Prediction-Powered Inference with Inverse Probability Weighting

Abstract: Prediction-powered inference (PPI) is a recent framework for valid statistical inference with partially labeled data, combining model-based predictions on a large unlabeled set with bias correction from a smaller labeled subset. We show that PPI can be extended to handle informative labeling by replacing its unweighted bias-correction term with an inverse probability weighted (IPW) version, using the classical Horvitz--Thompson or H\'ajek forms. This connection unites design-based survey sampling ideas with modern prediction-assisted inference, yielding estimators that remain valid when labeling probabilities vary across units. We consider the common setting where the inclusion probabilities are not known but estimated from a correctly specified model. In simulations, the performance of IPW-adjusted PPI with estimated propensities closely matches the known-probability case, retaining both nominal coverage and the variance-reduction benefits of PPI.