Abstract
Large Language Models (LLMs) show promise in biomedicine but lack true causal understanding, relying instead on correlations. This paper envisions causal LLM agents that integrate multimodal data (text, images, genomics, etc.) and perform intervention-based reasoning to infer cause-and-effect. Addressing this requires overcoming key challenges: designing safe, controllable agentic frameworks; developing rigorous benchmarks for causal evaluation; integrating heterogeneous data sources; and synergistically combining LLMs with structured knowledge (KGs) and formal causal inference tools. Such agents could unlock transformative opportunities, including accelerating drug discovery through automated hypothesis generation and simulation, enabling personalized medicine through patient-specific causal models. This research agenda aims to foster interdisciplinary efforts, bridging causal concepts and foundation models to develop reliable AI partners for biomedical progress.
Abstract (translated)
大型语言模型（LLMs）在生物医学领域展现出巨大的潜力，但它们缺乏真正的因果理解能力，而是依赖于相关性。本文构想了具备因果推理能力的多模态数据集成型代理（包括文本、图像、基因组学等），通过基于干预的推理来推断因果关系。实现这一目标需要克服几个关键挑战：设计安全且可控的代理框架；开发严谨的基准测试以评估因果模型；整合异构的数据源；以及将大型语言模型与结构化知识图谱（KGs）和正式因果推理工具协同结合。 这样的代理能够开启一系列变革性机会，包括通过自动化假设生成和模拟加速药物发现，通过患者特定的因果模型实现个性化医疗。这一研究议程旨在促进跨学科合作，弥合因果概念与基础模型之间的差距，并开发出可靠的AI伙伴以推动生物医学领域的进步。
URL
https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.16982
