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Counterfactual Identifiability via Dynamic Optimal Transport

Neural Information Processing Systems

We address the open question of counterfactual identification for high-dimensional multivariate outcomes from observational data. Pearl (2000) argues that counterfactuals must be identifiable (i.e., recoverable from the observed data distribution) to justify causal claims. A recent line of work on counterfactual inference shows promising results but lacks identification, undermining the causal validity of its estimates. To address this, we establish a foundation for multivariate counterfactual identification using continuous-time flows, including non-Markovian settings under standard criteria. We characterise the conditions under which flow matching yields a unique, monotone, and rank-preserving counterfactual transport map with tools from dynamic optimal transport, ensuring consistent inference. Building on this, we validate the theory in controlled scenarios with counterfactual ground-truth and demonstrate improvements in axiomatic counterfactual soundness on real images.


Generalizing while preserving monotonicity in comparison-based preference learning models

Neural Information Processing Systems

If you tell a learning model that you prefer an alternative a over another alternative b, then you probably expect the model to be monotone, that is, the valuation of a increases, and that of bdecreases. Yet, perhaps surprisingly, many widely deployed comparison-based preference learning models, including large language models, fail to have this guarantee. Until now, the only comparison-based preference learning algorithms that were proved to be monotone are the Generalized BradleyTerry models [10]. Yet, these models are unable to generalize to uncompared data. In this paper, we advance the understanding of the set of models with generalization ability that are monotone. Namely, we propose a new class of Linear Generalized Bradley-Terry models with Diffusion Priors, and identify sufficient conditions on alternatives' embeddings that guarantee monotonicity. Our experiments show that this monotonicity is far from being a general guarantee, and that our new class of generalizing models improves accuracy, especially when the dataset is limited.


Monotone and Separable Set Functions: Characterizations and Neural Models

Neural Information Processing Systems

Motivated by applications for set containment problems, we consider the following fundamental problem: can we design set-to-vector functions so that the natural partial order on sets is preserved, namely S T if and only if F(S) F(T). We call functions satisfying this property Monotone and Separating (MAS) set functions. We establish lower and upper bounds for the vector dimension necessary to obtain MAS functions, as a function of the cardinality of the multisets and the underlying ground set. In the important case of an infinite ground set, we show that MAS functions do not exist, but provide a model called MASNET which provably enjoys a relaxed MAS property we name "weakly MAS" and is stable in the sense of Holder continuity. We also show that MAS functions can be used to construct universal models that are monotone by construction and can approximate all monotone set functions. Experimentally, we consider a variety of set containment tasks. The experiments show the benefit of using our MASNET model, in comparison with standard set models which do not incorporate set containment as an inductive bias.


Submodular Cover Problem Bicriteria Approximation Algorithms for the

Neural Information Processing Systems

Another example is when expected advertising revenue if we set ฯ„ = max{f(X): X U}, SCP asks to find the set of minimum size in U that achieves measure how effectively a subset X summarizes the entire dataset U [Tschiatschek et al., 2014].






Can neural operators always be continuously discretized? Takashi Furuya

Neural Information Processing Systems

We consider the problem of discretization of neural operators between Hilbert spaces in a general framework including skip connections. We focus on bijec-tive neural operators through the lens of diffeomorphisms in infinite dimensions.