Logic Mining Using Neural Networks

TL;DR

This paper explores how Hopfield neural networks can be used to induce logical rules from large databases through reverse analysis, addressing the challenge of neural network interpretability in data mining.

Contribution

It introduces a method for extracting logical rules from Hopfield networks trained on large databases, enhancing understanding of neural network models in data mining.

Findings

Hopfield networks can be used to induce logical rules from data.

Reverse analysis of network connections reveals embedded logical rules.

The method improves interpretability of neural network-based data mining.

Abstract

Knowledge could be gained from experts, specialists in the area of interest, or it can be gained by induction from sets of data. Automatic induction of knowledge from data sets, usually stored in large databases, is called data mining. Data mining methods are important in the management of complex systems. There are many technologies available to data mining practitioners, including Artificial Neural Networks, Regression, and Decision Trees. Neural networks have been successfully applied in wide range of supervised and unsupervised learning applications. Neural network methods are not commonly used for data mining tasks, because they often produce incomprehensible models, and require long training times. One way in which the collective properties of a neural network may be used to implement a computational task is by way of the concept of energy minimization. The Hopfield network is well-known example of such an approach. The Hopfield network is useful as content addressable memory or an analog computer for solving combinatorial-type optimization problems. Wan Abdullah [1] proposed a method of doing logic programming on a Hopfield neural network. Optimization of logical inconsistency is carried out by the network after the connection strengths are defined from the logic program; the network relaxes to neural states corresponding to a valid interpretation. In this article, we describe how Hopfield network is able to induce logical rules from large database by using reverse analysis method: given the values of the connections of a network, we can hope to know what logical rules are entrenched in the database.