Causal Approximations

Citation: P. Pandurang Nayak. (1992) Causal Approximations. In KSL-92-31, 1992.

Publication techreport ( Edit )
type	Technical Report
bibtype	techreport
Bibtex basics
author	P. Pandurang Nayak
title	Causal Approximations
number	KSL-92-31
institution	Knowledge Systems, AI Laboratory
year	1992
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abstract	Adequate problem representations require the identification of abstractions and approximations that are well suited to the task at hand. In this paper we introduce a new class of approximations, called causal approximations, that are commonly found in modeling the physical world. Causal approximations support the efficient generation of parsimonious causal explanations, which play an important role in reasoning about engineered devices. The central problem to be solved in generating parsimonious causal explanations is the identification of a simplest model that explains the phenomenon of interest.We formalize this problem and show that it is, in general, intractable. In this formalization, simplicity of models is based on the intuition that using more approximate models of fewer phenomena leads to simpler models. We then show that when all the approximations are causal approximations, the above problem can be solved in polynomial time.

KSL Technical Report ID: KSL-92-31

Abstract	Adequate problem representations require t … Adequate problem representations require the identification of abstractions and approximations that are well suited to the task at hand. In this paper we introduce a new class of approximations, called causal approximations, that are commonly found in modeling the physical world. Causal approximations support the efficient generation of parsimonious causal explanations, which play an important role in reasoning about engineered devices. The central problem to be solved in generating parsimonious causal explanations is the identification of a simplest model that explains the phenomenon of interest.We formalize this problem and show that it is, in general, intractable. In this formalization, simplicity of models is based on the intuition that using more approximate models of fewer phenomena leads to simpler models. We then show that when all the approximations are causal approximations, the above problem can be solved in polynomial time. problem can be solved in polynomial time.
Author	P. Pandurang Nayak +
Bibtype	techreport +
Has author	P. Pandurang Nayak +
Has identifier	KSL-92-31 +
Has publishing details	1992 +
Has title	Causal Approximations +
Has where published	KSL-92-31 +
Has year	1992 +
Institution	Knowledge Systems, AI Laboratory +
Ksl tr id	KSL-92-31 +
Number	KSL-92-31 +
Process note	YES +
Title	Causal Approximations +
Year	1992 +