Kolmogorov-Arnold causal generative models
2026-03-20 • Machine Learning
Machine Learning
AI summaryⓘ
The authors propose KaCGM, a new type of model that helps understand cause-and-effect relationships in mixed-type tabular data. Unlike many deep models that are hard to interpret, KaCGM uses a special network (KAN) allowing users to clearly see the learned causal connections and how variables influence each other. They also created ways to check if the model’s assumptions hold using only observed data. Tests on both simulated and real cardiovascular data show that their method works well and produces understandable causal explanations.
causal generative modelKolmogorov–Arnold Network (KAN)structural equationobservational datainterventional queriescounterfactual queriestabular datacausal inferencedistributional matchingindependence diagnostics
Authors
Alejandro Almodóvar, Mar Elizo, Patricia A. Apellániz, Santiago Zazo, Juan Parras
Abstract
Causal generative models provide a principled framework for answering observational, interventional, and counterfactual queries from observational data. However, many deep causal models rely on highly expressive architectures with opaque mechanisms, limiting auditability in high-stakes domains. We propose KaCGM, a causal generative model for mixed-type tabular data where each structural equation is parameterized by a Kolmogorov--Arnold Network (KAN). This decomposition enables direct inspection of learned causal mechanisms, including symbolic approximations and visualization of parent--child relationships, while preserving query-agnostic generative semantics. We introduce a validation pipeline based on distributional matching and independence diagnostics of inferred exogenous variables, allowing assessment using observational data alone. Experiments on synthetic and semi-synthetic benchmarks show competitive performance against state-of-the-art methods. A real-world cardiovascular case study further demonstrates the extraction of simplified structural equations and interpretable causal effects. These results suggest that expressive causal generative modeling and functional transparency can be achieved jointly, supporting trustworthy deployment in tabular decision-making settings. Code: https://github.com/aalmodovares/kacgm