Bayesian inference for models that have an intractable partition function is known as a doubly intractable problem, where standard Monte Carlo methods are not applicable. The past decade has seen the development of auxiliary variable Monte Carlo techniques (Møller et al., 2006; Murray et al., 2006) for tackling this pr…
A new method improves inference for complex Bayesian models.
problem Bayesian inference for doubly intractable distributions is computationally challenging.
method Monte Carlo Stein variational gradient descent (MC-SVGD) approach.
result The method achieves substantial computational gains over existing algorithms.
Bayesian inference uses Stein discrepancy for robustness in intractable likelihoods.
problem Intractable likelihoods in Bayesian inference.
method Generalised Bayesian inference with Stein discrepancy as the loss function.
result Robust generalised posteriors with closed form or accessible using MCMC.
Develops a new Bayesian inference method for discrete data.
problem Computational challenges in discrete state spaces, especially intractable likelihoods.
method Uses a discrete Fisher divergence to update beliefs about model parameters, circumventing the intractable normalising constant.
result Establishes statistical properties of the generalised posterior and proposes a calibration approach.
Efficient Bayesian decision-making with intractable likelihoods.
problem Bayesian decision-making under intractable likelihoods.
method Learning surrogate models and using simulation-based inference and Bayesian optimization.
result Optimal actions can be learned with fewer simulations than posterior inference.
Develops algorithm to differentiate Metropolis-Hastings for optimization.
problem Optimizing intractable densities with discrete components.
method Fuses stochastic automatic differentiation with Markov chain coupling schemes.
result Unbiased and low-variance gradient estimator for intractable densities.
A large number of statistical models are "doubly-intractable": the likelihood normalising term, which is a function of the model parameters, is intractable, as well as the marginal likelihood (model evidence). This means that standard inference techniques to sample from the posterior, such as Markov chain Monte Carlo (…
Paper proposes nested MLMC for SNPE with intractable likelihoods.
problem Estimating posterior distributions from intractable likelihoods.
method Nested MLMC for loss function and gradients, with convergence results.
result Effective methods for approximating complex multimodal posteriors.
Investor maximizes utility from an unknown claim using robust optimization.
problem Maximizing utility from an unknown contingent claim.
method Robust optimization with quantile formulation and variational inequalities.
result Optimal trading strategy and utility indifference price determined.
Generative Bayesian Filtering improves inference in complex models without explicit density evaluations.
problem Performing posterior inference in complex nonlinear and non-Gaussian state-space models.
method Generative Bayesian Filtering (GBF) extends GBC to dynamic settings using deep neural networks for recursive posterior inference. Generative-Gibbs sampler bypasses density evaluations for parameter learning.
result GBF significantly outperforms likelihood-free approaches in accuracy and robustness for intractable state-space models.
A new MCMC method for GPs tackles computational burden and intractable likelihoods.
problem High computational burden and intractable likelihoods in Gaussian process models.
method Combines variationally sparse Gaussian processes with pseudo-marginal MCMC.
result Asymptotically exact inference with computational gains for large datasets.
How can we perform efficient inference and learning in directed probabilistic models, in the presence of continuous latent variables with intractable posterior distributions, and large datasets? We introduce a stochastic variational inference and learning algorithm that scales to large datasets and, under some mild dif…
Neural network predicts short rate model steps accurately.
problem Predicting intractable short rate model steps.
method Proposes an algorithm using neural networks.
result Achieves superior outcomes compared to unbiased estimate.
New method for MCMC models without perfect or sequential samplers.
problem Bayesian inference for complex models with intractable terms.
method Utilizes tractable independence model to construct unbiased estimates.
result Scalable method for high-dimensional models.
New MCMC methods use auxiliary variables to sample from intractable distributions.
problem Sampling from distributions with unknown normalizing constants.
method Unified Markov chain Monte Carlo framework with auxiliary variables.
result New algorithms outperform existing methods on synthetic and real datasets.
