Markov logic networks (MLNs) combine logic and probability by attaching weights to first-order clauses, and viewing these as templates for features of Markov networks. In this paper we develop an algorithm for learning the structure of MLNs from relational databases, combining ideas from inductive logic programming (ILP) and feature induction in Markov networks. The algorithm performs a beam or shortestfirst search of the space of clauses, guided by a weighted pseudo-likelihood measure. This requires computing the optimal weights for each candidate structure, but we show how this can be done efficiently. The algorithm can be used to learn an MLN from scratch, or to refine an existing knowledge base. We have applied it in two real-world domains, and found that it outperforms using off-the-shelf ILP systems to learn the MLN structure, as well as pure ILP, purely probabilistic and purely knowledge-based approaches. 1.

A major assumption in many machine learning and data mining algorithms is that the training and future data must be in the same feature space and have the same distribution. However, in many real-world applications, this assumption may not hold. For example, we sometimes have a classification task in one domain of interest, but we only have sufficient training data in another domain of interest, where the latter data may be in a different feature space or follow a different data distribution. In such cases, knowledge transfer, if done successfully, would greatly improve the performance of learning by avoiding much expensive data labeling efforts. In recent years, transfer learning has emerged as a new learning framework to address this problem. This survey focuses on categorizing and reviewing the current progress on transfer learning for classification, regression and clustering problems. In this survey, we discuss the relationship between transfer learning and other related machine learning techniques such as domain adaptation, multitask learning and sample selection bias, as well as co-variate shift. We also explore some potential future issues in transfer learning research.

Most probabilistic inference algorithms are specified and processed on a propositional level. In the last decade, many proposals for algorithms accepting first-order specifications have been presented, but in the inference stage they still operate on a mostly propositional representation level. [Poole, 2003] presented a method to perform inference directly on the first-order level, but this method is limited to special cases. In this paper we present the first exact inference algorithm that operates directly on a first-order level, and that can be applied to any first-order model (specified in a language that generalizes undirected graphical models). Our experiments show superior performance in comparison with propositional exact inference. 1

Many machine learning applications require a combination of probability and first-order logic. Markov logic networks (MLNs) accomplish this by attaching weights to first-order clauses, and viewing these as templates for features of Markov networks. Model parameters (i.e., clause weights) can be learned by maximizing the likelihood of a relational database, but this can be quite costly and lead to suboptimal results for any given prediction task. In this paper we propose a discriminative approach to training MLNs, one which optimizes the conditional likelihood of the query predicates given the evidence ones, rather than the joint likelihood of all predicates. We extend Collins’s (2002) voted perceptron algorithm for HMMs to MLNs by replacing the Viterbi algorithm with a weighted satisfiability solver. Experiments on entity resolution and link prediction tasks show the advantages of this approach compared to generative MLN training, as well as compared to purely probabilistic and purely logical approaches.

The goal of information extraction is to extract database records from text or semi-structured sources. Traditionally, information extraction proceeds by first segmenting each candidate record separately, and then merging records that refer to the same entities. While computationally efficient, this approach is suboptimal, because it ignores the fact that segmenting one candidate record can help to segment similar ones. For example, resolving a well-segmented field with a lessclear one can disambiguate the latter’s boundaries. In this paper we propose a joint approach to information extraction, where segmentation of all records and entity resolution are performed together in a single integrated inference process. While a number of previous authors have taken steps in this direction (e.g., Pasula et al. (2003), Wellner et al. (2004)), to our knowledge this is the first fully joint approach. In experiments on the CiteSeer and Cora citation matching datasets, joint inference improved accuracy, and our approach outperformed previous ones. Further, by using Markov logic and the existing algorithms for it, our solution consisted mainly of writing the appropriate logical formulas, and required much less engineering than previous ones.

Learning patterns of human behavior from sensor data is extremely important for high-level activity inference. We show how to extract a person’s activities and significant places from traces of GPS data. Our system uses hierarchically structured conditional random fields to generate a consistent model of a person’s activities and places. In contrast to existing techniques, our approach takes high-level context into account in order to detect the significant places of a person. Our experiments show significant improvements over existing techniques. Furthermore, they indicate that our system is able to robustly estimate a person’s activities using a model that is trained from data collected by other persons. 1

We introduce ProbLog, a probabilistic extension of Prolog. A ProbLog program defines a distribution over logic programs by specifying for each clause the probability that it belongs to a randomly sampled program, and these probabilities are mutually independent. The semantics of ProbLog is then defined by the success probability of a query, which corresponds to the probability that the query succeeds in a randomly sampled program. The key contribution of this paper is the introduction of an effective solver for computing success probabilities. It essentially combines SLD-resolution with methods for computing the probability of Boolean formulae. Our implementation further employs an approximation algorithm that combines iterative deepening with binary decision diagrams. We report on experiments in the context of discovering links in real biological networks, a demonstration of the practical usefulness of the approach. 1

Unifying first-order logic and probability is a long-standing goal of AI, and in recent years many representations combining aspects of the two have been proposed. However, inference in them is generally still at the level of propositional logic, creating all ground atoms and formulas and applying standard probabilistic inference methods to the resulting network. Ideally, inference should be lifted as in first-order logic, handling whole sets of indistinguishable objects together, in time independent of their cardinality. Poole (2003) and Braz et al. (2005, 2006) developed a lifted version of the variable elimination algorithm, but it is extremely complex, generally does not scale to realistic domains, and has only been applied to very small artificial problems. In this paper we propose the first lifted version of a scalable probabilistic inference algorithm, belief propagation (loopy or not). Our approach is based on first constructing a lifted network, where each node represents a set of ground atoms that all pass the same messages during belief propagation. We then run belief propagation on this network. We prove the correctness and optimality of our algorithm. Experiments show that it can greatly reduce the cost of inference.

Numerous real-world applications produce networked data such as web data (hypertext documents connected via hyperlinks) and communication networks (people connected via communication links). A recent focus in machine learning research has been to extend traditional machine learning classification techniques to classify nodes in such data. In this report, we attempt to provide a brief introduction to this area of research and how it has progressed during the past decade. We introduce four of the most widely used inference algorithms for classifying networked data and empirically compare them on both synthetic and real-world data. 1

Entity resolution is the problem of determining which records in a database refer to the same entities, and is a crucial and expensive step in the data mining process. Interest in it has grown rapidly in recent years, and many approaches have been proposed. However, they tend to address only isolated aspects of the problem, and are often ad hoc. This paper proposes a well-founded, integrated solution to the entity resolution problem based on Markov logic. Markov logic combines first-order logic and probabilistic graphical models by attaching weights to first-order formulas, and viewing them as templates for features of Markov networks. We show how a number of previous approaches can be formulated and seamlessly combined in Markov logic, and how the resulting learning and inference problems can be solved efficiently. Experiments on two citation databases show the utility of this approach, and evaluate the contribution of the different components. 1