Counterfactual evaluation of novel treatment assignment functions (e.g., advertising algorithms and recommender systems) is one of the most crucial causal inference problems for practitioners. Traditionally, randomized controlled trials (A/B tests) are performed to evaluate treatment assignment functions. However, such…
Study evaluates counterfactual explanations using Pearl's method.
problem Bias in counterfactual explanations generated from machine learning models.
method Evaluates counterfactual explanations using Judea Pearl's counterfactual method.
result Thirty percent of counterfactual explanations conflicted with Pearl's method.
Counterfactual policy evaluation improves autonomous driving policies' generalization.
problem Learnt policies often fail to generalize and handle novel situations.
method Introduces counterfactual policy evaluation using counterfactual worlds.
result Significantly decreases collision-rate while maintaining high success-rate.
Post-hoc explanations of machine learning models are crucial for people to understand and act on algorithmic predictions. An intriguing class of explanations is through counterfactuals, hypothetical examples that show people how to obtain a different prediction. We posit that effective counterfactual explanations shoul…
CPME embeds counterfactual outcomes in RKHS for flexible policy evaluation.
problem Estimating counterfactual policy outcomes for decision-making.
method Counterfactual Policy Mean Embedding (CPME) framework in RKHS, plug-in and doubly robust estimators, kernel test statistic.
result Doubly robust estimator improves convergence rates and asymptotic normality.
Survey of counterfactual explanations for time series classification.
problem Generating plausible and actionable counterfactuals for time series data.
method Review of various counterfactual generation methods for time series classification.
result Highlight unique challenges and strengths of existing methods.
Proposes a model to estimate treatment effects in complex multiagent systems over time.
problem Challenges in evaluating interventions in multiagent systems, especially with time-varying relationships and covariates.
method Interpretable counterfactual recurrent network leveraging graph variational recurrent neural networks and domain knowledge.
result Achieved lower estimation errors and more effective treatment timing than baselines in simulated and real-world scenarios.
ACE improves counterfactual explanations with fewer model queries.
problem Inefficient sampling for counterfactual explanations in machine learning models.
method Adaptive sampling combining Bayesian estimation and stochastic optimization.
result ACE achieves superior evaluation efficiency compared to state-of-the-art methods.
Extends OPE to evaluate policies using diverse logging data.
problem Evaluate policies using log data from different policies.
method Develops an OPE method for various logging policies.
result Method's predictions converge to true performance as sample size increases.
Bayesian approach for modeling counterfactual distribution and off-policy evaluation.
problem Modeling the counterfactual distribution and off-policy evaluation.
method Bayesian conditional mean embeddings and novel Bayesian methods for estimating ultimate treatment effect.
result Quantifying epistemic uncertainty in the counterfactual distribution and off-policy evaluation.
New method for evaluating sequential recommendations with lower variance.
problem Evaluating good sequences of music, video, news, and e-commerce recommendations.
method Proposes a new counterfactual estimator for sequential reward interactions with lower variance and asymptotic unbiasedness.
result Our method outperforms existing methods in bias and data efficiency for sequential track recommendations.
GRETEL unifies GCE evaluation across various settings.
problem Lack of standardized evaluation for Graph Counterfactual Explanations.
method Unified framework for testing GCE methods in diverse settings.
result GRETEL promotes reproducible evaluations of GCE techniques.
A method removes treatment-covariate dependence for counterfactual prediction without adversarial training.
problem Counterfactual prediction under assignment bias.
method Information-theoretic approach learning a stochastic representation Z to minimize mutual information with outcomes.
result The method performs favorably in likelihood, counterfactual error, and policy evaluation compared to adversarial baselines.
Paper tackles counterfactual sentence detection and evaluation.
problem Detect and evaluate counterfactual sentences in natural language.
method Used a BERT base model for classification and a hybrid BERT Multi-Layer Perceptron for sequence identification. Introduced cascaded linear inputs to improve performance.
result Achieved an F1 score of 85.00% in Task 1 and 83.90% in Task 2.
Study reveals gaps between simulated and real-world treatment effect evaluation metrics.
problem Evaluation of treatment effect estimation models differs between academic and practical settings.
method Comprehensive empirical study comparing semi-simulated benchmarks and real-world datasets.
result Counterfactual metrics do not reliably predict observable metrics, and rankings from simulated benchmarks do not generalize to real-world data.
Counterfactuals help compare different scenarios in CI and XAI.
problem Comparing how counterfactuals are used in causal inference and explainable AI.
method Formal definition and comparison of counterfactuals in CI and XAI.
result Identified opportunities for cross-fertilization between CI and XAI.
