution to identify shifts.
result Shows applicability of the approach on synthetic and real-world data.
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.
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.
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.
Paper proposes RCD method to discover causal structure with latent confounders.
problem Causal discovery from data with latent confounders.
method Repetitive causal discovery (RCD) method to infer causal directions between observed variables.
result RCD effectively identifies latent confounders and causal directions between observed variables.
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.
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.
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.
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.
We address the problem of two-variable causal inference without intervention. This task is to infer an existing causal relation between two random variables, i.e. X→Y or Y→X , from purely observational data. As the option to modify a potential cause is not given in many situations only struc…
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.
Estimates causal effects with selection bias and confounding using regression.
problem Estimating causal effects in presence of selection bias and confounding.
method Two-step regression estimator (TSR) that corrects for selection bias and accounts for confounding.
result TSR estimator reduces variance and is validated in simulations.
Paper tackles backwards-compatible data adaptation for confounded covariate and label shifts.
problem Adapt covariates to predict labels confounded with covariate shifts.
method Proposes confounded shift framework based on minimizing divergence between source and target conditional distributions, conditioning on confounders.
result Demonstrates approach on synthetic and real datasets, achieving backwards-compatible data adaptation.
Deep CITs test conditional independence in images, improving brain MRI scan analysis.
problem Testing conditional independence in complex, high-dimensional variables like images.
method Combines embedding maps and nonparametric CITs for feature representations.
result Valid DNCITs for brain MRI scans and behavioral traits, confirming null results.
In this paper, we study the confounder detection problem in the linear model, where the target variable Y is predicted using its n potential causes Xn=(x1,...,xn)T. Based on an assumption of rotation invariant generating process of the model, recent study shows that the spectral measure induced by the regress…
Proposes DSW for unbiased ITE estimation with dynamic confounders.
problem Estimating ITE from dynamic observational data with time-varying confounders.
method Deep Sequential Weighting (DSW) infers hidden confounders using current treatment assignments and historical information.
result DSW generates unbiased and accurate treatment effects.
Paper uses Gaussian processes to handle shared latent confounders in causal inference.
problem Bias in causal effect estimates due to shared latent confounders.
method Hierarchical Bayesian model, Gaussian processes with structured latent confounders (GP-SLC), Monte Carlo inference algorithm.
result GP-SLC provides accurate estimates of individual treatment effects with minimal assumptions.
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.