Adapting Rule Representation With Four-Parameter Beta Distribution for Learning Classifier Systems

TL;DR

This paper introduces a flexible, adaptive rule representation using a four-parameter beta distribution within a fuzzy-style Learning Classifier System, enabling automatic selection of boundary shapes for improved classification accuracy and interpretability.

Contribution

It proposes a novel four-parameter beta distribution-based rule representation that adapts to different subspaces in LCSs, enhancing flexibility and interpretability.

Findings

Achieves significantly higher test accuracy on real-world tasks.

Produces more compact and interpretable rule sets.

Automatically adapts rule boundaries to subspace characteristics.

Abstract

Rule representations significantly influence the search capabilities and decision boundaries within the search space of Learning Classifier Systems (LCSs), a family of rule-based machine learning systems that evolve interpretable models through evolutionary processes. However, it is very difficult to choose an appropriate rule representation for each problem. Additionally, some problems benefit from using different representations for different subspaces within the input space. Thus, an adaptive mechanism is needed to choose an appropriate rule representation for each rule in LCSs. This article introduces a flexible rule representation using a four-parameter beta distribution and integrates it into a fuzzy-style LCS. The four-parameter beta distribution can form various function shapes, and this flexibility enables our LCS to automatically select appropriate representations for different subspaces. Our rule representation can represent crisp/fuzzy decision boundaries in various boundary shapes, such as rectangles and bells, by controlling four parameters, compared to the standard representations such as trapezoidal ones. Leveraging this flexibility, our LCS is designed to adapt the appropriate rule representation for each subspace. Moreover, our LCS incorporates a generalization bias favoring crisp rules where feasible, enhancing model interpretability without compromising accuracy. Experimental results on real-world classification tasks show that our LCS achieves significantly superior test accuracy and produces more compact rule sets. Our implementation is available at https://github.com/YNU-NakataLab/Beta4-UCS. An extended abstract related to this work is available at https://doi.org/10.36227/techrxiv.174900805.59801248/v1.