Understanding ProbLog as Probabilistic Argumentation

TL;DR

This paper explores the relationship between ProbLog, a probabilistic logic programming language, and probabilistic argumentation, revealing how ProbLog can be viewed as an instance of Probabilistic Abstract Argumentation, enabling new semantics and explanations.

Contribution

It establishes a formal connection between ProbLog and probabilistic argumentation frameworks, allowing for new semantics and interpretability of ProbLog outputs.

Findings

ProbLog can be modeled as an instance of Probabilistic Abstract Argumentation.

New argumentation semantics for ProbLog are proposed.

Enhanced argumentative explanations for ProbLog outputs are developed.

Abstract

ProbLog is a popular probabilistic logic programming language/tool, widely used for applications requiring to deal with inherent uncertainties in structured domains. In this paper we study connections between ProbLog and a variant of another well-known formalism combining symbolic reasoning and reasoning under uncertainty, i.e. probabilistic argumentation. Specifically, we show that ProbLog is an instance of a form of Probabilistic Abstract Argumentation (PAA) that builds upon Assumption-Based Argumentation (ABA). The connections pave the way towards equipping ProbLog with alternative semantics, inherited from PAA/PABA, as well as obtaining novel argumentation semantics for PAA/PABA, leveraging on prior connections between ProbLog and argumentation. Further, the connections pave the way towards novel forms of argumentative explanations for ProbLog's outputs.