Rule-based Bayesian regression

Abstract

We introduce a novel rule-based approach for handling regression problems. The new methodology carries elements from two frameworks: (i) it provides information about the uncertainty of the parameters of interest using Bayesian inference, and (ii) it allows the incorporation of expert knowledge through rule-based systems. The blending of those two different frameworks can be particularly beneficial for various domains (e.g., engineering), where even though the significance of uncertainty quantification motivates a Bayesian approach, there is no simple way to incorporate researcher intuition into the model. We validate our models by applying them to synthetic applications: a simple linear regression problem and two more complex structures based on partial differential equations, and we illustrate their use through two cases derived from real data. Finally, we review the advantages of our methodology, which include the simplicity of the implementation, the uncertainty reduction due to the added information and, in some occasions, the derivation of better point predictions, and we outline limitations, mainly from the computational complexity perspective, such as the difficulty in choosing an appropriate algorithm and the added computational burden.