A Simple Generative Model of Logical Reasoning and Statistical Learning

Abstract: Statistical learning and logical reasoning are two major fields of AI expected to be unified for human-like machine intelligence. Most existing work considers how to combine existing logical and statistical systems. However, there is no theory of inference so far explaining how basic approaches to statistical learning and logical reasoning stem from a common principle. Inspired by the fact that much empirical work in neuroscience suggests Bayesian (or probabilistic generative) approaches to brain function including learning and reasoning, we here propose a simple Bayesian model of logical reasoning and statistical learning. The theory is statistically correct as it satisfies Kolmogorov's axioms, is consistent with both Fenstad's representation theorem and maximum likelihood estimation and performs exact Bayesian inference with a linear-time complexity. The theory is logically correct as it is a data-driven generalisation of uncertain reasoning from consistency, possibility, inconsistency and impossibility. The theory is correct in terms of machine learning as its solution to generation and prediction tasks on the MNIST dataset is not only empirically reasonable but also theoretically correct against the K nearest neighbour method. We simply model how data causes symbolic knowledge in terms of its satisfiability in formal logic. Symbolic reasoning emerges as a result of the process of going the causality forwards and backwards. The forward and backward processes correspond to an interpretation and inverse interpretation in formal logic, respectively. The inverse interpretation differentiates our work from the mainstream often referred to as inverse entailment, inverse deduction or inverse resolution. The perspective gives new insights into learning and reasoning towards human-like machine intelligence.