The free energy functional has recently been proposed as a variational principle for bounded rational decision-making, since it instantiates a natural trade-off between utility gains and information processing costs that can be axiomatically derived. Here we apply the free energy principle to general decision trees tha…
Active inference minimizes expected free energy for optimal behavior.
problem Understanding and optimizing behavior in complex systems.
method Combines Bayesian decision theory, optimal Bayesian design, and the free energy principle.
result Active inference emerges as a unified framework for information-seeking, utility maximization, and goal-directed behavior.
Unified framework for planning under uncertainty using variational inference.
problem Planning under uncertainty with separate objectives for exploration and exploitation.
method Variational inference on a generative model augmented with priors.
result EFE-based planning emerges as variational inference, enabling scalable, resource-aware policies.
FEAT estimates free energy using adaptive transports.
problem Estimating free energy across scientific domains.
method Uses learned transports and stochastic interpolants.
result Provides consistent, minimum-variance estimators.
Derives time-averaged active inference from control principles.
problem Finite-horizon or discounted-surprise problems in active inference.
method Derives infinite-horizon, average-surprise active inference from optimal control principles.
result Unified objective functional for sensorimotor control.
New bandit algorithm maximizes information gain.
problem Optimizing decision-making in uncertain environments.
method Approximates information maximization using entropy and free energy principles.
result Asymptotic optimality proven for two-armed bandit problem.
The paper solves a thermodynamics problem about crystal shape.
problem Understanding if minimizing free energy with convex potential and mass constraint generates a convex crystal.
method Utilized a stability theorem, convexity, and a new maximum principle approach to prove a three-dimensional convexity theorem.
result Completely settled the Almgren problem in R3 under generic conditions. New risk metric for AI systems reduces safety risks with minimal data.
problem Risk assessment in multi-agent AI systems.
method Free Energy Principle applied to risk metrics, introducing Cumulative Risk Exposure.
result Gatekeepers improve system safety in autonomous vehicle fleets.
FEPS models agents to learn and act in complex environments without deep neural networks.
problem Modeling complex adaptive systems and understanding self-organizing behavior.
method Introducing Free Energy Projective Simulation (FEPS) within the constraints of the free energy principle and active inference.
result FEPS agents resolve ambiguity and infer optimal policies in partially observable environments.
AIF improves physical AI agents' performance in dynamic environments.
problem Physical AI agents are less capable than biological agents in open-ended real-world environments.
method Developed from probability theory, Bayesian machine learning, variational inference, and Active Inference (AIF), grounded in the Free Energy Principle.
result AIF minimizes variational free energy and is well-suited to physical constraints.
Bayesian inference learns free energy landscapes from experimental data.
problem Characterize the free energy landscape of classical many-body systems from experimental data.
method Combines non-parametric Bayesian inference with physically-motivated constraints to automate the construction of approximate free energy functionals.
result Inference algorithms yield a probability distribution over free energy functionals, leading to highly accurate analytic expressions.
This study proposes hidden state curiosity to enhance RL models' resilience against noise.
problem Curiosity traps in RL models distract agents from discovering novel experiences.
method Proposed hidden state curiosity based on the Free Energy Principle to reward agents for KL divergence between predictive priors and posteriors.
result Agents with hidden state curiosity are more resilient against curiosity traps compared to those with prediction error curiosity.
New approach infers object type from physical data and functional requirements.
problem Classical design theory treats object type as a given, but this paper argues it should be inferred.
method C-DMBD, a constrained extension of Dynamic Markov Blanket Detection algorithm, models product surface as a Markov blanket.
result Requirement-steered inference is computationally tractable and models different object types with different parameterizations.
New algorithm nearly achieves ground state free energy of SK model.
problem Determining the ground state free energy of the SK model.
method Controlled Loosening-up (CLuP) algorithm applied to SK models.
result Achieves ground state free energy of ~0.76 for n in the thousands.
New algorithm minimizes FE objectives for synthetic AIF agents.
problem Minimizing Free Energy for synthetic active inference agents.
method Variational message passing on Constrained FFGs.
result Message passing algorithms induce epistemic behavior in AIF agents.
New method resolves nonidentifiability in mixture models.
problem Nonidentifiability in marginal models of mixture models.
method Introducing an effective temperature to generalize the marginal likelihood.
result Maximization of the generalized likelihood leads to unique results.
