{"id":10425,"date":"2026-06-10T18:05:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T10:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tsinghualogic.net\/JRC\/?page_id=10425"},"modified":"2026-06-10T19:26:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T11:26:33","slug":"causal-inference","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tsinghualogic.net\/JRC\/causal-inference\/","title":{"rendered":"Causal Inference"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"10425\" class=\"elementor elementor-10425\" data-elementor-settings=\"[]\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-section-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-3ca92b2 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"3ca92b2\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-80f8864\" data-id=\"80f8864\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ab8dafb elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ab8dafb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.5.6 - 28-02-2022 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#818a91;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#818a91;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<ul><li><strong>Time:<\/strong> 9:50-12:15, June 29<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0&#8211; July 3<sup>rd<\/sup><\/li><li><strong>Location:<\/strong>\u00a0Jianhua Building A308\uff08\u5efa\u534e\/\u7ecf\u7ba1\u65b0\u697cA308\uff09<\/li><li><strong>Lecturer:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/zhaobn.github.io\">Bonan Zhao<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bramleylab.ppls.ed.ac.uk\/member\/tadeg\/\">Tadeg Quillien<\/a> (University of Edinburgh)<\/li><li><strong>Teaching Assistants: <\/strong>\u90d1\u6587\u9f99 (zhengwl21@mails.tsinghua.edu.cn) \u5409\u7965\u5706(xy-ji23@mails.tsinghua.edu.cn)<\/li><li><strong>Course Website: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/tsinghualogic.net\/JRC\/causal-inference\/\">https:\/\/tsinghualogic.net\/JRC\/causal-inference\/<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-ae763f3\" data-id=\"ae763f3\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ced4995 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"ced4995\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.5.6 - 28-02-2022 *\/\n.elementor-widget-image{text-align:center}.elementor-widget-image a{display:inline-block}.elementor-widget-image a img[src$=\".svg\"]{width:48px}.elementor-widget-image img{vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/zhaobn.github.io\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/tsinghualogic.net\/JRC\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CCly59t1_400x400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tsinghualogic.net\/JRC\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CCly59t1_400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/tsinghualogic.net\/JRC\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CCly59t1_400x400-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/tsinghualogic.net\/JRC\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CCly59t1_400x400-80x80.jpg 80w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Bonan Zhao<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-f6a0299\" data-id=\"f6a0299\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-91b1209 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"91b1209\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1108\" height=\"1026\" src=\"https:\/\/tsinghualogic.net\/JRC\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Quillien_copenhagen.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tsinghualogic.net\/JRC\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Quillien_copenhagen.jpg 1108w, https:\/\/tsinghualogic.net\/JRC\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Quillien_copenhagen-200x185.jpg 200w, https:\/\/tsinghualogic.net\/JRC\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Quillien_copenhagen-768x711.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tsinghualogic.net\/JRC\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Quillien_copenhagen-270x250.jpg 270w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1108px) 100vw, 1108px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Tadeg Quillien<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-ff73e0a elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"ff73e0a\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-f68f3ea\" data-id=\"f68f3ea\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2326906 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2326906\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.5.6 - 28-02-2022 *\/\n.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px}<\/style><h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Course Description<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-5b4da42 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"5b4da42\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-a062fab\" data-id=\"a062fab\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4c9b3e6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4c9b3e6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>This course explores two complementary formal approaches to causal reasoning. We begin with an introduction to causal graphical models, examining how Causal Bayes Nets and Structural Causal Models capture causal structure and support a variety of inferences, with a focus on the formal distinction between \u2018seeing\u2019, \u2018doing\u2019 and \u2018imagining\u2019. In subsequent classes, we make our way up Pearl\u2019s ladder of causation, first discussing causal learning from observational and interventional data, and then exploring various aspects of counterfactual reasoning: how one can evaluate counterfactual conditionals, and the various problems involved in judging what caused a particular event (\u2018actual causation\u2019).<\/p><p>The second part of the course shifts to representing causal knowledge with structured programs. We examine probabilistic program induction as a framework for causal reasoning, treating the acquisition of causal knowledge as a search problem over program spaces. Drawing on formal methods including probabilistic context-free grammars (PCFGs), approximate Bayesian inference, and adaptor grammars, we explore how structured representations enable few-shot learning and generalization. The course concludes with recent developments in causal discovery through active learning and applications to generative agents, highlighting open questions at the intersection of causal cognition and artificial intelligence.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-e835a6e elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"e835a6e\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-30f0f8c\" data-id=\"30f0f8c\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3efea81 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"3efea81\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Background Knowledge<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-aabb03c elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"aabb03c\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-71a4e40\" data-id=\"71a4e40\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e1ec359 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e1ec359\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Basic probability theory. Propositional and first-order logic.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-97b294a elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"97b294a\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-66b500e\" data-id=\"66b500e\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f2edf35 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f2edf35\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Tentative Schedule<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-aed363c elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"aed363c\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-82d4b7a\" data-id=\"82d4b7a\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a4ce64f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a4ce64f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Day 1: Causal models<br \/>Day 2: Causal learning &amp; actual causation <br \/>Day 3: Counterfactuals &amp; causal selection<br \/>Day 4: Causal program induction<br \/>Day 5: Causal discovery &amp; GenAI<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Time: 9:50-12:15, June 29th\u00a0&#8211; July 3rd Location:\u00a0 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tsinghualogic.net\/JRC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10425"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tsinghualogic.net\/JRC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tsinghualogic.net\/JRC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tsinghualogic.net\/JRC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tsinghualogic.net\/JRC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10425"}],"version-history":[{"count":37,"href":"https:\/\/tsinghualogic.net\/JRC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10425\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10483,"href":"https:\/\/tsinghualogic.net\/JRC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10425\/revisions\/10483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tsinghualogic.net\/JRC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}