Open-Set Attribution
Definition
An attribution task where the true author may or may not appear in the candidate pool. The system must both rank candidates and decide whether any candidate is a credible match, which requires a rejection threshold.
- Key uncertainty
- True author may not be in candidate pool
- Required output
- Ranking plus a reject-or-accept decision
- Contrast
- Closed-set attribution
Common questions
Why is open-set attribution harder than closed-set attribution?+
A closed-set system only has to pick the best-matching candidate among a known list, while an open-set system must also judge whether even the best match is good enough to be a real match, requiring a calibrated rejection threshold.
What happens if the rejection threshold is set incorrectly?+
A threshold set too low risks falsely attributing text to an innocent candidate who happens to be the closest stylistic match, while one set too high risks rejecting a correct attribution as unreliable.
Related terms
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