A note on incorrect inferences in non-binary qualitative probabilistic networks

Abstract

Qualitative probabilistic networks (QPNs) combine the conditional independence assumptions of Bayesian networks with the qualitative properties of positive and negative dependence. They formalise various intuitive properties of positive dependence to allow inferences over a large network of variables. However, we will demonstrate in this paper that, due to an incorrect symmetry property, many inferences obtained in non-binary QPNs are not mathematically true. We will provide examples of such incorrect inferences and briefly discuss possible resolutions.