Causal Machine Learning: Prediction to Intervention
Production causal ML series covering structural causal models, backdoor adjustment, and Inverse Propensity Scoring for offline treatment effect estimation.
Standard supervised models fail when policy changes the data-generating process. This series covers structural causal models, the backdoor criterion, feature-flattening traps, and Inverse Propensity Scoring (IPS) to debias observational logs without live A/B tests—for ML engineers shipping counterfactual evaluation.
In This Series
PART 01 / 02
Why Machine Learning Demands Causal Inference
[Series] Causal Machine Learning - 1. Rethinking the Predictive Paradigm
Standard machine learning models excel at empirical risk minimization on static observational data, but fail catastrophically when an operational policy actively alters the data-generating distribution.
This advanced guide exposes the feature flattening trap—where models mistake downstream symptoms for upstream causes—and details how to deploy structurally invariant causal models using Judea Pearls Backdoor Criterion and Off-Policy Evaluation (OPE).

Kernel Labs | Kuriko IWAI | kuriko-iwai.com
PART 02 / 02
Fixing Selection Bias in Enterprise Data with Inverse Propensity Scoring (IPS)
[Series] Causal Machine Learning - 2. De-Biasing Historical Data Logs (without Expensive A/B Tests)
Standard machine learning models fail when observational data is poisoned by selection bias—mistaking baseline confounding for true treatment impact.
Inverse Propensity Scoring (IPS) provides an offline mathematical simulator that transforms biased operational logs into synthetic Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs).
This guide breaks down the underlying propensity mathematics, positivity constraints, and production Python code to calculate unconfounded Average Treatment Effects (ATE).

Kernel Labs | Kuriko IWAI | kuriko-iwai.com
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