论文标题
与周期的关系因果模型:表示和推理
Relational Causal Models with Cycles:Representation and Reasoning
论文作者
论文摘要
关系领域中的因果推理是研究现实世界现象的基础,在这些现象中,单个单位可以影响彼此的特征和行为。互连单元之间的动力学可以表示为关系因果模型的实例化;但是,这种实例化的因果推理需要捕获影响反馈循环的其他模板假设。先前的研究已经开发出了解除表示,以解决这种动态的关系性质,但严格要求该表示没有循环。为了促进关系代表和学习中的周期,我们引入了关系$σ$分布,这是一种使用反馈循环理解关系系统的新标准。我们还引入了一个新的提升表示形式,即$σ$ -Abstract地面图,该图有助于在循环关系模型的所有可能实例中提取统计独立关系。我们显示了$σ$ -AGG完整性的必要条件,并且在一个或多个任意长度的一个或多个周期的情况下,关系$σ$分离是合理的,并且完整。据我们所知,这是用环关系因果模型代表和推理的第一项工作。
Causal reasoning in relational domains is fundamental to studying real-world social phenomena in which individual units can influence each other's traits and behavior. Dynamics between interconnected units can be represented as an instantiation of a relational causal model; however, causal reasoning over such instantiation requires additional templating assumptions that capture feedback loops of influence. Previous research has developed lifted representations to address the relational nature of such dynamics but has strictly required that the representation has no cycles. To facilitate cycles in relational representation and learning, we introduce relational $σ$-separation, a new criterion for understanding relational systems with feedback loops. We also introduce a new lifted representation, $σ$-abstract ground graph which helps with abstracting statistical independence relations in all possible instantiations of the cyclic relational model. We show the necessary and sufficient conditions for the completeness of $σ$-AGG and that relational $σ$-separation is sound and complete in the presence of one or more cycles with arbitrary length. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work on representation of and reasoning with cyclic relational causal models.