Paper introduces a method to evaluate abstaining classifiers by considering missing predictions as counterfactuals.
problem Lack of a principled approach to evaluate and compare abstaining classifiers, especially when missing predictions are important.
method Develops a novel approach to treat abstentions as missing data, defining counterfactual scores and using causal inference methods to estimate them.
result Shows that under certain conditions, counterfactual scores can be identified and estimated efficiently, improving evaluation of abstaining classifiers.
Study shows refugee matching gains are robust to different evaluation methods.
problem Stability of refugee matching gains under various evaluation methods.
method Used multiple off-policy evaluation methods including IPW and AIPW.
result Impact estimates remain consistent in magnitude and statistically significant.
This study uses OPE methods to quickly assess auction policies.
problem Rapid decision-making in dynamic auction environments.
method Off-Policy Evaluation and counterfactual methods.
result Improved policy selection and optimization.
We identify causal models with unobserved confounding using bijective generation mechanisms.
problem Identifying causal relationships with unobserved confounders.
method Establish counterfactual identifiability for BGMs and propose a learning method.
result Learned BGMs enable efficient counterfactual estimation.
We propose a fast, model agnostic method for finding interpretable counterfactual explanations of classifier predictions by using class prototypes. We show that class prototypes, obtained using either an encoder or through class specific k-d trees, significantly speed up the the search for counterfactual instances and …
Improves off-policy evaluation with imperfect annotations.
problem Limited dataset coverage for evaluating new policies.
method Doubly robust estimators combining IS and DM, incorporating counterfactual annotations.
result Using annotations within the DM component yields the most desirable theoretical results.
New method warns of counterfactual non-identifiability in DSCMs.
problem Counterfactual inference from observational data is non-identifiable even without unobserved confounding.
method Prove counterfactual identifiability for monotonic generation mechanisms, provide impossibility result for general mechanisms, propose method for estimating worst-case errors.
result Non-identifiability of counterfactual inference from observational data, even in absence of unobserved confounding.
CVIB uses information theory to learn counterfactuals from MNAR data without RCTs.
problem Debiasing learning from missing-not-at-random (MNAR) data in recommendation systems.
method CVIB, a variational information bottleneck, separates task-aware mutual information into factual and counterfactual parts.
result CVIB significantly enhances both shallow and deep models in recommendation systems.
The paper tackles counterfactual learning for stochastic policies with continuous actions.
problem Learning stochastic policies with continuous actions from logged data.
method Introduces a joint kernel embedding of contexts and actions to model continuous actions, and uses proximal point algorithms and smooth estimators for optimization.
result Demonstrates the benefits of using proximal point algorithms and smooth estimators for counterfactual learning.
CDM models counterfactual outcomes in longitudinal data with improved accuracy.
problem Predicting counterfactual outcomes in longitudinal data with complex time-dependent confounding.
method Causal Diffusion Model (CDM) using denoising diffusion architecture with relational self-attention.
result CDM outperforms state-of-the-art methods in generating full probabilistic distributions of counterfactual outcomes.
EXOC framework uses auxiliary variables for counterfactual fairness in machine learning.
problem Balancing fairness and predictive accuracy in models with sensitive attributes.
method EXOC framework uses auxiliary variables to define an auxiliary node and a control node for counterfactual fairness.
result EXOC framework outperforms state-of-the-art approaches in achieving counterfactual fairness.
A new method uses counterfactual learning to improve recommendation system evaluation.
problem Inconsistent results in recommender systems due to exposure mechanisms.
method Proposes a minimax empirical risk formulation with an adversarial game to account for exposure.
result Shows improved learning bounds and effectiveness over various recommendation settings.
PyCFRL helps ensure fair reinforcement learning policies from offline data.
problem Ensuring fairness in reinforcement learning policies for disadvantaged groups.
method Sequential data preprocessing to learn counterfactually fair policies.
result PyCFRL implements a novel algorithm for fair RL policy learning.
Learning policies on data synthesized by models can in principle quench the thirst of reinforcement learning algorithms for large amounts of real experience, which is often costly to acquire. However, simulating plausible experience de novo is a hard problem for many complex environments, often resulting in biases for …
A new method generates counterfactual treatment outcomes for time-varying treatments.
problem Estimating counterfactual outcomes for time-varying treatments with high-dimensional outcomes.
method Conditional generative framework with inverse probability re-weighting.
result Our method outperforms state-of-the-art baselines in generating high-quality counterfactual samples.
