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Multi-Behavior Hypergraph-Enhanced Transformer for Sequential Recommendation (2207.05584v2)

Published 12 Jul 2022 in cs.IR and cs.AI

Abstract: Learning dynamic user preference has become an increasingly important component for many online platforms (e.g., video-sharing sites, e-commerce systems) to make sequential recommendations. Previous works have made many efforts to model item-item transitions over user interaction sequences, based on various architectures, e.g., recurrent neural networks and self-attention mechanism. Recently emerged graph neural networks also serve as useful backbone models to capture item dependencies in sequential recommendation scenarios. Despite their effectiveness, existing methods have far focused on item sequence representation with singular type of interactions, and thus are limited to capture dynamic heterogeneous relational structures between users and items (e.g., page view, add-to-favorite, purchase). To tackle this challenge, we design a Multi-Behavior Hypergraph-enhanced Transformer framework (MBHT) to capture both short-term and long-term cross-type behavior dependencies. Specifically, a multi-scale Transformer is equipped with low-rank self-attention to jointly encode behavior-aware sequential patterns from fine-grained and coarse-grained levels. Additionally, we incorporate the global multi-behavior dependency into the hypergraph neural architecture to capture the hierarchical long-range item correlations in a customized manner. Experimental results demonstrate the superiority of our MBHT over various state-of-the-art recommendation solutions across different settings. Further ablation studies validate the effectiveness of our model design and benefits of the new MBHT framework. Our implementation code is released at: https://github.com/yuh-yang/MBHT-KDD22.

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Authors (6)
  1. Yuhao Yang (23 papers)
  2. Chao Huang (244 papers)
  3. Lianghao Xia (65 papers)
  4. Yuxuan Liang (126 papers)
  5. Yanwei Yu (30 papers)
  6. Chenliang Li (92 papers)
Citations (102)

Summary

Multi-Behavior Hypergraph-Enhanced Transformer for Sequential Recommendation

The paper Multi-Behavior Hypergraph-Enhanced Transformer for Sequential Recommendation proposes a novel framework, termed MBHT, to enhance the process of sequential recommendation by incorporating multi-behavior dynamics in users' interaction patterns. Sequential recommendation systems aim to predict user preferences based on historical interaction data, and the paper addresses a significant challenge in this domain: capturing heterogeneous relational structures across differing types of user-item interactions. MBHT advances the state-of-the-art by integrating Transformer and hypergraph neural network architectures to leverage both short-term and long-term behavioral dependencies.

Methodological Advancements

The authors introduce several key components within MBHT:

  1. Behavior-Aware Context Embedding: This module enhances traditional item embeddings by incorporating behavior type-specific signals, providing a comprehensive view of user-item interaction patterns. This multidimensional representation enables the encoding of fine-grained behavioral nuances essential for high-quality recommendations.
  2. Multi-Scale Transformer: A critical innovation is the introduction of a multi-scale Transformer equipped with low-rank self-attention. Unlike conventional self-attention mechanisms, which often suffer from quadratic complexity, the authors utilize low-rank factorization to improve efficiency. The multi-scale aspect allows the Transformer to capture behavioral patterns at various granularities, from immediate user interactions to longer-term trends.
  3. Hypergraph-Based Learning: The hypergraph neural network component of MBHT allows for the modeling of high-order relational dependencies that transcend simple dyadic relationships between items. By creating hyperedges based on semantic and multi-behavior dependencies, the model captures comprehensive global behavioral data, adapting to personalized user patterns.
  4. Cross-View Fusion: To aggregate information from the sequential and hypergraph views effectively, MBHT employs an attention-based mechanism for fusion. This enables the model to dynamically weigh contributions from each view, tailoring the decision-making process to suit individual user contexts.

Empirical Performance

The paper presents extensive experiments across multiple datasets—Taobao, Retailrocket, and IJCAI—demonstrating MBHT's superiority over both general sequential methods and graph-based models. It consistently achieves higher hit rates (HR@5 and HR@10), NDCG metrics, and mean reciprocal ranks (MRR), notably improving performance over other competitive multi-behavior recommendation systems. Particularly on the Taobao and IJCAI datasets, MBHT significantly enhances hit rates by over 48%, showcasing its robustness in complex data environments with varying interaction densities and average sequence lengths.

Theoretical and Practical Implications

The theoretical contribution of MBHT lies in its fusion of multi-scale Transformer and hypergraph paradigms, offering a scalable approach to modeling intricate behavior patterns. Practically, the framework holds promise for diverse online platforms that require accurate predictions of user interactions—notably in e-commerce, social media, and digital content recommendation environments. By addressing the limitations of conventional models that overlook heterogeneity in user-item interactions, MBHT paves the way for more personalized and context-aware recommendation strategies.

Future Directions

Looking ahead, the integration of MBHT into real-world applications could catalyze developments in adaptive recommender systems that leverage varied interaction data to refine user experience optimally. Furthermore, exploring the application of this framework in domains beyond sequential recommendation, such as dynamic content personalization and cross-domain recommendations, represents fertile ground for research. Enhanced interpretability of multi-behavior interactions via hypergraph structures offers potential for improving transparency and fairness in AI-driven recommendation systems.

In conclusion, the MBHT framework constitutes a significant contribution to the domain of sequential recommendation, exemplifying how cutting-edge architecture can address nuanced challenges inherent in multi-behavior interaction data.