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Causal AI
audiobook

Causal AI

by Robert Ness
February 2025
15h 24m
English
Manning Publications

Overview

Build AI models that can reliably deliver causal inference.

How do you know what might have happened, had you done things differently? Causal AI gives you the insight you need to make predictions and control outcomes based on causal relationships instead of pure correlation, so you can make precise and timely interventions. Causal AI is a practical introduction to building AI models that can reason about causality.

In Causal AI you will learn how to:

  • Build causal reinforcement learning algorithms
  • Implement causal inference with modern probabilistic machine tools such as PyTorch and Pyro
  • Compare and contrast statistical and econometric methods for causal inference
  • Set up algorithms for attribution, credit assignment, and explanation
  • Convert domain expertise into explainable causal models

Author Robert Osazuwa Ness, a leading researcher in causal AI at Microsoft Research, brings his unique expertise to this cutting-edge guide. His clear, code-first approach explains essential details of causal machine learning that are hidden in academic papers. Everything you learn can be easily and effectively applied to industry challenges, from building explainable causal models to predicting counterfactual outcomes.

About the Technology
Traditional ML models can’t answer causal questions like, “Why did that happen?” or, “What factors should I change to get a particular outcome?” This book blends advanced statistical methods, computational techniques, and new algorithms to create machine learning systems that automate the process of causal inference.

About the Book
Causal AI introduces the tools, techniques, and algorithms of causal reasoning for machine learning. This unique book masterfully blends Bayesian and probabilistic approaches to causal inference with practical hands-on examples in Python. Along the way, you’ll learn to integrate causal assumptions into deep learning architectures, including reinforcement learning and large language models. You’ll also use PyTorch, Pyro, and other ML libraries to scale up causal inference.

What's Inside
  • End-to-end causal inference with DoWhy/li>
  • Deep Bayesian causal generative AI models/li>
  • A code-first tour of the do-calculus and Pearl’s causal hierarchy/li>
  • Code for fine-tuning causal large language models/li>


About the Reader
For data scientists and machine learning engineers. Examples in Python.

About the Author
Robert Osazuwa Ness is an AI researcher at Microsoft Research and professor at Northeastern University. He is a contributor to open-source causal inference packages such as Python’s DoWhy and R’s bnlearn.

Quotes
Causal AI is a timely resource for building AI systems that generate and understand causal narratives. Robert expertly bridges causal science and counterfactual logic with generative AI using accessible explanations, state-of-the-art code examples, and real-world applications. A must-read for anyone eager to master this transformative field.
- Judea Pearl, Turing Award winner and author of Causality and The Book of Why

Breaks down complex concepts into implementable, digestible steps.
- Karen Sachs, Aeon Bio

The approaches and code examples in this book are state-of-the-art, and will help readers ramp up quickly with many case studies and motivating applications.
- Sean J. Taylor, OpenAI

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Publisher Resources

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