用主动学习设计实验,高效发现可解释的行为模型。
ATLAS: Active Theory Learning for Automated Science

- 用稀疏神经网络生成多种机制假说,迭代优化实验设计。
- 相比随机实验,样本效率提升5-10倍,模型更贴近真实行为。
- 适合认知科学中需揭示内在机制的自动化研究。
通过机制建模推动科学理解,关键在于提出能获取最大信息量的实验问题。为在认知科学中实现这一目标,我们提出ATLAS(主动理论学习用于自动化科学),一个用于数据驱动发现可解释行为模型的主动学习框架。ATLAS在生成机制假说(以多样化的稀疏神经网络——解耦循环神经网络表示)与设计最优区分假说的实验之间迭代进行。我们在从老虎机任务中行为恢复强化学习代理的问题上测试该方法。ATLAS设计出具有时间结构的多样化新颖实验序列,精准匹配潜在代理特征。在涵盖行为、结构和计算相似性的综合评估指标下,模型表现优异。相较于随机实验,所有指标下样本效率提升5-10倍;其性能也经文献中专家设计的实验验证。这些仿真结果展示了ATLAS在加速认知科学及其他依赖机制建模的领域中人类可理解洞察方面的潜力。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Advancing scientific understanding through mechanistic modeling requires posing the right experimental questions to yield maximally informative data. To automate this pursuit within cognitive science, we introduce ATLAS (Active Theory Learning for Automated Science), an active learning framework for the data-driven discovery of interpretable behavioral models. ATLAS iterates between generating mechanistic hypotheses--instantiated as a diverse ensemble of sparse neural networks (Disentangled RNNs)--and designing experiments that optimally distinguish between them. We test this approach on the problem of recovering reinforcement learning agents from their behavior in bandit tasks. ATLAS designs varied sequences of qualitatively novel experiments with temporal structure tailored to underlying agent characteristics. The models trained on these experiments are evaluated against a comprehensive set of metrics for mechanistic modeling that capture behavioral, structural, and computational similarity. ATLAS achieves a 5-10x improvement in sample efficiency across all metrics compared to random experimentation, and its performance is further validated against expert-designed experiments derived from literature. These in silico results showcase ATLAS's potential to accelerate human-interpretable insights in cognitive science and other domains where scientific inquiry relies on discovering mechanistic models.
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