Latent representations are the essence of deep generative models and determine their usefulness and power. For latent representations to be useful as generative concept representations, their latent space must support latent space interpolation, attribute vectors and concept vectors, among other things. We investigate …
Concept modulation models unify identifiability and extrapolation in conditional latent variable models.
problem Reliable generalization in conditional latent variable models
method Concept modulation models (CMMs) with structure AoΛoCoX result Lifts identifiability to conditional settings and controls extrapolation through attribute potentials.
CAVs reveal latent concept distributions, but are vulnerable to adversarial attacks.
problem Understanding latent concept encodings in AI models.
method Probabilistic perspective on CAVs, deriving mean and covariance.
result CAVs can be adversarially manipulated, highlighting a vulnerability.
Formalizes concepts as latent variables in hierarchical models for high-dimensional data.
problem Lack of formalization and theoretical insights for learning discrete concepts from high-dimensional data.
method Formalizes concepts as latent causal variables in a hierarchical model, formulates conditions for concept identification.
result Conditions for identifying latent hierarchical models in unsupervised data, handling complex structures and high-dimensional data.
Tensor decompositions are used in various data mining applications from social network to medical applications and are extremely useful in discovering latent structures or concepts in the data. Many real-world applications are dynamic in nature and so are their data. To deal with this dynamic nature of data, there exis…
CW normalizes and decorrelates neural network layers for better concept understanding.
problem Challenges in understanding neural network hidden layers.
method Introducing concept whitening (CW) to alter neural network layers.
result CW provides clearer understanding of how networks learn concepts over layers.
The study identifies latent concepts from diverse observations without assuming specific models.
problem Lack of general theoretical support for concept learning.
method Develops a nonparametric framework for identifying latent concepts from multiple classes of observations.
result Correctness guarantees for concept identification without parametric assumptions.
Evaluating, explaining, and visualizing high-level concepts in generative models, such as variational autoencoders (VAEs), is challenging in part due to a lack of known prediction classes that are required to generate saliency maps in supervised learning. While saliency maps may help identify relevant features (e.g., p…
Proposes a simple method to represent and manipulate concepts using polynomials and moment statistics.
problem Lack of a mathematical framework to define and operate on concepts.
method Characterizes concepts as zero sets of polynomials and uses moment statistics for representation; proposes a dictionary-based method to learn hierarchical structures.
result Signature of concepts can be used to discover common structures and recursively produce higher-level concepts.
Researchers apply concept-based explainability to EEG data.
problem Understanding the internal states of complex EEG transformer models.
method Concept Activation Vectors (CAVs) adapted for EEG data, using externally labeled datasets and anatomically defined concepts.
result Both approaches to concept formation yield valuable insights into EEG model representations.
The Internet has rich and rapidly increasing sources of high quality educational content. Inferring prerequisite relations between educational concepts is required for modern large-scale online educational technology applications such as personalized recommendations and automatic curriculum creation. We present PREREQ,…
Adapts to shifts in latent subgroup distributions without labeled target data.
problem Adapting to domain shifts when latent subgroup distributions differ.
method Uses concept and proxy variables from source domain, and unlabeled target data.
result Optimal target predictor can be identified and estimated.
We propose a probabilistic model to infer supervised latent variables in the Hamming space from observed data. Our model allows simultaneous inference of the number of binary latent variables, and their values. The latent variables preserve neighbourhood structure of the data in a sense that objects in the same semanti…
Deep generative models are reported to be useful in broad applications including image generation. Repeated inference between data space and latent space in these models can denoise cluttered images and improve the quality of inferred results. However, previous studies only qualitatively evaluated image outputs in data…
This work explains how linear representations in large language models arise from training objectives and gradient descent.
problem Understanding the origins of linear representations in large language models.
method A latent variable model to abstract and formalize concept dynamics, combined with analysis of the softmax cross-entropy objective and gradient descent.
result Linear representations emerge when learning from data matching the latent variable model, and this simple structure suffices to yield linear representations.
Unified framework for generating data by modeling causal and correlational dependencies.
problem Modeling both causal and correlational dependencies among latent factors.
method Causal-Correlation Variational Autoencoder (C2VAE) framework.
result Improves generation quality, disentanglement, and intervention fidelity.
