Test-Time Learning of Causal Structure from Interventional Data

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2602.19131v1
• Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2026 11:23:05 GMT
• Title: Test-Time Learning of Causal Structure from Interventional Data
• Authors: Wei Chen, Rui Ding, Bojun Huang, Yang Zhang, Qiang Fu, Yuxuan Liang, Han Shi, Dongmei Zhang,
• Abstract summary: We propose TICL (Test-time Interventional Causal Learning), a novel method that synergizes Test-Time Training with Joint Causal Inference.<n>Specifically, we design a self-augmentation strategy to generate instance-specific training data at test time, effectively avoiding distribution shifts.<n>By integrating joint causal inference, we developed a PC-inspired two-phase supervised learning scheme, which effectively leverages self-augmented training data while ensuring theoretical identifiability.
• Score: 50.06913286558919
• License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
• Abstract: Supervised causal learning has shown promise in causal discovery, yet it often struggles with generalization across diverse interventional settings, particularly when intervention targets are unknown. To address this, we propose TICL (Test-time Interventional Causal Learning), a novel method that synergizes Test-Time Training with Joint Causal Inference. Specifically, we design a self-augmentation strategy to generate instance-specific training data at test time, effectively avoiding distribution shifts. Furthermore, by integrating joint causal inference, we developed a PC-inspired two-phase supervised learning scheme, which effectively leverages self-augmented training data while ensuring theoretical identifiability. Extensive experiments on bnlearn benchmarks demonstrate TICL's superiority in multiple aspects of causal discovery and intervention target detection.

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