Unit Selection: Case Study and Comparison with A/B Test Heuristic

The unit selection problem defined by Li and Pearl identifies individuals who have desired counterfactual behavior patterns, for example, individuals who would respond positively if encouraged and would not otherwise. Li and Pearl showed by example that their unit selection model is beyond the A/B test heuristics. In this paper, we reveal the essence of the A/B test heuristics, which are exceptional cases of the benefit function defined by Li and Pearl. Furthermore, We provided more simulated use cases of Li-Pearl's unit selection model to help decision-makers apply their model correctly, explaining that A/B test heuristics are generally problematic.