arXiv Machine Learning

IXPLORE: Bounded Ideal Point Estimation with Grid-Based Uncertainty Quantification

IXPLORE is a bounded ideal point estimation algorithm that blends a predictive fit objective with a sparsity‑aware likelihood function. It outperforms both traditional model‑based methods like IRT and other machine‑learning approaches on reconstruction and imputation error across five benchmark datasets, especially for users with sparse responses. The method also incorporates non‑linear feature transforms for further error reduction while maintaining visual interpretability, and it quantifies uncertainty via grid‑based posterior inference on a bounded 2D latent space.

arXiv Machine Learning
Jun 9

Partial Identification under Missing Data Using Weak Shadow Variables from Pretrained Models

arXiv:2602. 16061v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Estimating population quantities such as mean outcomes from user feedback is fundamental to platform evaluation and social science, yet feedback is often missing not at random (MNAR): users with stronger opinions are more likely to respond, so standard estimators are biased and the estimand is not identified without additional assumptions.

By Hongyu Chen, David Simchi-Levi, Ruoxuan Xiong
arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 1

AI-Generated Measurements for Identification and Inference with Missing Data: A Weak Shadow Variable Approach

The paper introduces an assumption‑lean framework that uses AI‑generated measurements as weak shadow variables to identify and infer population quantities when data are missing not at random. Weak shadow variables are outcome‑informative proxies that are conditionally independent of missingness given the true outcome and covariates, and they do not need to predict missing outcomes accurately. The authors derive sharp bounds via linear programs and propose a localized penalized estimator with a subsampling algorithm for confidence intervals, demonstrating in semi‑synthetic experiments that the resulting intervals are substantially narrower and more accurate than classical MNAR methods.

By Hongyu Chen, David Simchi-Levi, Ruoxuan Xiong
arXiv Machine Learning
Aug 27

Beyond Point Predictions: Uncertainty-Aware Satellite Poverty Mapping for Public Policy

The paper presents an uncertainty‑aware machine‑learning approach for mapping poverty in Africa using satellite imagery. By combining simultaneous quantile regression with a novel conformal prediction technique, the authors generate statistically guaranteed prediction intervals for neighborhood‑level International Wealth Index estimates, achieving high explanatory power (R² = 0.75) while acknowledging broader uncertainty. They also propose a risk‑controlled aid allocation procedure that leverages both survey data and model predictions, showing in simulations that it can deliver more aid per eligible recipient than alternative strategies.

By Markus B. Pettersson, James Bailie, Mohammad Kakooei, Eagon Meng, Adel Daoud
arXiv Machine Learning
Aug 6

GenAI-Powered Inference

arXiv:2507. 03897v3 Announce Type: replace Abstract: We introduce GenAI-Powered Inference (GPI), a statistical framework for both causal and predictive inference using unstructured data, including text and images.

By Kosuke Imai, Kentaro Nakamura
arXiv AI
Aug 24

Enhancing LLMs in Predictive Political QA with Semi-Structured Data

The paper introduces PSL, a dual‑view framework that enhances large language models for predictive political question answering by leveraging semi‑structured political records. PSL extracts stance signals from actor records in a semantic view and learns structure‑aware actor representations from an interaction graph in a vector view. Experiments on three real‑world datasets show that PSL consistently outperforms baseline methods, with ablation studies confirming the complementary benefits of stance and structure signals.

By Yinan Liu, Zihan Zhou, Zichun Jin, Xinyu Wang, Bin Wang, Xiaochun Yang