This paper introduces a new approach to active inference using constrained Bethe Free Energy.
problem Tackling the limitations of existing epistemic behavior models in active inference.
method Introducing a constrained Bethe Free Energy (CBFE) perspective to optimize epistemic behavior in generative models.
result CBFE optimization leads to more robust and flexible epistemic behavior compared to existing methods.
We introduce and study the Hermitian matrix model with potential V(x)=x^2/2-stx/(1-tx), which enumerates the number of linear chord diagrams of fixed genus with specified numbers of backbones generated by s and chords generated by t. For the one-cut solution, the partition function, correlators and free energies are co…
We introduce a new, efficient, principled and backpropagation-compatible algorithm for learning a probability distribution on the weights of a neural network, called Bayes by Backprop. It regularises the weights by minimising a compression cost, known as the variational free energy or the expected lower bound on the ma…
Inference problems in graphical models can be represented as a constrained optimization of a free energy function. It is known that when the Bethe free energy is used, the fixedpoints of the belief propagation (BP) algorithm correspond to the local minima of the free energy. However BP fails to converge in many cases o…
mAIS improves free energy evaluation efficiency.
problem Computational infeasibility of exact free energy evaluation.
method mAIS, a marginalized version of AIS.
result mAIS is more efficient under certain conditions.
Enhances diffusion-based sampling for molecular systems.
problem Inefficiency and thermodynamic mode miss in diffusion-based samplers for molecular systems.
method Introduces a sequential bias along collective variables (CVs) to encourage exploration and increase temperature in the projected space.
result Improves efficiency, mode discovery, and free energy estimation; first to demonstrate reactive sampling.
Deep neural networks improve free energy calculations for peptide conformations.
problem Challenges in developing suitable mappings for free energy perturbation.
method Adapted machine learning approach to train deep neural networks for mapping between Boltzmann distributions.
result Accurate free energy differences calculated between thermodynamic states with spring centers separated by 1 Å and sometimes 2 Å.
New model estimates Gibbs free energies using machine learning and isobaric-isothermal flows.
problem Estimating Gibbs free energies for complex systems.
method Normalizing flows trained to sample isobaric-isothermal ensemble.
result Excellent agreement with established baselines for water phases.
Study of phase separation and geometry on a closed elastic curve, including dynamics and free energy minimization.
problem Free energy and dynamics of a closed elastic filament coupled to a scalar concentration field.
method Analytical and numerical simulations of coupled Willmore flow and Cahn--Hilliard gradient flow on differential geometry.
result Qualitative changes in free energy landscape due to closure constraint, leading to metastable and stable multi-domain morphologies.
We use matricial free energy to regularize autoencoders, producing Gaussian-like codes.
problem Generating Gaussian-like codes for autoencoders.
method Define a differentiable loss function based on singular values of the code matrix, minimizing matricial free energy.
result Minimizing matricial free energy results in Gaussian-like codes that generalize.
Paper analyzes the free energy of CNNs with skip connections in Bayesian learning.
problem Dependency of CNNs with skip connections on the number of parameters.
method Examines the Bayesian free energy of CNNs with and without skip connections.
result The upper bound of free energy of Bayesian CNN with skip connections does not depend on overparametrization.
New method uses neural networks to improve free energy estimation.
problem Estimating free energy differences using FEP is limited by insufficient overlap between distributions.
method Developed a neural network to parameterize a high-dimensional mapping in configuration space.
result Demonstrated substantial variance reduction in free energy estimates.
New result on critical points of Bethe free energy under deformation retracts.
problem Characterizing critical points of Bethe free energy for complex graphs.
method Analyzing homotopy types and deformation retracts of factor graphs.
result Critical points of Bethe free energy are invariant under deformation retracts.
Study on existence of ground states for free energy on hyperbolic space.
problem Existence of ground states for a free energy functional on hyperbolic space.
method Derived HLS-type inequalities on Cartan-Hadamard manifolds to prove existence.
result Established conditions for the existence of ground states on hyperbolic space.
The paper extends physics-based information maximization to complex bandit problems.
problem Designing efficient decision-making policies for complex bandit problems.
method Information and free-energy maximization principles adapted to three distinct bandit types.
result Information maximization leads to strong performance in complex bandit problems.
We address the problem of computing approximate marginals in Gaussian probabilistic models by using mean field and fractional Bethe approximations. We define the Gaussian fractional Bethe free energy in terms of the moment parameters of the approximate marginals, derive a lower and an upper bound on the fractional Beth…
Study free energy in spherical spin glasses, proving universality dichotomy.
problem Analyzing free energy in spherical spin glass models with different tail exponents.
method Introduced a tail-adapted normalization and used universality dichotomy.
result Sharp universality dichotomy for free energy across different tail exponents.