PO-Flow models potential and counterfactual outcomes for personalized treatment decisions.
problem Predicting individualized treatment effects from observational data.
method Continuous normalizing flow (CNF) framework for causal inference.
result Unified approach to potential outcome prediction, treatment effect estimation, and counterfactual prediction.
Although deep reinforcement learning agents have produced impressive results in many domains, their decision making is difficult to explain to humans. To address this problem, past work has mainly focused on explaining why an action was chosen in a given state. A different type of explanation that is useful is a counte…
G-Net uses deep learning for complex counterfactual outcome prediction.
problem Estimating counterfactual outcomes under dynamic treatment strategies.
method G-Net is a sequential deep learning framework for G-computation.
result G-Net can handle complex temporal data and provide accurate treatment effects.
The paper tackles counterfactual inference with multioutput deep kernels in high-dimensional settings.
problem Performing counterfactual inference with observational data in high-dimensional settings with multiple actions and outcomes.
method The paper presents a general class of counterfactual multi-task deep kernels models based on Structural Causal Models (SCM) and Gaussian Processes.
result The models estimate causal effects and learn policies efficiently, scaling well with high dimensions.
New method generates plausible counterfactuals for time series classification.
problem Generating realistic counterfactuals for time series data.
method Gradient-based optimization with soft-DTW alignment and multi-faceted loss function.
result Our method outperforms existing approaches in temporal realism and distributional alignment.
DiffLOB models future market conditions for better decision-making.
problem Passive generative models cannot explore hypothetical market scenarios.
method Regime-conditioned diffusion model for counterfactual LOB generation.
result DiffLOB enables realistic and controllable generation of LOB trajectories.
We introduce an off-policy evaluation procedure for highlighting episodes where applying a reinforcement learned (RL) policy is likely to have produced a substantially different outcome than the observed policy. In particular, we introduce a class of structural causal models (SCMs) for generating counterfactual traject…
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.
CounteRGAN generates realistic, actionable counterfactuals for machine learning models.
problem Creating realistic and actionable counterfactuals for machine learning models.
method Applying Residual GANs to improve counterfactual realism and actionability.
result CounteRGAN produces counterfactuals with improved realism and actionability, achieving real-time applicability.
Counterfactual inference has become a ubiquitous tool in online advertisement, recommendation systems, medical diagnosis, and econometrics. Accurate modeling of outcome distributions associated with different interventions -- known as counterfactual distributions -- is crucial for the success of these applications. In …
DCM uses diffusion models to answer causal queries from observational data.
problem Answering causal queries from observational data alone.
method Diffusion models to learn causal mechanisms and generate latent encodings.
result Significant improvements over existing methods for causal query answering.
FOCUS method forecasts counterfactuals in panel data with time series dynamics.
problem Forecasting unobserved potential outcomes in causal inference with missing entries and latent factors.
method FOCUS extends matrix completion methods by leveraging time series dynamics of latent factors.
result FOCUS method outperforms existing benchmarks in predicting future counterfactuals.
CST detects discrimination by comparing protected and non-protected individuals with a counterfactual.
problem Detecting discrimination in classifiers using legal fairness conditions.
method Operationalizes fairness given the difference using counterfactual reasoning.
result CST uncovers more discrimination cases than traditional situation testing.
Algorithmic risk assessments are increasingly used to help humans make decisions in high-stakes settings, such as medicine, criminal justice and education. In each of these cases, the purpose of the risk assessment tool is to inform actions, such as medical treatments or release conditions, often with the aim of reduci…
The paper introduces CPICFs for better counterfactual explanations in high-dimensional spaces.
problem Creating useful counterfactual explanations for complex machine learning models.
method Modeling individual knowledge and using conformal prediction intervals to identify informative counterfactuals.
result CPICFs provide more informative counterfactuals by considering individual knowledge and prediction uncertainty.
VACA models graph data for causal inference without hidden confounders.
problem Causal inference in observational data with hidden confounders.
method Variational graph autoencoders for structural causal models.
result Accurately approximates interventional and counterfactual distributions.
Develops a Causal Transformer for estimating counterfactual outcomes from longitudinal data.
problem Estimating counterfactual outcomes over time from observational data is challenging due to complex, long-range dependencies.
method Combines three transformer subnetworks with separate inputs for time-varying covariates, previous treatments, and previous outcomes into a joint network with in-between cross-attentions. Uses a custom, end-to-end training procedure with a counterfactual domain confusion loss to address confounding bias.
result Achieves superior performance over current baselines in synthetic and real-world datasets.