LLMs can be tricked into recalling facts based on context clues.
problem Manipulation of LLMs' factual recall through context changes.
method Mathematical exploration of transformers' associative memory properties.
result Transformers use self-attention and value matrix for associative memory.
Modern machine learning methods are critical to the development of large-scale personalized learning systems that cater directly to the needs of individual learners. The recently developed SPARse Factor Analysis (SPARFA) framework provides a new statistical model and algorithms for machine learning-based learning analy…
Entity linking is the task of linking mentions of named entities in natural language text, to entities in a curated knowledge-base. This is of significant importance in the biomedical domain, where it could be used to semantically annotate a large volume of clinical records and biomedical literature, to standardized co…
TaCo prevents non-linear classifiers from detecting sensitive attributes.
problem Ensuring fairness in NLP models by preventing sensitive attribute detection.
method Targeted Concept Erasure (TaCo) removes sensitive information from final latent representations, even against non-linear classifiers.
result TaCo outperforms state-of-the-art methods in reducing sensitive attribute prediction accuracy while preserving overall task performance.
Proxy methods adapt to distribution shifts without explicitly modeling latent confounders.
problem Adapting to distribution shifts under latent variable confounding.
method Proximal causal learning, two-stage kernel estimation.
result Proxy methods outperform other methods in adapting to complex distribution shifts.
The paper proposes a deep generative model for complex disease trajectories.
problem Modeling and analyzing complex disease trajectories.
method Deep generative time series approach with semi-supervised latent processes.
result The model can discover novel aspects of diseases and cluster them into new sub-types.
Sequence models quantify uncertainty over latent concepts.
problem Quantifying uncertainty in latent environments.
method Exchangeable sequence models, equivalent to empirical Bayes and posterior inference.
result Sequence prediction loss controls uncertainty quantification.
LCBM model improves image classification without human supervision.
problem Improving interpretability and generalization of unsupervised concept-based models.
method LCBM models concepts as random variables in a Bernoulli latent space, reducing the number of concepts without sacrificing performance.
result LCBM outperforms existing models in generalization and interpretability.
A new metric assesses latent variable models using data and model moments.
problem Difficulty in assessing the quality of unsupervised learning models.
method A moment-matching metric using matrix norms to compare data and model moments.
result The proposed metric is faster and has less variance than alternative methods.
Deep learning skin lesion classifier explained using CAVs.
problem Limited acceptance of deep learning CAD systems due to opaque decision-making.
method Mapped human understandable concepts to RECOD model using CAVs.
result Classifier learns and encodes disease-related concepts in its latent representation.
In our previous study, we introduced stable specification search for cross-sectional data (S3C). It is an exploratory causal method that combines stability selection concept and multi-objective optimization to search for stable and parsimonious causal structures across the entire range of model complexities. In this st…
We address the problem of causal discovery from data, making use of the recently proposed causal modeling framework of modular structural causal models (mSCM) to handle cycles, latent confounders and non-linearities. We introduce σ-connection graphs (σ-CG), a new class of mixed graphs (containing undirected, bidirected…
Bayesian approach learns causal concepts from diverse social surveys.
problem Inferring causal concepts from heterogeneous data with sparse changes.
method Hierarchical Bayesian model with sequential Monte Carlo sampling.
result Model infers meaningful causal concepts and plausible relations.
Learning parameters of latent graphical models (GM) is inherently much harder than that of no-latent ones since the latent variables make the corresponding log-likelihood non-concave. Nevertheless, expectation-maximization schemes are popularly used in practice, but they are typically stuck in local optima. In the rece…
New approach predicts under latent shifts using high-dimensional images.
problem Prediction under latent subgroup shifts with high-dimensional observations.
method Recognition-parametrised model (RPM) for identifying causal latent structure.
result Successfully adapts predictions for high-dimensional image data.
Clarifies EM algorithm and variational Bayesian inference concepts.
problem Gaps in AI literature understanding of EM and variational concepts.
method Tutorial presentation of EM algorithm, variational Bayesian inference, and autoencoded variational Bayes.
result Establishes clear links between EM and variational methods.