Paper improves zero-shot protein stability prediction by clarifying free-energy foundations.
problem Improving zero-shot protein stability prediction using inverse folding models.
method Clarifying the free-energy foundations of inverse folding models and proposing better estimates of relative stability.
result Significant gains in zero-shot performance can be achieved with simple methods.
This paper generalizes neural transport learning for free energy estimation in arbitrary state spaces.
problem Efficient estimation of free energy in various state spaces.
method Generalized neural transport learning approach for arbitrary state spaces.
result Validation of the proposed method's effectiveness and efficiency in diverse settings.
The free energy of a closed 3-manifold is a 2-parameter formal power series which encodes the perturbative Chern-Simons invariant (also known as the LMO invariant) of a closed 3-manifold with gauge group U(N) for arbitrary N. We prove that the free energy of an arbitrary closed 3-manifold is uniformly Gevrey-1. As a …
How do organisms recognize their environment by acquiring knowledge about the world, and what actions do they take based on this knowledge? This article examines hypotheses about organisms' adaptation to the environment from machine learning, information-theoretic, and thermodynamic perspectives. We start with construc…
Loopy and generalized belief propagation are popular algorithms for approximate inference in Markov random fields and Bayesian networks. Fixed points of these algorithms correspond to extrema of the Bethe and Kikuchi free energy. However, belief propagation does not always converge, which explains the need for approach…
Bio-inspired neural networks use predictive coding for efficient weight updates.
problem Training artificial neural networks efficiently and biologically plausibly.
method Predictive Coding (PC) updates weights locally using only local information.
result PC provides theoretical advantages like automatic gradient scaling.
Study shows TAP free energy minimization provides better posterior inference in high-dimensional linear models.
problem Deviation from true posterior mean and underestimation of posterior uncertainty in variational inference.
method Minimization of TAP free energy in a high-dimensional asymptotic framework, showing geometric and statistical properties.
result Local minimizer of TAP free energy provides consistent estimate of posterior marginals and correctly calibrated posterior inference.
Outlier detection amounts to finding data points that differ significantly from the norm. Classic outlier detection methods are largely designed for single data type such as continuous or discrete. However, real world data is increasingly heterogeneous, where a data point can have both discrete and continuous attribute…
We address the problem of computing approximate marginals in Gaussian probabilistic models by using mean field and fractional Bethe approximations. As an extension of Welling and Teh (2001), we define the Gaussian fractional Bethe free energy in terms of the moment parameters of the approximate marginals and derive an …
Poisson variational autoencoders introduce a metabolic cost term that penalizes high baseline activity.
problem Energy constraints in computation.
method Poisson variational autoencoders with a Kullback-Leibler divergence term proportional to firing rates.
result Poisson variational autoencoders introduce a metabolic cost term that penalizes high baseline activity.
Bayesian free energy remains bounded for deep ReLU networks in overparametrized cases.
problem Understanding the generalization performance of deep ReLU neural networks.
method Analyzes Bayesian free energy in overparametrized deep ReLU neural networks.
result Bayesian free energy is bounded even in overparametrized deep ReLU networks.
New method learns collective variables using autoencoders for molecular simulations.
problem Learning low-dimensional slow degrees of freedom (collective variables) for molecular simulations.
method Iterative method involving CV learning with autoencoders and reweighting scheme.
result Achieves convergence of learned collective variables.
The free energy is a key quantity of interest in Ising models, but unfortunately, computing it in general is computationally intractable. Two popular (variational) approximation schemes for estimating the free energy of general Ising models (in particular, even in regimes where correlation decay does not hold) are: (i)…
The Bethe free energy approximation is reliable when convex on a submanifold, the 'Bethe box'.
problem Accuracy of the Bethe free energy approximation in probabilistic inference.
method Analysis of convexity and verification conditions based on the Bethe Hessian matrix.
result The Bethe approximation is mostly accurate if it is convex on a submanifold, the 'Bethe box'.
CRBMs improve financial regime detection with PCD and free energy analysis.
problem Detecting systemic risk regimes in financial time series.
method Extended RBM to CRBM with autoregressive conditioning and PCD. Decomposed free energy into magnitude and correlation components.
result CRBM's free energy metric distinguishes between magnitude shocks and market regimes.