Action-BED: Task-Driven Bayesian Experimental Design
problem Bayesian experimental design with doubly intractable objectives
method Formulating BED in terms of expected future loss (EFL) and optimising it with stochastic gradients
result Simplified and task-driven framework for BED
New SMC samplers improve stochastic optimisation efficiency.
problem Optimizing functions with intractable gradients in machine learning and statistics.
method Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) samplers for stochastic optimisation.
result Significant computational gains achieved with SMC approximations.
Posterior inference with an intractable likelihood is becoming an increasingly common task in scientific domains which rely on sophisticated computer simulations. Typically, these forward models do not admit tractable densities forcing practitioners to make use of approximations. This work introduces a novel approach t…
Bayesian design improves by reducing policy training cost.
problem Double intractability in expected information gain limits policy learning.
method Score matching to isolate EIG, then train policy singly intractably.
result Reduced computational burden for policy training, allowing multiple iterations.
NPE improves scalability and efficiency for ERGMs.
problem Scalability and efficiency issues in Bayesian ERGM estimation.
method Neural posterior estimation (NPE) for ERGMs using neural network density estimation.
result NPE provides more efficient and scalable inference for ERGMs.
A new method for sampling from posterior distributions in Bayesian inverse problems.
problem Sampling from posterior distributions in Bayesian inverse problems is challenging due to intractable terms.
method Proposes a novel approach that decomposes the transitions, allowing a trade-off between complexity of guidance term and prior transitions.
result Validated through experiments on various inverse problems, including challenging cases with latent diffusion models as priors.
We consider the problem of approximate Bayesian parameter inference in non-linear state-space models with intractable likelihoods. Sequential Monte Carlo with approximate Bayesian computations (SMC-ABC) is one approach to approximate the likelihood in this type of models. However, such approximations can be noisy and c…
Semi-Implicit Variational Inference (SIVI) is improved with SIVI-SM using score matching.
problem Intractable densities in variational distributions hinder SIVI training.
method SIVI-SM uses score matching to handle intractable densities in a minimax formulation.
result SIVI-SM outperforms ELBO-based SIVI methods in Bayesian inference tasks.
Simplifies inference for simulators with or without tractable likelihoods.
problem Inference for models with intractable likelihoods.
method Amortized simulation-based frequentist inference.
result Valid confidence sets for parameter inference.
New method uses approximate KLD for intractable likelihood models.
problem Designing experiments for models with intractable likelihoods.
method Derive a lower bound of KLD utility, express it in terms of entropies, and evaluate efficiently.
result Demonstrated the performance of the proposed method through numerical examples.
Optimizes experimental designs for intractable models using mutual information bounds.
problem Finding optimal experimental designs for models with intractable data-generating distributions.
method Maximizes mutual information lower bounds parametrized by neural networks, updating network parameters and designs simultaneously.
result Framework enables experimental design for various tasks including parameter estimation and model discrimination.
Contemporary global optimization algorithms are based on local measures of utility, rather than a probability measure over location and value of the optimum. They thus attempt to collect low function values, not to learn about the optimum. The reason for the absence of probabilistic global optimizers is that the corres…
New framework for variational coresets simplifies Bayesian inference for complex models.
problem Efficient Bayesian inference for complex models like neural networks.
method Black-box variational inference for coresets that handle intractable posterior distributions.
result Principled application of variational coresets to Bayesian neural networks.
Top-performing machine learning systems, such as deep neural networks, large ensembles and complex probabilistic graphical models, can be expensive to store, slow to evaluate and hard to integrate into larger systems. Ideally, we would like to replace such cumbersome models with simpler models that perform equally well…
We propose a novel approach to parameter estimation for simulator-based statistical models with intractable likelihood. Our proposed method involves recursive application of kernel ABC and kernel herding to the same observed data. We provide a theoretical explanation regarding why the approach works, showing (for the p…
A new method improves Bayesian inference for multimodal posteriors.
problem Insensitivity to well-separated modes in multimodal posteriors.
method Weighted Kernel Stein Discrepancy method.
result Significantly improved mode sensitivity compared to standard KSD-Bayes.
Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms are widely used to sample from complicated distributions, especially to sample from the posterior distribution in Bayesian inference. However, MCMC is not directly applicable when facing the doubly intractable problem. In this paper, we discussed and compared two existing solu…
While likelihood-based inference and its variants provide a statistically efficient and widely applicable approach to parametric inference, their application to models involving intractable likelihoods poses challenges. In this work, we study a class of minimum distance estimators for intractable generative models, tha…
Bayesian approach for inhomogeneous Poisson process intensity estimation.
problem Intractable integral in likelihood of Gaussian Cox process.
method Joint modeling of intensity and cumulative intensity as transformed Gaussian process; exact MCMC sampler.
result Exact posterior inference without approximations.
This paper solves robust utility maximization with unknown claim dependencies.
problem Investor optimizes utility in the presence of an intractable contingent claim.
method Quantile optimization approach, transforming dynamic problem into static concave optimization.
result Optimal payoffs depend on ambiguity attitude, market conditions, and claim characteristics.
This paper shows how to perform likelihood inference for complex graphical models efficiently.
problem Intractable normalizing constants in fully and partially observed exponential family graphical models.
method Using a technique from Geyer (1991), the paper estimates the normalizing constant and its gradient.
result Full likelihood-based analysis is feasible and computationally efficient for these models.
The aim of this survey article is to highlight several notoriously intractable problems about knots and links, as well as to provide a brief discussion of what is known about them.
Deep learning method for comparing hierarchical models.
problem Intractability of Bayesian model comparison for hierarchical models.
method Amortized inference deep learning method for probabilistic programs.
result Excellent amortized inference across all BMC settings.
Neural networks help create summary statistics for complex models.
problem Creating summary statistics for models with intractable likelihood functions.
method Infomax learning with neural networks to maximize mutual information.
result Improves performance of approximate Bayesian computation and neural likelihood methods.
Standard maximum likelihood estimation cannot be applied to discrete energy-based models in the general case because the computation of exact model probabilities is intractable. Recent research has seen the proposal of several new estimators designed specifically to overcome this intractability, but virtually nothing i…
New method uses neural exponential families for likelihood-free inference.
problem Bayesian Likelihood-Free Inference with intractable likelihood.
method Score Matching neural conditional exponential families for approximate likelihood.
result State-of-the-art performance in posterior sampling for intractable likelihood models.
New framework for manifold convolutions using toric embeddings.
problem Computational intractability of manifold convolutions.
method Isometric embeddings into tori for global manifold convolutions.
result Global definition of manifold convolutions on finite approximations.
Control of non-episodic, finite-horizon dynamical systems with uncertain dynamics poses a tough and elementary case of the exploration-exploitation trade-off. Bayesian reinforcement learning, reasoning about the effect of actions and future observations, offers a principled solution, but is intractable. We review, then…
We develop a framework for approximating collapsed Gibbs sampling in generative latent variable cluster models. Collapsed Gibbs is a popular MCMC method, which integrates out variables in the posterior to improve mixing. Unfortunately for many complex models, integrating out these variables is either analytically or co…
Computing partition functions, the normalizing constants of probability distributions, is often hard. Variants of importance sampling give unbiased estimates of a normalizer Z, however, unbiased estimates of the reciprocal 1/Z are harder to obtain. Unbiased estimates of 1/Z allow Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling of "d…
This review article surveys data augmentation MCMC algorithms.
problem Sampling from intractable probability distributions.
method Comprehensive study of DA MCMC algorithms, their convergence properties, and acceleration strategies.
result Synthesizes recent developments and provides insights for researchers.
This paper improves conditional sampling for VAEs by overcoming structural issues.
problem Computational intractability of conditional sampling in VAEs.
method Proposes two methods to address pitfalls in Metropolis-within-Gibbs (MWG) for VAEs.
result Improved performance on sampling tasks.
ConDiSim uses diffusion models to approximate complex system posteriors efficiently.
problem Simulation-based inference of systems with intractable likelihoods.
method Conditional diffusion model with forward and reverse processes.
result Effective posterior approximation across various benchmark and real-world problems.