Study finds flipped classrooms improve student self-concept, enjoyment, but not exam scores.
problem Evaluating the impact of flipped classrooms on higher education outcomes.
method Double/debiased machine learning (DML) approach to analyze student data.
result No significant positive effects on exam scores, passing rates, or knowledge retention.
Method interprets GAN latent space via latent variable correlation analysis.
problem Understanding the inner workings of GANs.
method Analyzing correlation between latent variables and semantic contents in generated images.
result A method for controllable semantic content generation in GANs.
Study reconstructs causal graph from latent variables using mixture oracles.
problem Reconstructing causal graphical model from data with latent variables.
method Reduction to mixture oracle to identify latent representations and causal structure.
result Conditions for identifying latent representations and causal model.
Framework learns interpretable concepts from data without interventions.
problem Learning spurious correlations between concepts in CBMs.
method Causal representation learning (CRL) to align latent variables with interpretable concepts using few labels.
result Framework provides theoretical guarantees on correctness and number of required labels without interventions.
New approach learns causally disentangled latent structures in generative models.
problem Fundamental tension between expressivity and structure in latent structure learning.
method Added a context module to an arbitrarily complex model to learn causally disentangled concepts.
result Causally disentangled representations can be composed for out-of-distribution generation.
Enhances topology optimization with multiclass microstructures using latent variable Gaussian process.
problem Lack of an inherent ordering or distance measure between different classes of microstructures.
method Extended latent-variable Gaussian process (LVGP) models to multi-response LVGP (MR-LVGP) models for metamaterials.
result Improved performance through consistent load-transfer paths for micro- and macro-structures.
Disentangled representations, where the higher level data generative factors are reflected in disjoint latent dimensions, offer several benefits such as ease of deriving invariant representations, transferability to other tasks, interpretability, etc. We consider the problem of unsupervised learning of disentangled rep…
Latent Dirichlet Allocation models discrete data as a mixture of discrete distributions, using Dirichlet beliefs over the mixture weights. We study a variation of this concept, in which the documents' mixture weight beliefs are replaced with squashed Gaussian distributions. This allows documents to be associated with e…
Diffusion models enhance SBI with flexible parameter and observation learning.
problem Efficient and accurate estimation of latent parameters from simulations and real data.
method Score-based diffusion models, guidance, score composition, flow matching, consistency models, joint modeling.
result Flexibility and versatility in modeling various problems.
We study the problem of learning a latent variable model from a stream of data. Latent variable models are popular in practice because they can explain observed data in terms of unobserved concepts. These models have been traditionally studied in the offline setting. In the online setting, on the other hand, the online…
Many reinforcement learning (RL) tasks provide the agent with high-dimensional observations that can be simplified into low-dimensional continuous states. To formalize this process, we introduce the concept of a DeepMDP, a parameterized latent space model that is trained via the minimization of two tractable losses: pr…
Enhances interpretability of linear latent spaces through automated clustering and ranking.
problem Severe interpretability issues in latent directions of PCA, ICA, CCA, and FA.
method LS-PIE framework automates clustering and ranking of latent vectors.
result Enhanced interpretability of latent vectors through LR, LS, LC, and LCON.
New method identifies latent causal graphs without parametric assumptions.
problem Identifying latent causal graphs without parametric assumptions.
method Constructive proofs with new graphical concepts.
result Conditions for nonparametric identification of latent causal graphs.
Conditional Generative Models are now acknowledged an essential tool in Machine Learning. This paper focuses on their control. While many approaches aim at disentangling the data through the coordinate-wise control of their latent representations, another direction is explored in this paper. The proposed CompVAE handle…
Simple model explains manifold structure in high-dimensional data.
problem Understanding manifold structure in high-dimensional data.
method Latent Metric Model with latent variables, correlation, and stationarity.
result Establishes statistical explanation for manifold hypothesis.
SEMASIA provides a large dataset of latent representations for model comparison.
problem Difficulty in comparing semantic structures across different neural network models.
method Collection of latent representations from 1700 pretrained models across various benchmarks.
result Consistent semantic organization across models and datasets.